Fake curl on a gunstock.

[Boz330]

I seem to remember reading about making a straight grained stock look like curly maple somewhere. Does anybody know anything about doing this?

Bob

[Lead pot]

lines drawn with paraffin wax does a fine job. The wax gives it a light finish.
Try it on a scrap block or in the barrel channel to see if you like it.

[Hanshi]

Yes, I've heard of and seen the results of the (simple) process. This was a common practice long ago - Lemans are a good example - and was eagerly accepted. It's done by painting the lines on the unfinished stock before the finish is applied. While a little practice helps a decent job looks very nice.

[Omnivore]

Hanshi is correct. I believe the process is described in some detail in the book, Recreating the American Longrifle, by Buchele, Shumway, and Alexander. You will find it here;
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/303/2/BOOK-RAL (https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/303/2/BOOK-RAL)

Otherwise poke around on Track of the Wolf's web site for a bit. If using a stain, it would tend to bleed out into the grain at random, and so you'd need something thicker, or to first do a seal coat on the wood. If done correctly it can be quite convincing, at a distance anyway.

It would only be practical for mass production, being that the one-off home builder would likely have a much easier time simply obtaining real, figured Maple or Walnut.

We see this technique used on the cheaper musical instruments which were traditionally made of curly (AKA "figured") Maple, such as bassoons, violin backs and sides, etc. Although the book describes it being done with a brush of some kind, if one were very good with an airbrush then I'd think that would be another way to do it, so as to get some degree of "fade" at the edges of the lines.

[waksupi]

I've seen stocks done like that, but never with what I consider pleasing results.

[Lead pot]

This early Hawken is the last rifle I build and I wanted to look like the old original finish would look like that is 150 years old. A dark olive look. The wood had some figure in it but I wanted a little more so I waxed some in I wanted to stay light. The finish is a Reagent with a open flame to darken it. You cant see to much in this photo, it was taken in dim light but out in the sun it shows very good.
It is time consuming preparing the wood but it is worth it when you want a certain look.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b302/940Leadpot/IMG_2642_zpsi4ps1ys7.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/940Leadpot/media/IMG_2642_zpsi4ps1ys7.jpg.html)

[pietro]

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Many frontier gun builders often made their plain stocks (mostly Maple) look fancier with acids and/or passing a flame lightly/rapidly over the wood to singe the high spots in the grain (called "Suigi" finishing, IIRC) prior to finishing the wood.

The Japanese gunmakers started adding faux graining to plain stocks over 30 years ago, most notably on some O/U shotguns. (I had an early-70's .410 U/O that had what looked like fancy stock, until the "woodgrain" started to peel, exposing some kind of plain/greenish-colored wood underneath)

Some Euro makers also did so (Beretta, for one), until the art of applying hydrographic coverings in various woodgrain patterns (including RealTree camo) over ANY kind of stock because refined/common.




https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/fb/ea/ed/fbeaed0018f0527ef669bb1582704d77.jpg

http://s3-production.bobvila.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/grain-painting.jpg

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[johnson1942]

Boz330, do you have a gun stock to refinish?

[JHeath]

The traditional process is to use iron filings in some kind of acid, can't remember what. It turns into a dark reddish solution which is then painted on as "tiger-stripe" or "flame" maple. A bit of googling should turn it up.

[JHeath]

Try here. It's aquafortis.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/pdfs/aquafortis/instructions.pdf

[LAGS]

I did a few stocks Years ago back when I was first doing gunsmithing work.
I soaked a cotton cord in Red Man Chewing Tabaco desolved in denatured Alcohol or water.
Wrung it out so it was only damp.
Then I wrapped the cord around the stock in random patterns, and let it sit for a couple of days.
That stained the stock in random lines, then I LIGHTLY sanded the stock and applied the finish like Linseed oil.
I think regular wood stain will work, if you wring out the cord so it is not applying the stain too wet on the stock.
Try it on a piece of scrap wood first to perfect your technique

[bigted]

I did a few stocks Years ago back when I was first doing gunsmithing work.
I soaked a cotton cord in Red Man Chewing Tabaco desolved in denatured Alcohol or water.
Wrung it out so it was only damp.
Then I wrapped the cord around the stock in random patterns, and let it sit for a couple of days.
That stained the stock in random lines, then I LIGHTLY sanded the stock and applied the finish like Linseed oil.
I think regular wood stain will work, if you wring out the cord so it is not applying the stain too wet on the stock.
Try it on a piece of scrap wood first to perfect your technique

Yes I agree. I did a Lyman GPR in like fashion.

