The L.C. Smith Collectors Association

The L.C. Smith Collectors Association
[ The L.C. Smith Collectors Association ]

Stripped Forend Screws

Posted by Eric Schmidt on September 25, 2022, 11:17 am

Okay all, I’ve read a couple posts on here related to this and have an idea on how I want to try and temp fix it.

Yesterday I was shooting my Sweet 16 Elsie at the trap range and noticed the forend was loosening. I stopped shooting at that point but as soon as I applied even slight pressure the screws pulled right out and I could see the wood was quite deteriorated. My question is two parts:

1. I was really excited to take my gun on a SD pheasant trip, would a temp fix with some epoxy in the holes and resetting the screws get me maybe 20-30 shots with light field loads - and then send to my smith for a full refit with a new Walnut forend?

2. Can I really do any more damage to the gun shooting it in that condition besides further damage the already gunked/cracked wood?

I intend to fully replace this forend with a new Walnut one. I’m not concerned about value, I just love this gun and want to pass it on to my son someday. For reference the gun just went through a full overhaul with a well known LC specialist, to include bedding, tear down and refinishing. Pics show the damage. Thanks!

Forend Screw Hole

Posted by Drew Hause on September 25, 2022, 12:59 pm, in reply to "Stripped Forend Screws"

Pretty common for the hole to no longer hold the screw over time, esp. if significant force is required to pull off the FE.
Is the crack visible on the other side of the FE?
The usual fix is to drill a hole, fit and epoxy a short section of hardwood dowel, then drill a new screw hole.
Unfortunately, with the long crack

proper repair would probably require milling out a rectangular section and fitting and gluing new wood in place.

These FEs are rough inlet unfinished, but you could likely at least get it fit and usable before the opener
https://cottagecraftworks.com/lc-smith-sxs-replacement-forearm-forend

Re: Forend Screw Hole

Posted by Eric Schmidt on September 25, 2022, 1:11 pm, in reply to "Forend Screw Hole"

Looks like the crack goes down about 2/3 of the way through the FE. The finished side is still intact. Do you think I could go the epoxy route for a quick fix? I’m leaning toward having a whole new FE fitted later this winter. I use Buck Hamlin as my gunsmith, I’ll likely defer to whatever he recommends.

Re: Forend Screw Hole

Posted by Drew Hause on September 25, 2022, 1:24 pm, in reply to "Re: Forend Screw Hole"

I'm not sure it would hold Eric, but you can sure try. You will certainly need a larger thread screw, which might just spread the crack. Let us know how it works out.

Re: Forend Screw Hole

Posted by Eric Schmidt on September 25, 2022, 1:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Forend Screw Hole"

Thanks Drew, I’ll give it a go

Re: Forend Screw Hole

Posted by David Williamson on September 25, 2022, 4:07 pm, in reply to "Re: Forend Screw Hole"

That crack is long, first I would suggest to try and pry the cracked area open slightly and put some Krazy Glue or any type of cyanoacrylate glue into the crack and then wrap the for-end with some surgical tubing or rubber bands for 10 minutes. Then measure the depth of the hole for the screw and use a 5/16" Forsner bit or similar and drill a hole to that depth. It will be a flat bottom hole. The hardest thing is to find a dowel that is a true 5/16" if you don't have a plug cutter. Most dowels are undersized. It would be nice to have a walnut dowel but any hardwood will do. Glue dowel in with a good wood glue, I use Titebond III. Draw lines across the dowel in all directions to find center. I believe the screw size is a #5, so a starter drill would be 1/8". I've done this repair on a few of my guns and has held up so far after many shoots.
Any questions feel free to email me at jdavidw1@comcast.net
A new for-end will cost you quite a bit of money, and the repair very little if you do it.

Re: Forend Screw Hole

Posted by Eric Schmidt on September 25, 2022, 9:41 pm, in reply to "Re: Forend Screw Hole"

Thanks for the input! I just saw this message and I already attempted an initial repair. I drilled out the screw holes, used a high quality epoxy and inserted 1/4” dowels, they were snug but they fit almost perfectly flush. I plan to completely smooth everything out with a finishing file, then pre drill the dowels and try and insert the screws. We shall see. Worst case I can drill them out and try your method next, which admittedly seems more likely to succeed. Absolute worse case I’ll fork out the money for a new FE.

Re: Forend Screw Hole

Posted by Eric Schmidt on September 26, 2022, 6:38 am, in reply to "Re: Forend Screw Hole"

Alright, temp fix is complete and seems stable/solid. Reassembled everything this morning, seems solid. It’s not perfectly flush but the FE snaps on the barrels with zero play or movement. Not going to shoot it until my South Dakota trip. Hopefully I’ll get at least a handful of shots, if not more, before the epoxy breaks loose. I’ll be taking the trusty 20 gauge semi auto just in case though. Thanks all for the help and inputs!

Re: Forend Screw Hole

Posted by Carl Erickson on September 27, 2022, 7:26 am, in reply to "Re: Forend Screw Hole"

I had the same problem with my Ideal at the Vintager's Cup. The emergency repair which worked for the 80 rounds of the main event was to wrap the forend with masking tape. Not pretty but it worked. I suggest that you take a roll of tape with you on the hunt.
Subsequently I repaired the forend as Dr Drew and Dave suggested. Good luck!

Re: Forend Screw Hole

Posted by John Mistretta on October 28, 2022, 6:29 pm, in reply to "Re: Forend Screw Hole"

A lot of people into stock repair use what’s called a water thin cyanoacrylate cement. This penetrates deeply into the crack without having to force the crack open to access it. If kept in the fridge under 40 degrees the shelf life is years. Available on Amazon. Has worked well.

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