GunStock Re-Finishing, The Roger Method explained with Pics

[AlaskanGuy]

Here we go..... This is the Roger Method of Refinishing Stocks.. Complete...

Rogers Method of ReFinishing Stocks, a How To.

Materials needed:


For finishing or refinishing a gunstock, these are the supplies you will need.
1. Friebings leather dye. avail. at a shoe repair shop, a saddle makers shop or the internet, and tandy leather shops. Use the color you want your stock to be. I generally use medium brown with a drop or two of red mixed into it. This gives a nice old world english red stain that is beautiful.
2. Pumice rubbing powder and Rottenstone rubbing powder available on the internet or Constantine's or a good hardware store.
3. HUTS plastic polish. Available on the internet.
4. Brownells 5F finish polish. available from Brownell on the internet or their catalog.
5. A yard of pure cotton flannel cloth, cut and folded in to polishing cloth squares.
6. Several sheets of 220 grit, 400 grit, 600 grit, and 2000 grit wet sanding auto sandpaper, available at auto supply store.
7. Watco Dainish finish oil clear penetrating finish.
8. a good thinner like SunnySide Specs Paint Thinner or equivalent.
9. Varathane's Polyurethane high gloss finish or Tru Oil, your choice.

Some Thoughts Before you start:

Now if your refinishing a gun stock and it is birch their could be a little shrinkage. If you are refinishing beech their could be a lot of shrinkage. Beech is strong and beautiful, but shrinks more that any other wood when worked with. Walnut doesn't shrink much nor does Maple and Cherry doesn't shrink at all.

Cherry is the most stable wood you can use in a gun stock. Their are 3 foot levels out on ranches around here that are made of Cherry wood and over 100 years old and still perfectly straight and in real good condition. It seems to never warp. The most beautiful wood to me if your building a gun stock is:
1st West coast quilted Maple.
2nd Birds eye Maple.
3rd Flamme or Tiger stripe Maple.

Of course their are other beautiful woods and if you want a real reasonable priced wood, birch is very reasonable, stable
strong and beautiful. Do NOT ever use Oak. It is strong and beautiful but brittle. I made a wonderful stock out of quarter cut Oak, but the first time I fired the gun a chunk flew off it. After gluing it back together several times I threw it away and made one out of Quilted Maple. For those of you who have over the counter guns that use Beech or Birch you will be very surprised at how beautiful that wood can turn out. I refinished a common CVA muzzle loader that had beech wood for the stock. It turned out to be a very beautiful piece of wood under that generic bland brown finish. Again remember beech can shrink when worked with but once you know that you can deal with that with a couple of good wood working tools. Now two things a little off the track. If you need a good wood file, the best wood file available in my opinion is a hoof rasp for horses. Nothing the wood-working guys make beats a good hoof rasp. It will last forever and really cuts.

Another thing to think about is you are going to get very sticky and tacky feeling hands when you finish a gun stock. Here is how to clean your hands perfectly. Rub cooking oil into your hands completely and then dish soap on top of that completely. When you wash that mixture off, the varnish will come with it. No more ugly tacky hands.

[AlaskanGuy]

Stock Prep

Now lets get started with the prep work. Take the gun stock off the gun and strip it down so you have just the wood stock. Remove all possible metal. 93799

If it has been varnished heavily you will have to strip it off with a good varnish remover. if it just has a thin bland generic finish, you can just sand that off.93800

Be SURE to sand it with the grain and only with the grain. You will be wet sanding with water and 220 wet sanding paper. Never Never never ever sand across the grain as it will show up in the final finish and it is hard to sand out. Again always sand with the grain. Remember you don't have to make the mistakes I did, As I had no one to teach me but books and they left out a lot of things. If their is a crack in the wood that is small deal with it this way:

Sand smooth on top of it and dry completely, even down into the wood. Stain with your leather dye mixture completely and let completely dry. Now into the crack drip the most thin and watery superglue. Let dry over night as super glue dries in wood a lot slower than it does on your fingers, up to a day. You may have to do it a couple of times as the glue can shrink also. Then when dry sand down to the surface. if the crack is to big, pry open a little and if clean glue with gorilla glue and bind tight with a strong cord. When dry scrape off the excess and sand to the surface smoothly. Always stain the super glue filled cracks first or you will never be able to stain that spot and it will show up like a sore thumb.

