Once again I've purchased a Type 38 at an on line auction only to find it wasn't quite as advertised. I bought a Type 38 with a ground "mum"
as it was all there and I thought I could use the stock for another Type 38 that I have, as well as the cleaning rod and a few other parts. It would not be a
matching rifle, however it would be all original. The stock was advertised as "looks like it may have been refinished." No problem, I wanted a stock
that had no patches or other deficiencies.
When the rifle arrived I tore into the box to see my new treasure. Imagine my disappointment when I found that it had been refinished, with Varathane, and stained a dark walnut also. On top of that it had many, many dings and dents that had obviously been filled. Sigh, O.K., I can fix this. When further examining the stock I found a large crack about 4 inches long running lengthwise from the forend. O.K., time to contact the seller. The seller was shocked, shocked I say, to discover that the stock had a crack. No problem he said, send it back for a full refund, minus shipping and he would file a claim with UPS. Um, I had a problem here. The box was in perfect shape, no sign of folding, spindling, or mutilating. The rifle, in my opinion, had not been damaged during shipment.
I asked for a partial refund. Denied. So, I had a conumdrum. Lose money sending it back, besides contributing to what I felt was a false claim, or keep it and practice my stock refurbishing skills. Like a dope I kept the rifle. Upon stripping the Varathane I discovered that the dark walnut stain had been hiding a severe repair. It looked like the stock had been totally smashed and then poorly repaired. I say poorly as I found that the filled dings and dents were hiding three large wood screws that had been used to hold the pieces together. There was the split in the forearm, and the stock was cracked in the center of the action bed, as well there were several other small cracks.
This looked like a job for SUPER STUPID!!! At least that was what I felt like. Sigh. I proceeded to strip all the Varathane. I used "Hot Stuff" and AccraGlass to repair the cracks, the size and location of the crack determining the glue. Critical areas got the AccraGlass, the "Hot Stuff" used for the cracks that did not need to with stand a pounding from repeated firing. Once the glue was introduced into the crack the stock was wrapped with surgical tubing and left overnight to cure. The recoil bushing seat had been enlarged and the bushing just rattled around in there. Not helpful for reducing further cracking in the future. I accraglassed around that and assembeled the action into the rifle, again letting it cure overnight. For the crack running through the action bed I first applied "Hot Stuff" and after curing I routed several grooves on the underside across the width of the trigger guard bed about 3/16ths deep. I then filled these grooves with accraglass. After curing I threw the stock in the milling machine and leveled it. I removed all the extra 'glass just leaving what was filling the grooves.
I removed the wood screws (three in all) and inserted 1/8th threaded brass rod coated with accraglass into the holes, making sure that they bottomed out in the holes. After they cured I used a 3/8ths endmill to counterbore the holes about 5/16ths deep, filling the hole with a wooden dowel and accraglass. After each repair I tested the stock by flexing it in a padded vise. So far, so good. I just finished applying a cherry stain (three coats) and it is drying overnight. Tomorrow I intend on starting a repeated application of amber shellac. So, again I have another stock, far, far, from original. Boy, I sure can pick 'em.
Regards,
Eric
When the rifle arrived I tore into the box to see my new treasure. Imagine my disappointment when I found that it had been refinished, with Varathane, and stained a dark walnut also. On top of that it had many, many dings and dents that had obviously been filled. Sigh, O.K., I can fix this. When further examining the stock I found a large crack about 4 inches long running lengthwise from the forend. O.K., time to contact the seller. The seller was shocked, shocked I say, to discover that the stock had a crack. No problem he said, send it back for a full refund, minus shipping and he would file a claim with UPS. Um, I had a problem here. The box was in perfect shape, no sign of folding, spindling, or mutilating. The rifle, in my opinion, had not been damaged during shipment.
I asked for a partial refund. Denied. So, I had a conumdrum. Lose money sending it back, besides contributing to what I felt was a false claim, or keep it and practice my stock refurbishing skills. Like a dope I kept the rifle. Upon stripping the Varathane I discovered that the dark walnut stain had been hiding a severe repair. It looked like the stock had been totally smashed and then poorly repaired. I say poorly as I found that the filled dings and dents were hiding three large wood screws that had been used to hold the pieces together. There was the split in the forearm, and the stock was cracked in the center of the action bed, as well there were several other small cracks.
This looked like a job for SUPER STUPID!!! At least that was what I felt like. Sigh. I proceeded to strip all the Varathane. I used "Hot Stuff" and AccraGlass to repair the cracks, the size and location of the crack determining the glue. Critical areas got the AccraGlass, the "Hot Stuff" used for the cracks that did not need to with stand a pounding from repeated firing. Once the glue was introduced into the crack the stock was wrapped with surgical tubing and left overnight to cure. The recoil bushing seat had been enlarged and the bushing just rattled around in there. Not helpful for reducing further cracking in the future. I accraglassed around that and assembeled the action into the rifle, again letting it cure overnight. For the crack running through the action bed I first applied "Hot Stuff" and after curing I routed several grooves on the underside across the width of the trigger guard bed about 3/16ths deep. I then filled these grooves with accraglass. After curing I threw the stock in the milling machine and leveled it. I removed all the extra 'glass just leaving what was filling the grooves.
I removed the wood screws (three in all) and inserted 1/8th threaded brass rod coated with accraglass into the holes, making sure that they bottomed out in the holes. After they cured I used a 3/8ths endmill to counterbore the holes about 5/16ths deep, filling the hole with a wooden dowel and accraglass. After each repair I tested the stock by flexing it in a padded vise. So far, so good. I just finished applying a cherry stain (three coats) and it is drying overnight. Tomorrow I intend on starting a repeated application of amber shellac. So, again I have another stock, far, far, from original. Boy, I sure can pick 'em.
Regards,
Eric
