Stock refinishing

[MPF]

I am getting close on my BoOF tribute rifle.

Question for all you woodworking guru's out there. How far should I take the sanding before finishing? 220?, 600? 0000 steel wool?

Also I would appreciate any thoughts on stain/oil process to get it to look close to the rest of my collection. It is unfinished walnut.

thanks in advance.

[AFJuvat]

I cannot speak with any certainty on original Krag stocks, but most military stocks in the 20th century were sanded to somewhere between 150-220 grit "as issued", but smoothed out pretty quickly as they were handled/used.

Stocks were not stained, but finished with raw linseed oil. The fatty acids in the raw oil oxidize and darken to a rich reddish brown color over time - it can take years. You can give the oxidation a jump start by putting the oiled stock in the hot sun.

Best source for raw linseed oil I am aware of is health food stores. They sell it as "cold pressed flaxseed oil".

Pure tung oil produces a similar finish.

Raw linseed oil and pure tung oil cure very slowly. It can take a few weeks for the finish to fully cure.

"Boiled Linseed Oil" has most of the fatty acids removed, and has chemical dryers added to speed up cure time. It produces a decent finish, but does not have the rich colors that raw linseed or pure tung oil produce IMO.

To apply it, working in a small area, put a few drops on the stock and rub it in with you bare hand/fingers. Rub it in until it gets hot, then move on to the next area.

If you have an attractive grain pattern and you do not want the stock to get any darker, you can "freeze" the color by using MinWax Tung Oil Finish, which contains both tung oil and a varnish. One or two coats of that over the oil finish will seal the wood and prevent the oil finish from oxidizing further.

Attached a few photos of a Czech Vz 52 rifle with a walnut stock that I finished with raw linseed oil

[butlersrangers]

I may be disbelieved and vilified, but, U.S. military stocks were at one time stained.

This included model 1873, Krag, and early 1903 Springfield, and most earlier ML and breech-loading rifles.

Logwood stain was used to give stocks a reddish brown coloring. The practice was discontinued at Springfield in the 1920's, as an economy move.

[Dick Hosmer]

Which method did you choose to arrive at the shortened stock?

I have two genuine BoOFs, but neither has the "correct" stock. One is in a carbine stock (as is the example at Springfield) and the other has the (presumably original) stock chopped 1/8" ahead of the band.

I guess the total forend swap with joint under band is the easiest, though I've also toyed with the idea of various ways to modify an original full-length stock, which assures a perfect match of color, grain, and patina - and the inside feature (omitted cut) is never going to be right no matter how the stock is faked. My butt joint would be under the front band, which preserves the factory tip appearance. Just whacking the stock and doing a "school-gun" filler would look terrible.

As to finishing the wood, I've read a lot of articles but never actually done it. Depending on what you have to start with, staing may be required, followed by oil rubbing, as described elsewhere in this thread.

Are you in the north or south Bay Area - or have I asked that question before?

[AFJuvat]

I may be disbelieved and vilified, but, U.S. military stocks were at one time stained.

This included model 1873, Krag, and early 1903 Springfield, and most earlier ML and breech-loading rifles.

Logwood stain was used to give stocks a reddish brown coloring. The practice was discontinued at Springfield in the 1920's, as an economy move.

Did not know that.

Could you please tell me your source for this information? Not because I am challenging it, but I would like to get a copy of it for my own records. :)

[butlersrangers]

'AFJuvat' - William S. Brophy noted the discontinuing of Logwood Stain in his work, "The Springfield 1903 Rifles", on page 57.

FWIW - This makes sense to me and explains U.S. gunstock coloring I have observed from different eras.

(I have not personally verified Brophy's research).

[AFJuvat]

'AFJuvat' - William S. Brophy noted the discontinuing of Logwood Stain in his work, "The Springfield 1903 Rifles", on page 57.

FWIW - This makes sense to me and explains U.S. gunstock coloring I have observed from different eras.

(I have not personally verified Brophy's research).

Thank you!

That would explain why many of the older stocks had a richer shade of reddish brown than the WWII era stocks. Most contemporary sources, and even the CMP do not mention the use of a stain.

I am going to have to do some research and see if that stain is still available.

EDIT: Found a source for logwood extract. It looks like it was a rather involved process to make the stain.

http://www.woodfinishingenterprises.com/dyes.html

[Local Boy]

AFJuvat,

Don't know if you've been to this sight?

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?268836-Logwood-stain

Interesting discussion, I wonder if Haematoxylin stains, used by histology for specimen slide staining, would work?

I guess I'll have to talk with our Pathology folks and see if I can acquire some.

Otherwise, I just use Birchwood Casey's walnut stain and apply till I reach the shade desired. Not always fool proof but it applies well and is very forgiving.

Maybe I'm not a purist but I do get the results that appeal to my taste while trying to stay true to the original look.

[craigster]

Alkanet root based stain will also give a nice reddish/brown tone.

[MPF]

To answer Mr. Hosmer's questions, and share this sorted tale with the group:

A little over a year ago I shared some pictures of a sporterized '98 with a carved stock. I bought it for $400 strictly because it had a '96 carbine rear sight. At that time the group pointed out that the barrel length was very close to a BoOF rifle and might make a good project. I started acquiring the metal pieces as all I got with the rifle was the trigger guard.

To Dick's question, I bough the reproduction stock off eBay for about $100. It had been shortened a few inches, but not to carbine length, including the removal of the reduced area under the front barrel band. When I laid the action in the wood it was immediately apparent that the blank had not been positioned correctly prior to machine carving. It was off, not enough to be unusable, but enough to not seat correctly. Knowing my woodworking skills I should have pitched it and started with a new stock. But I decided to use it as a learning experience and started with files, dremel, sandpaper etc to make the action seat. I got it as close as I could and left it at that. I measured my rifles to determine how much farther the stock had to be shortened, cut it and started fashioning the area for the front barrel band. Since the barrel is tapered I was trying to reduct that area slightly to compensate for the barrel. In the process I took off more material than I should. After I finished insulting myself I ordered a new forestock, cut off the end and grafted it onto my stock. It is not perfect, but once I get it stained/oiled it should be fairly invisible. Because of the barrel taper the front barrel band is a VERY tight fit.
I am not really North or South bay. I live in Dublin.