You can also steam out small dents and such with a damp towel and a iron. Just dampen the towel, and place it over the top of the dent, and then lay the hot iron over the dent. The steam will lift the damp wood and swell it, lifting out the dent.

Stock should looks like this when finished stripping....93801 93802

When you have the stock perfectly sanded, smooth and ready to finish do this:

Put the gun back together to see if every thing fits. If the butt plate is too big you will have to file it down and then sand the filing smooth on the butt plate. If it is metal the reduced sides will have to be refinished by you. If it is plastic or hard rubber, it is no problem and done. If their is wood in-letting for the trigger guard it may have to be enlarged to fit the trigger guard into it again. The barrel channel should not be a problem except in Beech stocks. If the barrel goes in too tight, open up the channel with 180 or 220 grit sandpaper. Make sure every thing fits before you move to the refinishing. If you don't do it now, you may wish you had.

Now put a small wood screw in to the area of the butt stock that goes under the butt plate. This is to attach a strong string to hang your stock from the ceiling in the drying room. 93803
I use the wash and furnace room in my basement. Here in western Nebraska we have real warm and dry basements as there is low humidity here in this high plains area.

[AlaskanGuy]

Staining with leather Die

Grab some Plastic gloves for this part. Take your leather dye and soak the stock several times so it really penetrates. Let dry between soakings and you can work the dye into the wood with wet 220 sand paper lightly working the dye into the wood with the grain. The goal here is to not take off a bunch of wood, but to help get the stain deep into the wood. Wash the excess dye off with water before you start dyeing again. When your stock has taken dye deep into the wood wet sand a little so the dyed bare wood is smooth and ready for the Next step with Watco Oil.

Watco oil.

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When the stock is completely dry really rub in the Watco oil. Wait several min and before it gets tacky wipe off the excess
oil and hang up to dry for a day. Wet sand lightly again and let dry and apply Watco again. Do this until the wood can take no more. the Watco will just sit on the surface and get tacky. Watco can never build up on the surface, it just turns to gum there. Let dry and lightly wet sand again smooth and let dry completely, no matter if it takes a day or 2. Then move on to the next step.


Polyurethane

Now take your poly high gloss finish or true oil and thin at least to half with your thinner. Remember, don't set your stock next to a heat source as that can really ruin a stock. Just hang it in a warm out of the way room. You must keep the wife happy so be neat and clean. Maybe even put a old towel on the floor under the stock. Also never use a electric buffer to sand or polish a stock, do every thing by hand. It is the only way. If you are tired, dont work on your stock that day as that is the day you will make a mistake. You must rested
and focused or mistakes will happen. Do you know why their are some really nice inlays on some custom or redone gun stocks? Sometimes they to cover up mistakes. A nice mother of pearl or bone inlay can cover up a flaw or mistake. Its been done by a lot of guys.

With your index finger of your dominant hand rub a little poly finish or true oil into the whole area of the stock. let dry at least a day or more if need be, it has to be dry. Put on several coats like this over several days. 93811 The top gun in the pic has the first coat of Poly applied, the bottom gun in the pic is ready to have poly applied. If you have lumps and bumps sand out with 400 grit and water. When you have a good covering and it is completely dry wet sand with 600 grit and pumice stone powder on the cutting surface of the paper and water until the finish is perfect and smooth. If wood has come through the finish, refinish that spot again and again with poly finish until it matches the rest of the finish. Smooth the trouble area when dry just as you did above. now when you have a complete finish that is smooth it will be time to start the cloth polishing. Be sure to let everything dry completely.
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Cloth Polishing.

