Gunstock Finishing

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  • Last Post 05 January 2024
mashburn posted this 01 January 2024

Out of boredom, late one night recently, I started surfing through a lot of the old threads pertaining to gunsmithing. I found one, in which myself, Ken Campbell and others were talking about different types of stock finishes. Here is a weird one that I didn't mention on that thread. In the past, I did a lot of restoration work for myself and customers. One of the hardest things that I found to accomplish if you had to restock an old classic, was to make the new stock, appear to be from the same era as the rifle. I found a stain that would age walnut from appearing new to an aged look. You will have to forgive my old age memory here; I can't remember if I used Nitric acid or Hydrochloric acid. I would mix up a 10% solution and stain the wood. To the best of my memory, it was Hydrochloric. I would brush it on lightly and let it dry. i would then give it a brisk wipe down with a lint free paper towel .If I needed to increase the darkness, I would give it another coat and continue doing so until I got the appearance, I was looking for. It is amazing what the effect will be as far as aging the wood's appearance. 

I haven't used that stain in about 45 years because I lost my source for the acid. I was teaching high school science and would get a bit from the lab and take home and the administration did know what I was doing. In today's time you can't have anything like that In the lab and that is ridiculous as far as being able to teach. I did at one time blow out the glass window in the chemistry lab. You can be that from then on, I had the student's attention when I started to do an experiment demonstration. Now here is the weird easy stock finish I was going to explain For about the last 25 years the only stock stain, that I use, is asphalt dissolved in gasoline.You have to experiment on how much of each to use. I use a scrap piece of wood to the to check the darkness and color. After staining I again use lint free paper towels to scrub it down. After it is dry, I apply sanding sealer and after drying I sand It down and start applying my finish. Now here is the weird stock finish. If so desired after the stock has been stained with the solution and you wipe off the excess, you can take a brown paper sack and give the stock a brisk scrubbing and I mean a brisk scrubbing. You will probably have to use more than one sack. You will be amazed what the stock will look after this. It will be as slick and smooth as a gnat's hinny. If you're in a hurry and want a nice looking, waterproof stock, try it, I have always used old chunks of pavement that break off the edge of the road. I now have some new hot mix asphalt and will be staining a stock shortly, I'm anxious to see if the new asphalt makes a difference.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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delmarskid posted this 01 January 2024

Now that is interesting. My first full time job was as a finisher in a church furniture factory. Handling church pews covered in wet lacquer was kind of hard.

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Tom Acheson posted this 01 January 2024

 

My PBB (Plain Base Bullet) CBA match rifle is a Remington Rolling Block, chambered in .38-55. There was an article on it in Fouling Shot # 273.

 

I had a goofy forearm that was almost 3” wide, thinking during matches the fore arm would be resting in the bag on the front rest. As time went by I found it shot better with the barrel in the front rest. So I decided to get a more reasonable looking fore arm. I bought a blank from CPA. They did the barrel channel to match my large Green Mountain octagon barrel, but the rest of the “shaping” was up to me.

 

My Dremel tool was a big help in opening the back end for the round barrel shank and making a recess for the small steel block on the underside of the barrel that the fore arm screw goes into. The real fun was forming the “cheeks” on the area that contacts the front of the receiver.  CPA left enough wood there for me to work with. My plan there was to replicate what I’ve seen in photos of older original rifles.

 

Then I had to sand the existing butt stock down to bare wood. Here’s where the fun started. My CPA contact told me that in 1910 the wood was seldom stained. The wood was the wood. Over time the wood changed “color” due to aging, handling, sunlight and gun cleaning. 

 

Selecting a stain color took some looking. I settled on a color that looked good. But…the large age difference between the two pieces of wood and non similar grain structure of the two pieces caused the stain to “take” to each piece differently. The butt stock was from maybe 1910 and the CPA fore arm blank is much “younger”. So I found another color stain which brought the two looking closer to each other….but not exact. I guess I’m the only one who can see the difference. Many shooters seem to focus on the color case finish of the metal, not the wood.

 

Then it was multiple coats of spray-on satin clear poly. I hate the Weatherby “dipped in plastic shiny look”.

 

In 2024 I’m going to try a barrel clamp. The barrel null point is 14" from the muzzle but the scope won't let me put it there so I'll need to attach it out front of the scope. I have to make a base for the clamp to be attached to the front rest.

 

Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

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mashburn posted this 02 January 2024

Hello Tom,

I see you have discovered the differences in wood stocks and color. There are so many young rifle people that aren't old enough to know what classic rifles looked like, when they were new. I see rifles, on gun broker, that are advertised as original, but aren't close to being original, yet people buy them and don't know the difference. They just see shiny and blue and buy them. I have also seen rifles that have been sera coated and advertised as original. By the way, I have a very nice, Remington Rolling Block in .257 Roberts Imp. that I'm thinking of selling, if you know anyone who may be interested.

