I purchased this rifle a few weeks ago from GB, and I believe this is my first K98 from that site. I have purchased a few other firearms from GB in the past.
The rifle stock was in poor condition, but something about it spoke to me and it seemed to be worthy of a conservation effort. The rifle was void of a hand guard, band spring, and rear screw but otherwise all matching. BTW, the seller was extremely nice and professional. Everything about the rifle was as described and arrived in good order.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but after reading a little about these 1944 Sauer stocks, this appears to be a “C” stock and few are know. If true, it maybe due to the fact that the glue, like this example, may have cause others to deteriorate and fall apart. This example was said to have been in an attic for a number of years.
First, I removed the stock and set all the metal aside except the bayonet lug. I studied the stock for a few days and began to get to work. The first order was to find an appropriate wood glue. Since this was a conservation project, with no intent on shooting the rifle, I decided not to use an epoxy. I chose Titebond III, I’m sure Titebond II would have been fine. I am glad I used this type glue due to the amount of cleanup in the work area.
I also purchased four inexpensive clamps that were around $2 each, 2 small and 2 large. I wish I would have purchased six total. I also purchased some rubber surgical tubing but it did not arrive in time and I doubt I’d used it anyway.
Extra items included Q-tips, painters tape ( careful as it can pull and lift things you didn’t intend), and plenty of paper towels.
I ended up using a few dozen straws of hay from a bale out back. I would flatten the ends and push the glue into the cracks, clamp, clean up the excess, and re-clamp once the seepage was clean. I kept the clamps on for one or two hours depending on the situation. A few areas were clamped overnight for good measure.
The cracks at the butt of the stock were too large to clamp or to use the vice. It was my opinion that if I used the vise, I would split the opposite side in the process. There were opposing cracks on the top and bottom in this area. I did use some sawdust from a donor piece of hard wood and packed it into the void to allow for a little stain from Danish Oil later.
I had to create a shim for a void piece of wood under the front of the floor plate. Unfortunately, I chose a piece of wood that was not Beech and the color was difficult to match. I wish I would have waited. Oh well, it is structurally sound now. I did remove the recoil lug and had to fix a crack behind it.
One area that I had no intention of staining was on the right side of the stock, the outside wall of the magazine well in front of the bolt handle. There was a piece of laminated wood that was missing and I was going to leave it as it was. I had a little mishap and decided to stain it to match the stock. I think it turned out ok, but I would have preferred it as it was originally. All the other areas of age, damage and de-laminating were left as is.
As for the metal parts, all bluing is original. I did card off some light surface rust. No cold/hot bluing no refinishing. Just a coat of Ballistol oil.
Please feel free to leave any comments. Ok
The rifle stock was in poor condition, but something about it spoke to me and it seemed to be worthy of a conservation effort. The rifle was void of a hand guard, band spring, and rear screw but otherwise all matching. BTW, the seller was extremely nice and professional. Everything about the rifle was as described and arrived in good order.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but after reading a little about these 1944 Sauer stocks, this appears to be a “C” stock and few are know. If true, it maybe due to the fact that the glue, like this example, may have cause others to deteriorate and fall apart. This example was said to have been in an attic for a number of years.
First, I removed the stock and set all the metal aside except the bayonet lug. I studied the stock for a few days and began to get to work. The first order was to find an appropriate wood glue. Since this was a conservation project, with no intent on shooting the rifle, I decided not to use an epoxy. I chose Titebond III, I’m sure Titebond II would have been fine. I am glad I used this type glue due to the amount of cleanup in the work area.
I also purchased four inexpensive clamps that were around $2 each, 2 small and 2 large. I wish I would have purchased six total. I also purchased some rubber surgical tubing but it did not arrive in time and I doubt I’d used it anyway.
Extra items included Q-tips, painters tape ( careful as it can pull and lift things you didn’t intend), and plenty of paper towels.
I ended up using a few dozen straws of hay from a bale out back. I would flatten the ends and push the glue into the cracks, clamp, clean up the excess, and re-clamp once the seepage was clean. I kept the clamps on for one or two hours depending on the situation. A few areas were clamped overnight for good measure.
The cracks at the butt of the stock were too large to clamp or to use the vice. It was my opinion that if I used the vise, I would split the opposite side in the process. There were opposing cracks on the top and bottom in this area. I did use some sawdust from a donor piece of hard wood and packed it into the void to allow for a little stain from Danish Oil later.
I had to create a shim for a void piece of wood under the front of the floor plate. Unfortunately, I chose a piece of wood that was not Beech and the color was difficult to match. I wish I would have waited. Oh well, it is structurally sound now. I did remove the recoil lug and had to fix a crack behind it.
One area that I had no intention of staining was on the right side of the stock, the outside wall of the magazine well in front of the bolt handle. There was a piece of laminated wood that was missing and I was going to leave it as it was. I had a little mishap and decided to stain it to match the stock. I think it turned out ok, but I would have preferred it as it was originally. All the other areas of age, damage and de-laminating were left as is.
As for the metal parts, all bluing is original. I did card off some light surface rust. No cold/hot bluing no refinishing. Just a coat of Ballistol oil.
Please feel free to leave any comments. Ok
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