We all have differing methods of repairing damage to gun stocks. Now before I say anything I will say that I have been repairing damage to stock for some fifty years though now in retirement. I suppose being a brit will not help in the suggestions I am going to make so here goes. To remove that dent in the heel of the stock I would apply steam to raze the fibbers first you would be surprised how much and quickly they will return to their original position. Your adhesive and method works for you though far to much floating around the repair, I am more in favour of using clear Epoxey Adhesive less to hide on lighter wood stocks. Try this to get the adhesive into the break, use monofilament fishing line or dental floss to pull the adhesive down and through the crack or brake. your method of using Brass bolts is fine though it removes rather a lot of wood because of the depths you have to go to let in that size of Brass support . My method would remove less wood far easer to conceal, in that repair I would use stainless steel staples positioned across the break using to holes and removing just enough wood to let in the staple top. Stainless steel is less liable to move due to heat expansion , and staples have less mass and far stronger than Brass for a given section. As for clamping the use of cork or pencil erasers between the clamp faces and the stock is more desireable, in many cases straight pull clamps can not be used on gun stocks so the use of Bicycle inertube strips can be used with many advantages that include no damage, will mould to curves, apply as much force as you need. Just another way of doing things not a criticism, we all do things different ways though you may like to experiment sometime.

That title couldn't be any better

What I find shocking is , this channel isn't monetized. This man is a engineer / craftsman of the highest order, historian, metallurgist, an excellent woodworker, refurbisher, and burnisher. Yet youtube can't loosen the purse strings to throw this master teacher a few coins .. This isn't insulting to Mark imo, I don't think he's teaching us for the money tbh. Some men are just born to educate others .

Amazing. Like watching Michaelangelo painting the ceiling only with acroglass, chisel and polished hammer.

I was literally searching KZfaq, wishing there was a new Anvil video and then this showed up! Thank you for relieving my boredom with brilliantly interesting content 😁 one of my absolute favourites

“Learning how hard to hit it is a judgement call based on how many times you screwed it up, and I will guarantee you I have screwed it up more times you’ve tried to do it..” This is awesome because you, a master-level gunsmith, are teaching everyone that we should accept screwing up at all times. Thank you for teaching us us how screwing up over the years are pretty much free lessons on the road to become a master.

mark, you are a major reason i decided to take Yavapai College's (Prescott, AZ.) Gunsmith course. (half way through now). Enjoy all your videos, appreciate you sharing your time and knowledge.

Now that was an outstanding tutorial. Love your work, you are the Gold Standard by which all other Gunsmith channels are compared too. Thank you for all your hard work we as a gun community appreciate it immensely.

What an absolute pleasure it is to watch and moreover ‘listen’ to your content. You remind me of my high school sweethearts’ father who I learned very quickly would give you the history of the watch, if you asked him what time it was. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but listening to you, brings back some pretty damn good memories. Thanks.

You are an artist and I love your precise and respectful handling of the work pieces.

I always learn something from Mark and I appreciate his channel.

a technique that I was taught, for repairing a crack, it to use a hair dryer to blow the epoxy into the spread crack. The heat of the hair dryer thins the epoxy and the air helps direct the flow into the deepest parts of the crack. Works well for me. Great video, as usual.

I like that you keep your chisels ridiculously sharp. The drudgery of maintaining that edge makes the job that much easier and more precise. Thanks, Mark. That sure did not seem like almost an hour. Time flies when you're having fun.

Your attention to detail is astounding. I know alot of guys that would've just used Elmer's wood glue, throw a clamp on it, and call it even. I love to watch guys that really have the knowledge to do things right. I commend you for that

As always a great job and great narrative on why you do what you do. Love watching you work.

Love to watch you work Mark! I like working on my own guns but there’s a limit to what I’ll do! I did my son in law’s Winchester 74 that had been neglected for years. It was a working gun on a farm and isn’t collector grade by any stretch. But I fixed the action and replaced and fitted a new firing pin. Then some conservation. It works smoothly now and that’s all we wanted to do. Thank you for your wisdom!😊

A small pallet knife from an art supply store has been my epoxy application tool for decades. The blade is a very thin spring steel that gets into most tiny cracks.

"Is the lighting alright for you?" Made me chuckle. Its one thing to have a skill like this, its another to be able to talk, in length, in detail about it. Somehow I can listen to you talk for an hour straight about a subject I have no familiarity with and atill understand enough to stay engaged all the way though.

It’s always a good day when Marks posts a video

I appreciate your tips and tricks. I don’t work on guns but your method of using a polished hammer face to move the material from a blown out brass screw is invaluable. I work on very large electric motors the ability to rework the small screws that hold oil rings together is great. Thanks.

