Recipe for wood filler?
 

What do you guys use for filler on ethnic gunstocks if areas are missing or splits in old wood etc?
I've always made up my own rather than use a shop bought resin. Any recipes? I'm curious how others solve this problem without the results looking 'new'?

Hi Gene,
My collection now is basically, blades but at one time I had many guns. To repair/fill breaks etc I kept a supply of broken stock pieces and used suitable wood and colour to fill breaks. A useful way to "match" the colours is to use CONDYS (???spelling) CRYSTALS. Mix a VERY small amount of the crystals with water, which is all you will need. It drys brown and when dry, bone it with either a piece of smooth bone or even the round shank of a screwdriver. Amazing what it will hide in terms of new repairs. For broken horn or later plastic butt plates I used Epiglass Plastic Steel. Its black and when sanded and polished it does a great job.
With your current weather patterns be careful not to get wool fibres from your gloves mixed up with your repairs. :p :p

Gene,

I do not have many rifles and have not had to try it, but I have heard from a friend who has hundreds and according to him, the best way to do it is with sawdust and superglue. According to his instructions, you put a bit of sawdust in the area where the wood is missing, followed imemdiately by a drop of the super glue, which solidifies the small amount of sawdust in place. Then you repeat the process until the restoration is complete, and naturally, sand at the end. This would work on gunstocks that are of dark color (the glue turns the sawdust dark, regardless of its original color), and for small areas.

And to repeat my disclaimer - I have not actually tried it myself.

Regards,
Teodor

Salaams Atlantia~ I liked this little thread so much I just had to make a comment.
A friend of mine swears by the superglue and sawdust technique and I commend it and the other workshop practices to Forum. :shrug:
Regards,
Ibrahiim.

I've seen some superglue and dust fillings, they are pretty good, to untrained eye. The method is pretty good, but I think something other that crazy glue would be preffered at lease by me. Crazyglue leaves a somewhat shiney residue, and is a bit messy, so maybe some clear wood glue would be better, I dunno have not tried it.

I would think that epoxy would be a better filler than crazyglue.

Problem with epoxy, especially if you mix it, is it's hard to get all the bubbles out. Crazy glue is a little easier to keep the bubbles out of.

F

Never had problems with bubbles but whatever..............

We used PVA glue and sawdust in high school...worked a treat. more recently I've used superglue and sawdust with good results.

I use white glue. Elmers, Dollar General brand, doesn't matter. Remove the buttplate, lock, or whatever part is removable. "Borrow" some wood shavings/filings, and mix with the glue. Fill in the area missing wood, and let dry. The smoother you apply, the less sanding you have to do. By using wood from the affected gun, the color is an perfect match.

there is a filler available that is used to fill up holes in wooden floor boards. It is a transparant fluid (smells strongly / volitile). It needs to be mixed with sanding dust (saw dust is too coarse) and can be applied. The surface is slightly sanded afterwards. When using the same sanding dust as the original wood, the difference is hard to spot.

For smaller cracks i use superglue with our without sanding dust. Look for the fluid version that will soak in deeply and sand afterwards.

Hi Gene! For filling fine cracks, I've found something that works better than Super/Crazy glue. It's called "ZAP" glue. There are a couple other competing Brands similar. They usually sell it at hobby stores. What I really like about this glue is that it is available in three different thicknesses. Thick, Medium, and Thin. Even the thick is fairly thin. The Thin is so thin, it seems to run thinner than water. I've even used the Thin in a hypodermic needle for very fine cracks to keep the crack from spreading. Use the Thin a little at a time. Let dry overnight and add more the next day, and so on till you are satisfied. Best stuff I've ever used for filling cracks. Rick.

Excellent thoughts and ideas everyone :) Thanks to all of you