Author Topic: Fixing a BIG goof up  (Read 4590 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Eric Krewson

  • Member
  • Posts: 5,305
Fixing a BIG goof up
« on: July 08, 2022, 09:30:06 am »
Kinda' quiet here, not a full blown build but my latest challenge.

My nephew, who has never inletted anything, tried to put a patchbox in his Lyman GRP, not knowing how to approach the project he used a Dremel tool and no layout lines, disaster!  In this picture I had already fixed the back end with proper inletting, the front is going to be a challenge.



My mouth always get me in a lot of trouble so I said" no problem I can fix it", big mistake, I had never inletted an ornate patch box but had built 5 guns so I thought "how difficult could this be".

I started patching the gaps with glued in walnut pieces, I orientated the patch wood grain with the stock wood, even drew in grain lines from the stock wood through the patches with walnut husk dye and a calligraphy pen to make the patches disappear. I had to completely remove the finish while filing the patchbox metal to fit the wood.

I built up layers of my walnut husk dye and dried it with a heat gun until I had the stock stain on the bare wood matched perfectly to the factory stock stain.

I left the stain darker around the inlet to further hide the patches. I worked what you see in the picture down a bit more with a scotch bright pad to further blend the color after I took this picture.



The patch box was flat the buttstock was curved, I initially thought there was enough room to to fit the flat patchbox into the buttstock but found out it had to be bent to conform. The patchbox is steel and didn't want to bend, I had inletted the outside edge of the inlet and it took dozens of poundings and several days to get all the edges properly in the inlet I cut. The biggest problem was getting the lid to bend and still match the hole it was supposed to fit into the metal opening.

Here is the patchbox just starting in, you can see all the patches.



In the process of bending the lid I broke the hinge pin, no problem I thought, jut use a punch and drive out out but it wasn't moving. I decided to drill it out, after ruining 3 drill bits i realized the pin was hardened and nothing short of a carbide tipped bit would touch it. The carbide tipped bits cost $13 for a 1/16" bit, not the kind of money I wanted to spend on someone else's bo-bo. I ended up heating and annealing the hinge several times to try to soften the pin, this worked and I could drill the pin right out. After all this fitting I realize the patchbox lid would never function as intended, I soldered the lid into place and told my nephew his patchbox was now just for looks and wouldn't work as intended, turns out that was what he was after in the first place, just some ornate bling on his rifle.

Now to brown the patchbox to match the pitted rust browning job my nephew did on the gun. It took a while but I finally got the pitting just right to match.



Finally in, the inlet is tight the patchbox will tap in flush with the wood but except for browning the screw heads it is done.



I had to buy hardware store zinc coated screws, I burned the zinc off but they still didn't want to brown properly. Still working on them and making progress. As soon as I get the screws in I will call this project done.



My nephew didn't clean his rifle properly, the barrel is a rusty sewer pipe but I have been able to clean it up with a number of red scotch bright patches to be serviceable.

Here are the first patches I ran down the bore to see just how bad it was.



It looks much better after the scrubbing, I think it will shoot just fine.

Before;



After a good scrubbing;









« Last Edit: July 08, 2022, 09:48:40 am by Eric Krewson »

Offline gifford

  • Member
  • Posts: 465
Re: Fixing a BIG goof up
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2022, 06:54:25 pm »
That was quite the project. Congrats on your perseverance and quite obvious skill set. 

Offline Buckskinner

  • Member
  • Posts: 211
Re: Fixing a BIG goof up
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2022, 08:13:11 pm »
Tip my hat to you, that's an ambitious fix, you did well!  Wonder what a new stock would be or thin it out to a giant grease hole!

Offline Eric Krewson

  • Member
  • Posts: 5,305
Re: Fixing a BIG goof up
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2022, 03:39:58 pm »
The gun is not worth a new stock, I saw where Lyman wants in excess of $300 for one, they do show up on eBay from time to time and you can get a precarve from Pecatonica but using one of theirs would be like building a whole rifle.

Offline Pappy

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 31,712
  • if you have to ask you wouldn't understand ,Tenn.
Re: Fixing a BIG goof up
« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2022, 05:59:05 pm »
Nice work Eric, nice to have a talented uncle around.  ;) :)
 Pappy
Clarksville,Tennessee
TwinOaks Bowhunters
Life is Good

Offline chamookman

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,971
Re: Fixing a BIG goof up
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2022, 03:34:35 am »
Good save Eric  :OK ! Bob
"May the Gods give Us the strength to draw the string to the cheek, the arrow to the barb and loose the flying shaft, so long as life may last." Saxon Pope - 1923.

Offline Eric Krewson

  • Member
  • Posts: 5,305
Re: Fixing a BIG goof up
« Reply #6 on: July 13, 2022, 08:48:48 am »
I used to dread drilling screw holes into the wood through a buttplate or other part, I always ended up plugging my errant holes with a dowel and doing them over and over until I got the screw centered. Being a slow learner, I only discovered centering bits a year or so ago, I bought a set of about 10 different sizes off Amazon for around 15 bucks.

For this project with very small screws, my smallest centering bit was a little too big, just right for the screw shank but too big for the threads to get a good grip. I ended up step drilling, I got a well centered hole with the centering bit and drilled for the threads with a smaller bit.

I had counter sunk the holes through the buttplate so the screws would be flush with nothing to snag you hand if you brushed the buttplate with your fingers.  Dang, this worked perfectly, I could even align the screw slots.

Here it is, a little beat and banged up, and not perfect but I am quitting on this and moving on.



I mixed a little dye with beeswax to fil a few tiny gaps that I made during the inletting.









 

Offline GlisGlis

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,477
Re: Fixing a BIG goof up
« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2022, 10:35:34 am »
Well done. I always follow with interest your posts  :OK

Offline PaulN/KS

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,381
Re: Fixing a BIG goof up
« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2022, 03:37:28 pm »
Nice save Eric and a fine demonstration of skills and solving other people's problems.  :OK