I don't know what people get out of ASMR, but whatever it is must be what I get out of these videos because I could watch this content all day. Thanks for making it!

Really enjoyed this. You turned me on to Acra Glass many videos ago so I hope this will return the favor. I have restored antique cutlery since the 70's and for blending and staining repairs in wood, bone, stag, etc nothing works as well as leather dye. It really penetrates, it dries almost as fast as you can put it on and it does not mess with anything you have to put over it. Tandy Leather has every color known to man but I get by with just 5 colors, once applied within 10 minutes you can go to whatever topcoats you want with no worries oil, poly whatever it may be. Using scrap wood I can custom blend colors to get an almost perfect match no one will know you were there.

I learn things from every video. That does not mean I am ever going to be a gunsmith. That is beyond me. However, I can perhaps learn what right looks like with regard to firearms repair and maintenance. Thanks Mark.

I won’t lie at 26:25 when you were taking that squeeze out off my arse was puckering and I was cringing Amazing skills you have !!

Guitar luthiers use tiny suction cups to push glue in a crevace

I'm not a gunsmith, but I am a carpenter amongst other things, and I really appreciate your videos here. Engineering, fabrication, restoration and a lot of wisdom. Also Cigars. :)

This is a "tufur". Gunstock repair and a nice tutorial on the inner workings. Great video as always! Thanks!!

Livestock supply stores have these syringes that use a curved plastic tube instead of a needle, and one of those would probably apply that AcraGlass into the crack a little cleaner.

I would have needed to make a pair of shaped cauls for that gluing clamp up, but that's just me. I have never had much luck tightening a clamp pad on a curved surface like the heel and toe of this stock. I truly enjoy watching your methods of work. Your skill level and ingenuity in problem solving are very inspiring to me.

Absolutely stunning work, Mark.

Best gunsmith on KZfaq da

Enjoyed the video. Laying those two screws in horizontally was brilliant. My first thought was to lay in an "I" piece of brass. But the threads on your screws is 100% better. I learned a lot. Thank you.

Ball-end hex ("Allen" is a trademark of the Holo-Krome Corporation) keys were invented during my lifetime (1964) by John Bondhus of the Bondhus Corporation. Sheer genius! I wish that I had thought of it. I was still in elementary school, but, still...

Listening to your running commentary reminds me of a 1930s crime movie. Lots of interesting "turns of phrase" I do not encounter elsewhere. Always a pleasure. Thank you for all that you do.

Watching you repair this type of damage is an art. Thank you for a nice presentation.

I appreciate your delivery method. A combination of technical knowledge and just enough humor to make it not only helpful but enjoyable. So many in this business are either so dry or arrogant that it is work to watch them even when the advice is good. Your videos are very engaging.

The words of true wisdom. At @43:21, learning how hard to hit it is a judgement call depending on how many times you've screwed it up.

Almost makes me wish I had a stock to repair, Mark, you could make watching paint dry compelling.

The 725 is not an inertia block action. It's actually a mechanical reset trigger, using the main springs, which have a coil that's larger in diameter than the rest, which when they come forward upon firing, trip the selector. If you have a dud, the second barrel will fire even if there's no recoil from the first dud round.

Mark thanks for another great video. What got my attention initially was the thumbnail of the 725 due to it being much newer than many of the other things you've brought to us. I also run a 725 as my primary clays gun so there was that additional interest. Browning right in the owners manual talks about the oul finish on the gun and goes so far as recommendations for stock maintenance by using a SMALL amount of TruOil or some others sparingly. The oil finish in these cases is TONS nicer comlared to the hard as nails finish they use to put on their stocks. Ive got arounf 15,000 rounds through mine and the insides look about as clean as the gun you had in the video. Thanks again!

Hey man, my butts got a crack too, thanks for the tutorial

Mark, another fantastic example of your skill as a gunsmith and teacher! I appreciate you sharing your time and expertise. Thanks

Wow Mr Novak, I have to say you scared the bejeezuz out of me when you wedged open that crack ... your experience, knowlege and cojones showed clear as daylight. Hmm, that's a bit of an odd metaphor, but it does the trick! Another great job.

The Man. The Dude. The One. The Only. Thank you.

Excellent video, I am very appreciative of how you explain the functioning of the gun. Subscribed

As always it's a pleasure watching you do your magic, outstanding.

It was nice of you to let us watch while you took care of that lady's butt crack.

The most under rated statement you made is the polished hammer faces, that keeps from marring up the material I learned that years ago blacksmithing the mirrored finish of the hammer will transfer to the material your working with which leads to less finish up work. Great job on the project BTW ;)

I loved the analogy of sausage ... same thing for Worcestershire sauce, if you like it do NOT search and watch how it's made! Watching a Smith working on your own firearm can cause minor fits of the heeby jeebys BUT when a Master does his thing, it is a work of beauty! Excellent video as always Mark, thank you for sharing!

