Stock crack and accuracy

[sable tireur]

This is jumping back and forth between the two stocks you're asking about. To simplify all the answers:

The original CZ stock cracked at the cross bolt should not be repaired as it is a grain/structural flaw and will fail again. CZ will stand behind this although switching to a synthetic stock will give them pause for thought.

The second stock you had made is cracked from the action screw out and up through a fault in the grain structure. It can be repaired but it will most likely not perform as you would like it to. It's a flaw which affects the way the barreled action interacts with that stock in an area where pressure is exerted on the barreled action by the action screws through the flaw in that stock. Yes, you can bed it but to what end? Average to mediocre performance? Or just so you can have it cobbled back together.

Professional stockmakers should be your choice for inletting, cross bolts and bedding. Cobbling projects together often results in lesser performance. Cross bolts have been used for a 100 years on the heaviest recoiling rifles ever fielded on every continent without failure when done properly by professionals. Here is a short detailed explanation:

http://www.hallowellco.com/recoil_crossbolts.htm

Illustration for dual cross bolt placement:

An explanation from a highly regarded (yet anonymous) stockmaker:

"The primary area for a split to start is actually through the web of wood right behind the magazine box. This is where your first crossbolt should go.

The reason is this: when fired, the recoil force is transmitted to the stock via the action's recoil lug. The recoil lug moves the wood rearward over the wide area behind it but then, behind that, the stock is divided into two parts to go around the magazine box. The tendency is for the now-separated wood sides to try to momentarily spread & separate further under recoil, and the rear web behind the mag box is a LOT smaller than the front web behind the recoil lug.

I like pillar glass-bedding with a hidden crossbolt behind the mag box and I believe you will too."

He makes a point of mentioning pillars as well as bedding and cross bolts. Mausers had a form of pillar bedding and this process is now a common practice with wood and synthetic stocks for most gunmakers.

No matter what the resolution is with CZ, be sure to use a professional stockmaker or custom riflesmith to have your rifle pillar bedded and cross bolts installed.

Happy Father's Day to everyone!

 

[kaiwang188]

You may also try CZ web shop to see if they have CZ550 Lux stock there. I recently bought a new CZ550 UHR stock
over there for a price of $250. I saw they have CZ550 Lux stock there but didn't pay much attention.

 

[ofbandg]

I have had a couple stocks crack in the same place. Both were on customized Mauser '98's. One was wood and the other was a well-know cheap fiberglass brand. Once this happens it is a difficult fix. I had to route a channel and imbed metal pins in the fiberglass model, as well as re-bed the recoil lug. The wooden one I had to flex until it was almost broken and fill the crack with epoxy, and also re-bed the lug area. It helped that the wood was straight grained and uncomplicated. The wood on your stock looks much more complex. If it were me I would hog out the recoil lug area back to the magazine until the fancy wood on the outside was little more than a veneer and fill it with epoxy bedding. I would also check that the foreword stock screw isn't in contact with the wood or the action isn't flexed when the screws are tightened. I don't know CZ actions but this has an effect on the Mausers and a few other rifles I have worked on.

 

[Jabba]

Thank you for your help everyone. I think I will go the Mcmillan route.
Happy Father's day!

 

[Privi457]

The crack in the CZ wood stock CAN be repaired. A hardwood dutchman needs to be inletted from the inside, epoxyed in place and the crack filled. With grain the way it is there, that stock should have been rejected.

The recoil lug recess should be enlarged and bedded in glass bedding so the lug ONLY touches at the rear.

Any reasonably handy person can do the work

 

[Carsyn.22]

Lots of great answers!
Here are my 2 cents.
Yes that crack will affect accuracy.
And yes it can be repaired, I have a hobby building and repairing violins and in that biz there's a method called chalk fitting, basically glue it back together then hollow out most of it for a several inch area and chalk fit a new piece of hardwood to the hollowed out area and glue in place, then trim flush. If done well you would not see the repair except for a hairline remnant of that crack, you shouldn't need to see any part of the patch when the action is in the stock.
This method takes time and attention to detail, a lot of trial and error but most anyone could do it if they are handy and have a sense of craftsmanship.
Make sure to bed the action well afterward.