I'm restoring a 1903 A3 Springfield WWI rifle, keeping the original parts. The gun shoots amazingly well. Barrel is in decent condition. However, the top wood handpiece is cracked 6 - 8". The cracked part is thin and gets a lot of heat if the gun is fired a bunch. My son and I went together on the gun. We aren't going to shoot the heck out of it, but after a reasonable number of shots, it's pretty "hot". Not a lot of high heat resistant epoxys out there are for wood. I saw an add for a new Gorilla epoxy that claims high heat resistance. Try to find it locally or on Amazon...not there. The big box stores don't have it. I found it in the UK. Outrageous price to send one tube here. Won't need much, but it will have to bond wood and withstand some heat. Opinions please. I can spread the crack apart 1/8", but when together there is no light between the edges. Do I just mush the epoxy in there. My worry if I do that, when I put the edges together most of it will be expelled. Or do I cut a 1mm opening between the sides and hope for a bond. Or, try for a "V" between the parts which leaves some wood on the outside for continuity. That would be a test of my skills. Looks good on paper. Doubt I could do it successfully. There is room for excess on the inside to leave a small "T" shaped repair. I was also thinking It might be advisable to leave a little liner of the heat resistant epoxy on the inside anyway to protect the crack. Anyone with previous experience with such a problem, would love to hear your take. Other ideas are always welcome. Thanks for taking time to help me solve a dilemma.
Don M