Keep all you cloths with the different polishes on them separate from each other. Keep each one in a baggy that is labeled to what it is. They last for a long time and get better with age. Take a folded square of cloth and impregnate with furniture oil and pumice powder. Use the furniture oil your wife uses to rub down her wood furniture. This can take quite a while so relax and watch tv and rub your entire stock until it shines. Wipe off the excess pumice powder. Relax again in front of the TV again but this time rub down with a Rottenstone impregnated oiled cloth. When you have finished rubbing the entire stock down, switch to the HUTS plastic polish. It comes in a cream so no oil is needed. At this stage your stock will look fantastic. Now go to the Brownells 5F polish. It is a cream also and needs no oil. rub rub and rub. The more you do with the 5F, the more it glows and gets better.

You now have a stock that will stand out in a group, is very stable and will last and last.

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Now if you want a old type oiled finish stock i will tell you how to do that. Do the whole process through the staining. Then don't use watco oil or poly finish or true oil. After the staining go to thinned down boiled linseed oil or some thing like it that is oil and has no resins or Hardeners. Rub in numerous coats of this oil and then rub off the excess after several minutes. When the wood will take no more and has dried for a while rub down with a cloth impregnated with furniture oil and pumice stone powder until you get a smooth soft shine. rub in furniture oil and wipe off the excess and you have a old type stock. Walnut works best with this type of finish. I have a plains Hawken type muzzle loader i built out of plain walnut and i used this method to make it look 1840/s. It is covered in brass tacks and looks like the real thing. Shoots good also. would knock a buffalo down . 93819

Have fun and show us your work. Any questions PM me as you may run into a unexpected problems and we can work through it together. Do no short cuts and do it slowly and you will get tired explaining how to do a stock when you go to the range to shoot. Your work will speak for its self. it isn't rocket science and now you know the secrets. I am very anxious to see many beautiful stocks on Cast Boolits
done after this post.

Roger1942

PS... Below are some examples of what you can do using these methods....

[AlaskanGuy]

Here are the examples of what you can accomplish... I have used this method on 4 stocks already, and most of you have already seen my results. I want to thank Roger for teaching me this method, and taking the time to pass on what he has learned in his experiences. Bless you Roger, and thank you for sharing with me, and the rest of the Cast Boolits group... and Thank you sir, for becoming a friend....

AlaskanGuy

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Now Post yours as you develop your style and skill... a great wintertime project.... I have Completed the instructions so Post away...

[nekshot]

Thank you, well put together and explained. My bland cherry has hope after all!

[daniel lawecki]

Thanks for the post well done. My gun will come apart tomorrow to start this project.

[AlaskanGuy]

Maybe this one will become a sticky. Roger1942 worked hard on it..

[starmac]

Would it be wise to steam out what a guy could of the dings and dents first, or would that complicate things?

[AlaskanGuy]

Its in there star.... He he

[johnson1942]

sure go ahead, if they are big enough. i would say a cotton cloth between the source of steam and the dent. im glad you brought that up as ive never faced dents, just bad cracks. i encourage anyone who has knowledge of removeing dents to help us out. thanks for the post.

[AlaskanGuy]

I added a small piece about dents.....

[GRUMPA]

The thing that gets me in this type of thing is the amount of knowledge that goes along with it. I was just in my gun room looking at my stocks wondering if I should or not. With the amount of work I do now do I even have the time to do this.

I know from my stand point this is something I want to give a whirl and see how it goes.

Great info and thanks AG

[shredder]

Nice writeup. That is a screamer piece of curly maple on that caplock! I bet it just ripples in the right light.

[starmac]

Its in there star.... He he

Yep, Bigger than Dallas, I must have somehow spaced right over that part. lol

[huli]

Very Interesting. I have done several stocks and furniture items in my time, But not this one. I will give it a try for sure, Thanks For Sharing the method.