Thanks for your interest,

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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Tom Acheson posted this 02 January 2024

David,

A local match shooter has a "few" Rollers. I'll pass your example on to him.

Tom

 

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gnoahhh posted this 02 January 2024

When it comes to coloring walnut, I refrain from using oil based stains. They're proven to not be resistant to the effects of UV light, and to my eyes they tend to muddy the figure in the wood - sort of muting the holographic effect of subtly pretty grain shifts. To that end I've relied on analine dyes only for those instances when I feel it necessary to change the color of wood. Dyes are color-fast and help make the figure "pop". In the end I strive to not re-color the wood at all before finishing it, if I can help it.

As for introducing petroleum products (ie:gasoline and tar) into/onto bare wood, I lump them in with lye-based products such as oven cleaner (used by some to eradicate gun oil and grease staining from stocks). All that stuff has a deleterious effect on the cellulose of the wood. Not good for long run health of the substance.

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Tom Acheson posted this 02 January 2024

A wood finishier I am not. I've only attempted two stocks and doubt anymore are on the horizon. Just know what I like in appearance. Not sure of the impact of UV on a rifle stock that goes to 6-8 matches a year. I know I would not be able to detect any negative influences, if there are any. The rest of the time it hides in the vault. 

Tom

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gnoahhh posted this 02 January 2024

There is that I guess! In my profession the work I create is done with an eye toward what it'll look like one or two hundred years from now, not just the near term. It's all in how one looks at it philosophically.

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mashburn posted this 03 January 2024

Hello Tom

That change in color with age is what led me to try to come up with a method to match it, an example is replacing a stock or forearm and trying to make that new piece match the old original stock or forearm, and I can do that, most of the time. My customers and myself on my personal rifles, were not concerned about the process I used to get the results they wanted, but they would sure raise He double toothpicks if the match didn't suit them.  The selection of wood used to make the new object is very critical also.There is a big difference in reading and talking about how something should be done than when you actually have to get the job done.

Thanks for your interest and reply,

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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porthos posted this 04 January 2024

having refinished  400+- gunstocks; i learned a little doing so. i have found the best stain (for me) is watco danish oil. it comes in various  shades, from light to dark walnut.  after the stock is stripped,dried and sanded; i flood the wood until it will not absorb any more. then i wet sand with watco, wipe off and let dry for a day or 2. then start the finish of your choice. i used tru-oil until i came across  CP Gun sav'r. it gives the color and richness of tru-oil; but, is a lot "tuffer"  and more durable.  90% + of my work was on target shotguns. therefor the reason for CP finish. these guns were shot +- 10,000 times per year. for the average field gun; tru-oil is fine. one last note. the cheaper gunstock woods (non walnut) will darken more than walnut. be careful with the watco shades.

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mashburn posted this 05 January 2024

I have never used the Danish oil that you refer to. Years ago, I did finish some stocks with tru-oil, that was some-time ago. The last time I tried to use tru-oil, it wouldn't dry as hard as the tru-oil I used several years ago. I thought that maybe something was wrong with that specific bottle and purchased another one and had the same results with it. It wasn't because I was applying it im-properly.

Years ago, when I was using tru-oil as my finish, I finished two stocks differently. I have a laminating oven that I used when building laminated recurve bows in past years. I decided to try baking the true oil on in the laminating over. The oven has a thermostat set at 180 degrees. The first stock was walnut, and it came out real nice. I still have that rifle and it still looks good after several years of usage.  The other stock was a very fancy grade of maple, and to my dismay, the baking shrunk the wood. I was ticked off to the highest. I thought I had ruined lots of dollars in maple. I tore up some terry cloth towels and soaked them in water and stuck them up in the draw bolt hole in the stock. I would let them set a couple of days and stick them on the receiver to check fit. They had only shrunk one way, The tangs on the receiver were still tightly fit in the wood but the wood had shrunk below the surface of the tangs. I kept doing the wet towel process and finally got the stocks to reach their original size. I kept the rifle around for a while to make sure that more shrinkage didn't occur. It never shrank again, and I sold it for some big bucks, it was a beautiful rifle. I never did try baking on a finish again. The maple was highly figured, May-be that made it shrink and the walnut not.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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porthos posted this 05 January 2024

i used tru-oil until the early 1990s. about that time i noticed a change. don't remember what the change was. that is when i changed to  CP gunsavr finish and never looked back.

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ray h posted this 05 January 2024

I've used Watco Teak Oil with a little Japan Drier. I was told it was what Luxus Arms used on their rifle. I've done a dozen or stocks and have been satisfied with the results. I use it to wet sand also. I've used some crumbled brown paper to burnish the stock. Easy to touch up spots if you ding it.

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