Boiling a Wood Stock for Grease/Grime removal?

[303Guy]

You can take a 1 x 1/2 in oak strip and tie it in a knot after steaming it 10 minutes.

Not sure walnut behaves in the same way. Walnut is used for gun stocks because it's so stable. Steam can be a lot hotter than boiling water but I wouldn't think that would make too much difference, depending on just how hot the steam is. It sounds like oak softens much more readily. Then again, not all gun stocks are made from walnut.

[nanuk]

303Guy, most any wood will steam bend, some better than others, but ALL can be moved.

I have boiled several woods for bows, and it works well, I straightened a pretty twisted piece of birch by boiling/steaming. took about 10 applications of that plus a heat gun.

I've never boiled a wood stock though, but am gonna try it on some old ones I have.

also, what works for arrows, for water resistance AND add weight, mix tung oil 50/50 with acetone in a tube and soak them. The acetone helps the oil penetrate deep.

so I'd guess soaking in acetone would also draw out any oils that are deep.

as to steel wool, I have pics somewhere on my old laptop of bowwood that was whiskered with steel wool, and you can see the rusty pieces, and more than a few.... but with the eye, you can't as they blend in and the rust bleeds into the wood, adding a natural color. BUT they are there.

My guess as to why many can use the steel wool technique is they have learned to whiisker with a VERY light touch, and at the right time....

I whiskered a piece of mahogany bow using 360grit... I whiskered it about 5 times until it was perfectly smooth, then I sanded it down to 1200grit... my Wife thought I had already finished it, as it has a refective glow, and felt soft like talc to the fingers.

[Tokarev]

so I'd guess soaking in acetone would also draw out any oils that are deep.

Can't soak for drawing out oil. It has to be applied from soft cotton, then it will draw. Soaking will just spread grime deeper into and more evenly on the wood.

[303Guy]

I'm busy boiling a very oily and ugly Lee Enfield fore-end at the moment. It's hard to believe what's come out so far. The water is a dirty brown with oil floating on top. It looks like black coffee! There's noway heating and soaking the oil would remove this much muck.

[Beekeeper]

OH Dear...OH Dear,
We will never hear from you again!!
You will be labeled a" BUBBA" by the Master Gunsmith in the sky and will never be able to show your face in public again. Such a horrible punishment !!

Don't know when you finished it but would recommend you put something in the barrel channel to ensure it dries straight.

But don't worry I will always cprespond with you no matter what happens


beekeeper

[303Guy]

Before and after.



There is no obvious signs of the wood having warped.

The wood is now pretty free of any oil. I can now shape the stubby front but that will expose fresh clean wood but I can boil it again to 'age' the wood. It doesn't take much to refresh the wood but I actually want it dark. (It's a lot darker than the picture shows).

[Beekeeper]

Looks great!!
I Thought you were doing a complete stock when I said to put something in the channel as it dries.
How are you going to stain and refinish it?


beekeeper

[303Guy]

Well, it's very dark so I'll probably use gun stock oil. I'll probably shorten it even further to simply fit between the bottom metal and the receiver. I was going to make one but then I came across this on which was really ugly.

Something I found is the wood dried up almost immediate being taken out of the boiling water. Now the next day it looks and feels thoroughly dry. I don't remember that from the first one I did many years ago.

[Tokarev]

Something I found is the wood dried up almost immediate being taken out of the boiling water. Now the next day it looks and feels thoroughly dry. I don't remember that from the first one I did many years ago.

Linseed oil has sealed the pores. Water could not penetrate deep.

[John Boy]

I'm not a fan of boiling stocks because it lifts the wood edges up as 'feathers' that have to sanded off. Lets say one has a cartouche, armory rack stamp, etc. on the stock that you want to save because it's of historical importance. Boiling the stock then needs sanding and the cartouche, etc. is destroyed

So, heat the stock with a hairdryer. It softens the embedded grease and grime but does not create any feathers. Then rub the stock with a 1/4 cup or vinegar and 1/4 cup water using a soft towel

Another way is: warm the stock and then rub it with a thin paste of backing soda

Then again - there are Chevy's Chrysler's and Ford's ... so boil the stock if you so desire

[303Guy]

It's true about the 'feathers' however those are desirable because they need to be 'polished' away so as to achieve a a true 'London oil finish'. If those 'feathers' are not raise with hot water and polished away the stock can never achieve that deepest of lustre with the linseed oil treatment - which can take years to achieve 'maturity'. So the trick is, once the oil has been removed, polish with fine sandpaper in the direction of the grain as y'all know, then hot iron a wet towel onto the wood and re-polish and repeat until there is no more feathering. That's when it's ready for linseed oil and original turpentine treatment. It's a labour of love but the end result will warm your heart every time you pick up the rifle. Not going to happen with my little stubby fore-end. I'll paint it if I have to! It's a tool just like the rest of the gun.

I was thinking the heat was preventing water penetration. The amount of oil floating on the water after boiling was astounding - from that small piece of wood. It is still discoloured dark on the surface. I should not have repaired the cracks and such with epoxy until I had finished shaping and smoothing 'cause now I can't reboil it.

[Tokarev]

Dark discoloration can be treated with oxalic acid, available at most beekeeping supply stores or apiaries.

[Bren R.]

Oxalic acid is the main ingredient in most deck washes (like Thompsons - http://www.thompsonswaterseal.com/wa...ners/deck-wash) there are also two part wood bleaches that come in an "A" and "B" bottle for stronger jobs - sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide.

Never use chlorine bleach (guess how I learned?) on wood. You have very little control over it and even after being neutralized, it leaves the wood taking finish in a funny way in the spot it was used.

Bren R.

[303Guy]

Thanks. Now that bleach is mensioned I seem to vaguely remember using household bleach my first time (that was on a 'sorterized' Lee Enfield fore-arm which luckily did not warp). That was because my Mom spilled beetroot juice on it (I was doing it in her kitchen where stoves are commonly found ) I eventually darkened the whole piece using caustic soda. I've no idea where that idea came from from it did produce quite an antique look. I'm pretty sure I did the butt piece the same way to match.

I wish I could remember how I cleaned up my Remington stock. That came out a beautiful rich reddish colour not unlike meranti. The stock is soft like meranti too. It was black and rotten looking in places with black stains running along cracks. All oil and blackening got removed and I repaired the breaks and cracks and missing pieces with clear epoxy mixed with wood filings. I got it to match the wood to invisible. I just don't remember boiling it but I do remember cleaning it with paint thinners.

[rainierrifleco]

i have done it many times. 15 20 min at boil use a solution of baking soda. a whole box to about 5 gal of watter. i made a boil tank 6 in square and cover it with a 2x6 plank. i needs to get hot enough to open the pores in the wood to let the trapped oil out. i loosens old finish also. i keep it weighted down with a brick and off the bottom of the tank with some angle iron. never had walnut warp but i did have a birch stock we thought was walnut warp a little. it will expose any cracks in the wood too. yo see if it is hot enough the wood comed out of the tank dry... try it it will work... this was taught to me by a gunsmith that was in his 80s

[303Guy]

... this was taught to me by a gunsmith that was in his 80s

Me too. I used dishwasher liquid plus some bicarb! I was worried about leaving some dishwasher liquid behind so I boiled it again in fresh water. There was oil floating on the water and I boiled it a long time. Mine doesn't need to be anything fancy - it's just my pig gun fore-grip.