Getting rid of JB weld on a Browning takedown

[Lucifer_Sam]

Greetings all,

My dear brother got our grandfathers Browning 22 takedown, and he tried to repair a split in the stock near the receiver with JB weld, so there's a smear of JB weld on the base of the receiver of the rifle, and a little on the trigger area. I have the rifle now, and I'd like to get this off. I looked on the JB weld site and the stuff either needs to be ground off or heated to 600 degrees. I'm thinking the second option is the better one, grinding it off would leave a bare patch, and I'm hoping that the finish is OK under the epoxy. And I think that 600 is low enough that I can get it off without any heat damage to the rifle.

One way I was thinking about getting rid of the epoxy is by putting the receiver in a shallow pan of water with the epoxy exposed and using a lower temp torch to carefully get it off. Plan b would be just figure out a way to get the whole assembly up to 600 degrees and let it burn or melt off that way. Any input/other ideas/ect would be appreciated.

Also, kind of related, do these have any collector value? This is one of the early ones made by FN in Belgium, and loads from the rear buttplate, not the side of the stock, and says "22 long rifle smokeless" on it, the "smokeless" bit making me think that its an earlier model. But I don't know if these features were typical on the whole early run from 1914- 1950s. The finish is pretty good on it, except the buttplate. If they don't have much value that opens up more options. Thanks.

 

[mnrivrat]

Try just lightly tapping on the JB Weld with a brass hammer - or using a brass punch and tapping on that. Shear strength of JB weld is low and sometimes it can be chipped off without much trouble. (LIGHT - Tapping)

 

[murdoc rose]

mmrivrat is right, its worth a try last time I got a gun with jb all over the mag tube it come off with little effort.

 

[Sav .250]

JB Weld on wood..........? There are some excellent "glues" on the market just for WOOD. Rifle stocks included.

Good luck on GRINDING off that JB weld.

 

[Lucifer_Sam]

I went ahead and gave the chisel idea a try. It worked great. Thanks alot for recommending it, Rat and Murdoc. I actually used a small peen hammer and part of a soft chopstick to not mar the finish, instead of the brass pin.

If anyone happens by and knows a bit about the early takedowns, I'd still be interested in anything youd have to say. All the information I can find about dates and such on the internet is vague, but I'm assuming that there were some changes in the rifle from 1914 to the 1940s, which may not be the case. I may try emailing Browning.

 

[murdoc rose]

post in the research section for questions like that with a pic or two and someone should chime in

 

[natman]

If something like this comes up again, put the rifle in the freezer overnight. The metal will shrink slightly but the epoxy won't. This will free the metal from the epoxy. Worked great on a rifle I bought for a song because the previous owner had glued it into the stock.

 

[Sam1911]

600 deg. is PLENTY hot to affect the heat-treating of metal. Don't do that.

 

[J.A.D.]

Removing JB Weld is actually pretty easy. If it's on metal, you can usually remove it by getting underneath of it with an X-acto knife. It bonds metal, by making a Vacuum type seal, as opposed to a covalent bond.

Heating it to 600 degrees will affect the metal. You can also use a mineral solvent, as JB Weld is essentially a 2 part expoxy that is impregnated with metal. The suspension is soluable, if you use something like Lacquer thinner, or Naptha.

If that doesn't do it, I'd be surprised. Not sure what to tell you on the wood.