My Model 21 Skeet: Good news and bad news|Page 2|Winchester Shotguns|Forum|Winchester Collector

Michael,  i agree. The fissure was there all along and I never noticed it ( or maybe confused it with the scattered grain pattern) until i looked at the same image at several diameters of magnification. 

I need to educate myself on the names of the various double shotgun components, in order to appreciate the information you and my other WACA friends are giving me. I’m very interested to understand the change in location of certain forearm components you describe. as soon as I have a grip on what those parts are called, i would like to discuss it futher with you. And with my gunsmith. 

Chuck, as above with Michael, my ignorance of nomenclature is holding me back. Tell me what the forearm cap looks like? Is it the steel escutcheon inletted into the long axis of the convex external surface of the forearm, that houses the forearm latch release?  If so, my answer is I don’t know because I did not attempt to disassemble any part of the forearm. 

To my mind, the recoil force, a rearward vector, is trasmitted though the barrel attachment hook to the mating steel bracket and escutcheon in the forearm, thence to the wood of the forearm at every mating wood-to-steel junction. 

If the steel escutcheon in the forearm is not held immobile by close ineletting, almost the entire force of recoil would eventually be borne by one or more attachment screws, I would think. Again, i need to learn the forearm architecture. 

O.K.  you mean the steel piece at the end.  From the second photo showing the inletted side of the forearm, the cap appears to be of a single piece with the long steel housing containing the latch assembly.  That entire part is going to be removed and eventually re-bedded in glass reinforced epoxy.  Ron will remove additional wood, probably cutting channels and drilling holes to be filled with Acragel (or whatever he uses), perhaps with powdered aluminum for added strength.  I don’t know how he plans to close the visible line of the crack. I would guess with a slow-set epoxy adhesive and elastic bands to close the line. Whether he will add any reinforcing metal or not, i leave to his judgment. From repairs i have seen to very heavily recoiling rifles, the craftsmen seemed to prefer cured bands and columns of glass filled epoxy to additional metal parts that could themselves become problems if they became unbonded.   

Yes,  i would open the interior of the crack, too. I expect he will probably do so along its line, on the interior side. I’ve seen it done with a lining tool or fine chisel to give the adhesive more bite and add strength to the joint. Probably cross-lined as well.

I think the reason there is a preference for epoxy is to avoid a conflict between adhesives. Wood glue is water based, one reason it is easier to remove even when cured. (I am a Believer in Titebond III for almost everything and can testify that an unreinforced Titebond III glue joint will not fail before the 6/4 White oak itself does. It is waterproof after curing except for very extended continuous immersion..Great stuff.)

In the case of glass reinforced epoxy, the solution to squeeze-out is a pre-clamp application of release agent plus taping the visible surface shut.  There are probably other tricks I’m unfamiliar with. I’ve heard a smear of Vaseline will keep the compound from adhering. 

I do not know, but would guess a small line of compound in a checkering groove might even be carv-able to repair damaged diamonds, then sealed with an artist’s brush and thinned clear epoxy. 

That is in the realm of black magic I don’t want to know about. 

You can’t beat a Unisaw. I was actually given a nineteen Seventies model in partial payment of a fee. It had been used on a manufacturing floor only to cut circuit boards from stock that outgassed some form of salt that left a fine layer of rust on the table. I took it home in pieces and eventually restored the top. After I got it set up and running, I took a hard look at those triple belts on the optional 5 horse Baldor. My shop is wired for 220 so that wasnt an issue but I’m not really comfortable with, nor do I need, that much torque. The fence was missing. After I priced out a Biesemeyer and thought about it, I let a favorite nephew, a much more advanced woodworker who could use it, have the saw. 

I love to work with Baltic Birch, metric though it is. Stable, flat, and durable. My track saw is metric as well and sometimes its just easier to design in mils. 

The best floor tool I have is a 6″ Powermatic jointer with helical head and long tables. It replaced a small Jet with blades that were evermore getting out of level.  No jackscrews so you were on your own with a magnet and screwdriver. I strained for the Powermatic but it saved so much stomach acid the first month I used it, even my wife thought it was a bargain. 

For the benefit of the Membership, here is what Schwing disclosed about the Model 21 forearm cracking problem.

Again, my thanks to Member Michael B. for pointing out what I should have discovered for myself. 

As you can see, it was something Winchester struggled with for a while.