[starmac]

Well it sure didn't take long to get to the top of the page.

This has done got my mouth watering, wondering what is under the finish on some of mine. lol
I really don't care that much what mine looks like, but I've got some old ones I'm saving for the grandson, I will have to try this on.

[AkMike]

Looking Good!

[Larry Gibson]

Should definitely be a sticky!

Excellent post and very informative.

Larry Gibson

[Wayne S]

Should definitely be a sticky!

Excellent post and very informative.

Larry Gibson Diffidently second the thought on a sticky, to much knowledge to just get lost in the arrives, And after the curly maple , I almost needed a "moment"

[johnson1942]

i really should have added one more thing. so here its is. if you ever work with cow bone or any kind of bone for pistol grips or knife handles, leather dye of the type and brand mentioned in the supply section above will bring out grain on that bone better than even wood. just soak them in some of it for a while and cow bone looks like figured granite. the knife in the pictures of my guns has a handle like this. ive had more than one person say, how did you fit granite on a knife for a handle. you dont have to finish bone with any sealer or poly. just smooth with wet sand paper so scratch free then soak in leather dye for a night. the next day wipe off extra dye and go to polishing the bone. if it is scratch free just go to the HUT and then the brownells 5f. i think if someone done a pistol grip from cow bone scales like on a .45 auto it would be breathtakeing. they would be explaining forever how they did it. works good for powder horns also. had to add that, johnson1942

[histed]

So I read this sticky and started looking at my model 70. Long history with that rifle, so just putting a Boyd's on it wasn't really an option. Today was a 'snow day' in Central PA and I had cabin fever. I took a few pics before I started...and learned a few things most of you already know. Citrus strippers are useless for taking varnish off a Model 70 stock, even if rubbed with steel wool. Varnish gums up sandpaper very quickly, make sure you have plenty if you go that route. It IS possible to sand around the checkering without screwing it up. So, as of now, all the old finish is off, the stock is sanded down to 220 and I'm trying to figure out how to fix the hole in the forearm. I'll post the pics when I get them off the camera. On the up side, I discovered that the wood is nicely figured walnut and should look great with a tung oil finish.

[chsparkman]

Very well done. Thank you gentlemen.

[AlaskanGuy]

Still waiting on them pics histed.... Lets see what you got sir...

AG

[histed]

Alaskaman - sorry about that. I finally figured out that my files were too big to attach. Think its fixed now. Here goes
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As you can see, the stock has been "well used." Didn't want to replace it, though, as this belonged to my friend and reloading mentor. When he died 16 years ago his widow gave it to me. Lotta good memories here

[histed]

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[Edit] Tried reloading the pics. this is what it looks like after the old stuff is removed



This afternoon, if everything works out, I want to go over it again with at least 220. Then, if the weather hold, off to Lowe's for finer paper, pumice stone and so on. The wood is walnut. I want to add a reddish cat to it, but have on clue what might work. Red Mahogany?? Also nee to decide what to do with the two unwanted holes in the forearm. The shop teacher at my school (I teach history) has a plug cutter. Maybe that will work.

[AlaskanGuy]

Cant see the pics of the stock after prep....

Looks like you are on your way sir... Will be able to tell more after the prep pics are posted... I tell you what though, it will be beautiful... Look at the awesome grain and movement??? Wow.. It should look totally awesome when finished...

AG

[Texas Tinker]

Great piece Alaskan Guy. Thanks for taking the time to share. I'm looking forward to using your tips :)

[No_1]

Beautiful looking stocks. Nice work!

[Char-Gar]

First class post and job. The only thing I could add is the use of Minwax Prestain before the leather dye. On beech and birch, it will enable the die to take an even color without splotching or spoting. I just apply a coat with a small brush and allow to dry as per the instruction on the can.

Here is a Jap Type I stock, I refinished using the Minwax Prestain, Fiebings medium brown dye and the BLO. Of course after removing the old finish and prepping the wood pretty much as you describe. I have refinished beech/birch with and without the prestain and I get much better results with the prestain.