Such a fitting title!😊

The pattern of that wood is beautiful. My Dad has a Browning BAR, the reason he chose it, over a Remington was the amazing burl pattern of the stock wood.

Thats great Mark you did not squeeze all the glue out of the crack. Good carpenter you are.

Excellent vid. Really liked the articulate way you presented this. Camera work was spot on. Thanks.

Mark I have used your screw/ epoxy fix on a stock per your example in another video, but it was up where it was inletted for the receiver. I drilled the escape hole to let the air out to make sure the hole was filled with epoxy and that was worth it's weight. I've always had to fight the hydraulic effect and cavitation caused by that. I did like the bowtie suggestion the Brit offered and gluing pieces of innertube to the inside of the clamp jaws sounds like a viable idea too. but that's why I come here to learn and see how other people resolve these intricate problems. I try them and in the end it makes me a better craftsman. Thanks for every bodies help in this journey of life.

Always a pleasure watching you work, I've learned something new from all your videos. Outstanding!

Always a good day when a new anvil episode drops!

Machinist, Gunsmith, Artist... Great work!

Update on my restoration of the 1916 French M LE 16 in 8mm Lebel. I finally finished the rifle. Thank you so much for referring me to Graf n Son's. They do have the ammo and at a great price! It shoots really high at 100 yds but it's a sweet shooter. BTW, another bad-ass video. God Bless.

Great work my friend. Artwork as far as I’m concerned. Cheers.

As always, excellent repair. You have the patience of Job.

Your a true craftsman. I love your work!

"Ausgezeichnet" Mark, greate work. I love your perfectly explained work steps. Greetings Form Bavaria, Germany.

Always enjoy seeing Mark do his magic

Oh no! A gun owned by a plumber? Let’s end the butt cracks! Great show Pete!

Wow great to see you again!

Thank you for the excellent content! It's always a good time down the rabbit hole during some downtime and maybe learn a thing or two.

Wonderful work, Mark!

Thanks mark! Always love your content

You said butt crack 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣...sorry, love the videos, you are a true craftsman, and a natural in front of the camera.

Yes has been a pleasure ;) Thanks again

Thank you Mark for sharing what you do.. Great video

Another Master class! Thankyou Mark.

Wonderful production sir! I first learned of the " dog bone" method in the Roy Dunlop classic book "Gunsmithing " . I really enjoy watching you perform your art and was thrilled with the way this one turned out. Please keep this content coming.

Thanks for sharing Mark. I used your technique of redisplacing metal by tapping to restore a loose keyway on a lathe shaft, Great!

Thank you, Mister Novak.

So glad I got to watch another amazing video

Outstanding work sir 👏

I don't intend to drop my 525, but it's nice to know that Browning builds them well :)

Outstanding job as always!

thank you Mark, great video

Wow! Great job! I repaired a crack in the forward part of the stock on a German WW2 G43 rifle caused by excess recoil from old, weakened recoil springs. A couple of things that you did here would have helped me blend and even completely hide any trace of the crack. Anyhow, never had a problem with it since.

The complex geometry of old guns vs new is amazing. Almost all double barrels with ejectors are fancy for a reason.. thanks for walking through the sear engagments. It amazes me they could think of how to do this with mechanical systems/geometry and springs

Very impressive repair work.

Elegant work on an elegant firearm!

Another Excellent Job, Mark ! Very Impressive Talent.

love watching a true mechanic 👍 👍 👍

Thank you again Mark!

The grand master Gunsmith.

Being used to looking at semi/auto assemblies, that action is so cool

I had to watch because it said “Butt Crack”. Sometimes being a man-child pays off because it was really interesting. Liked

Marvels peace of work of art... I couldn't had done it better myself, regardless other people opinions "to which respect as well".

A children's joke when I was in primary school: "What would you have if you could have anything in the world?" A:"A new butt. The old one's got a crack in it."

If you laid in a 1/8" SS rod that has been knurled into the grooves. That would massively bolster the repair. I have made similar repairs using JB Weld with great success. Great video... Thanks.

Another fine repair. I would never have thought that watching a man work on the wooden parts of guns would be interesting before I started watching Anvil. :) At about 51:42, I realized what that extra hole in the recoil pad you mentioned at 2:22 is for--it's so they can get at the set screw for the slider without taking it off.

Thanks Mark great video 👏

It's nice to watch a pro. work!!! nice one!

Oh my the spreading of that crack scared the bejueswillikers out of me…

Thanks for sharing great repair

Thanks so much Mark.

Epidermix 372 is also a winner for these repairs.