I took cotton string and wound it in various distance to the last ring so as to not have any "line" looking like the one before it ... Then I took an eye dropper and after hanging the stock so it was right side up ... I dropped very dark stain on the string along the top of the stock until the bottom dripped stain. Did this on every string and repeated this for 3 days.

After allowing it to completely dry I drug the string off and as mentioned above ... Likely sand taking care to not but just barely remove the cotton that had stuck to the wood. I thinned some lines so as to appear faffing then coat after coat of boiled linseed oil. All hand rubbed and lite sand between coats ... Took me two weeks of working it to get the finish I was happy with.

I also vinegar finished the metal with cotton string as well but that is nother story.

[nekshot]

leadpot, that is a nice looking gun! I have a 70's TC flintlock kit I that is crying to be redone. Glad I saw this thread!

[Lead pot]

Thank you nekshot. I been thinking on building another one. I have the full sized drawings for another early full stock flint. My next trip east I will hit some sawmills and see if I can find some good figured sugar maple slabs. The one in the picture I started back in the mid 80's sometime and I still really haven't finished it. The barrel still needs finishing and I have a patch box that needs to be cut in yet. I intended to let the barrel get it's own aging but it's not getting it. So both will get the sweat box when I get ready :)

[Boz330]

Boz330, do you have a gun stock to refinish?

No but my Godson worked all summer years ago for his first rifle which was a CVA mountain rifle built from a kit. The stock which is probably birch was done natural or blond if you will. He took his first couple deer with that rifle when he was 11 and 12. He decided he wanted something more authentic looking and is going to work on it this week while on vacation.

I tried to get him to call Tree Bone and see if they could do a stock pre-inletted. He really doesn't have the time or inclination to do one that isn't already pretty close. He really likes the look of a Roller I did with some curly maple. I thought that I had seen something on false curl and figured, rightfully, someone here would know about it. The gun has a lot of sentimental value to him having worked all summer gassing airplanes and cleaning windshields to get it. And of course taking his first deer with it.

Bob

[Reverend Al]

Years ago I had a friend that "Suigi" flamed a plain looking stock to get a Tiger stripe effect. He soaked a string in gasoline and wrapped it around the stock, lit it, let it burn for a few seconds, put it out with a fire extinguisher, and then lightly sanded and refinished the stock. (I think I'd do some testing on scrap wood before trying it on your actual gunstock?)

We had a lot more time and life was sure a lot more exciting when we were younger!

:-)

[Lloyd Smale]

check out water transfer dipping. they can put anything from a camo pattern to beautiful wood to bricks on your rifle stock. Ive had a couple black plastic stocks done buy that method and they turn out real well.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Unless they are making trees differently nowadays, the old-time gunsmiths unquestionably did something. String binding with stain or acid might work. Different woods react in different degrees to acid, and it might be that some react also to ammonia. Oak does, even to the fuming process, and more useful gunstock woods might too.

There is a theory that some early rifles were striped by binding with tarred string and burning it off. But I have seen various authorities saying it doesn't actually work. Flame scorching can, but you would have to use some kind of hand-held shield to avoid excessive charring on sharp edges. Pouring on very hot sand is another possibility.

But what are natural fiddleback stripes? They are a slight ondulation of the grain, so that within a fraction of an inch it presents itself at a different angle to the surface. I have had a long, narrow dent still showing that way after it was physically sanded flush - which of course is an argument for raising a dent as much as possible with steam first.

Are there still cords for the top of curtains which are in fact a narrow steel spring? They would be long enough to take several turns around the stock, and then indent the wood slightly with a mallet before proceeding to the next bit. I've never tried it, but I think you could get a good imitation of natural fiddleback that way.

[Boz330]

I tried using a butane pencil torch yesterday on a piece of oak and that shows some promise, but I'd like to fool with it some more before trying it on the stock. I like the idea of the string and stain method, just need to find some fat cotton string somewhere.

Bob

[Col4570]

Potassium Permanganate crystals in water as a Dye,then using an artists fine Brush paint stripes on with household Bleach,Then apply Oil finish.To remove the Dye from your hands use Bleach.If the Dye gets on your clothing it is permanent.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

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https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/fb/ea/ed/fbeaed0018f0527ef669bb1582704d77.jpg

http://s3-production.bobvila.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/grain-painting.jpg

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Some of the woodwork in my house, was "painted" with faux-grain using this tool. It's done quite well, makes pine look like quarter sawn Oak if done well. I'm suspecting it was done 50+ years ago, and has held up well.