[Char-Gar]

So I read this sticky and started looking at my model 70. Long history with that rifle, so just putting a Boyd's on it wasn't really an option. Today was a 'snow day' in Central PA and I had cabin fever. I took a few pics before I started...and learned a few things most of you already know. Citrus strippers are useless for taking varnish off a Model 70 stock, even if rubbed with steel wool. Varnish gums up sandpaper very quickly, make sure you have plenty if you go that route. It IS possible to sand around the checkering without screwing it up. So, as of now, all the old finish is off, the stock is sanded down to 220 and I'm trying to figure out how to fix the hole in the forearm. I'll post the pics when I get them off the camera. On the up side, I discovered that the wood is nicely figured walnut and should look great with a tung oil finish.

Formby's Furniture Refinisher will remove varnish and lacquer like magic when applied as per the instructions on the can. It won't remove oil finish or any of the new polymer finishes. Many of the proprietary gun stock finishes like Tru-Oil and Lin-Speed are in fact lacquer or varnish base and will come off easy with this stuff.

[histed]

Char-Gar - thanks for the help. This goes in my notebook for next go-round. If I'd seen your Jap before I sold mine, I'd have done the same thing, I think. Mine was 6.5 - what's this?

[johnson1942]

i very happy to read alot of guys are looking at their old guns and realizeing the potential that is in the old stock. they can be made to be better than they ever where ment to be. if a person wants to make the stock all the same even color the pretreatment is a good idea. i my self like the movement of the grain in birch and the diff shades that come out of it. i guess it is a matter of personal preference. as far as have a touch of red in the color of your stock, as mentioned in how to refinish a stock a few drops of red leather dye in medium brown leather dye will do the trick. give you a english or winchester brown red color to your finish. if you want to cover up the plugged hole in you stock. try a couple of inlays. you can find them on the internet for guitars and ect. also you can look under knife makeing materials for inlays . you can cut your own or buy precut inlays. many a beautiful gun has had inlays put over mistakes or flaws in the wood. you could even make a inlay out of a lighter colored hardwood and it would look nice. all it takes is go at it slow and do it carefully. im building a custom muzzleloader right now and im going to put two bone inlays in the stock. again enjoy reading what every one is doing.

[Char-Gar]

The Japanese Navy wanted rifles for their "Marines" and the Army controlled the Jap arsenals, so the Navy contracted with Italy to produce 6.5mm rifles on the Carcano action. In all other respect they looked like and felt like Arisaka rifles, although on the whole, they were more accurate and better made than the Jap made rifles. The rifles were made in Italy and loaded on cargo vessels and transferred to Jap cargo subs in mid-ocean for deliver to Japan. They are called the Type I, "I" being Italy.

If you want to stain your Winchester stock with a red element, I will suggest "Chestnut Ridge dark walnut military stain with a hint of red". This is an oil based stain that works well on walnut stocks. Beech and Birch requires an alcohol base stain like the aforementioned leather dye.

I have not tried it, but a 50-50 mix of Minwax red mahogany and Minwax black walnut stain is supposed to produce a color much like original vintage Winchester color.

[histed]

Minwax I've used with great success. This is what I was thinking and I have plenty of scrap to try it on. Thanks, too, for the history background. Knew the Japanese/Carcano existed, just never knew why. Another story to keep my history classes awake. Johnson1942 (as in the Johnson rifle?) I have done the light-on-dark inlay and really like it. Maple with walnut looks really good IMO. This one will likely get a walnut plug, though. Weird as it sounds, I need to keep it as close to the original that Russ bought - just feels right. Thanks everyone. Keep you posted as the project progresses (faster with more snow, slower without it)

[histed]

96656
Finished Product
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There are some things I'm not happy with but I think it came out well for a first try
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I love how the grain pops out, and the reddish undercast
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Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement

[johnson1942]

thanks for posting the finished stock. it looks very even and well done. something you can proud of. as for perfection, i wish i could be perfect also. each time i do a stock it always seems to be better than the last one. ive been waiting for your pictures and checking every day. its always fun to see what kind of grain is in a piece of wood. im working on a cherry stock right now. i didnt think their would be any grain in it but i was very surprised to find it has a lot of grain. cherry seems harder to sand out the scratches that other woods ive worked on but they did come out. my arms actually got sore from all the sanding i did on it. also i found out with cherry that i had to mix a lot of acatone with the leather die to get it to penatrate evenly. again thanks for the post and if you do more please show us.

[histed]

Thanks for the kind words, Johnson. Post yours when you're done. We has yet another snow day today. Since snow and liquid lead don't mix well AND I was driving my long-suffering wife crazy, I decided to try my luck with my Savage Mark II. Factory finish looked like chocolate milk. Under that stain was a birch stock. I've read that birch can be a pain to stain, but the stock has more grain and ...."bird's-eye???" than I thought. I also want to glass bed the action - something I've never done before. Weather guys are calling for another round on Monday/Tuesday, so... At least I should have some nice looking stocks by March.

[moose0011]

9674096741 Ok AlaskanGuy.. This is the First Stock I every Carved from a Block of Wood and did everything too.. I made it a few years ago and gave it to my brother as a gift. I decided shortly after I wanted to make a synthetic stock for him to drag around in the brush. I don't know if you can see the pics or not

[moose0011]

96742 Here is another one I am actually working on right now.. I actually just went down to my messy work bench and took this picture for you.. I promise you when I finish this one you will drop your jaw.. The wood is amazing.. it is an exhibition grade piece of bastonge Walnut

[moose0011]

96746967479674896749967509675196753 I am also currently doing this stock.. I am doing it for a friend of mine that works for Hornady.. I hope the pics come in order but it is a piece of Curly maple that I decided to make look like a tiger for the heck of it

[moose0011]

96754 This is my dry box i made. I regulate the temperature and the humidity with it. on the far right is my 458 Win Mag Stock I got a broken Kevlar stock that had an Aluminum bedding block.. I remilled it for my Mauser 98 and fiberglassed and devconed the inside for a 1 to 1 fit. I will paint it and start finishing it withing the next week or so.. and I will give you an update.

[moose0011]

Ok well I don't usually take pictures of my work.. maybe I should but O well. I hope this is what you wanted.

[AlaskanGuy]

Very nice job moose..... Beautimus... Lol. What are you using to stain with on that maple??? Leather die??? Minwax???

AG

[moose0011]

transtint is what I use.. it is a Dye not a Stain.. You can purchase it at woodcrafters. I used black then I sanded it to orange. You can't put poly over the dye.. you have to use a Dewaxed Shellac to seal it.. make sure you do not get it to hot with the shellac on it. Make sure it is Dewaxed shellac. you have to put it on before you put a finish on it. truoil, pro custom.. I used just plain high gloss minwax poly, high gloss I thin with naptha and wet sand with 320 in between coates. I do it until I have all the pores filled..

[moose0011]

wait I only answered for the orange and black stock.. the first one I ever did I I used poly to fill pores then mud rubbed then finished up with pro custom oil with a hand rub finish. I have no idea how many I have done now but I am always experimenting with crappy wood and what not trying to make it look good.

[histed]

Moose - great work! I've got a Savage 110 LA I's like to make a stock for. I have a piece of curly maple I was saving for a muzzleloader that's pretty special - it came off the farm I called home for 54 years. I've read that inletting the action is the toughest part of the operation. Any advice for a raw beginner?

[johnson1942]

cut the outline on a band saw. use the old stock to make the out line. over and over mark the new stock from measurements from the old stock. use good wood chisles. always have the old stock next to you to check and recheck. go slow and dont work distracted or tired. the new stock is in that block of maple you just have to bring it out. have good shapeing files. flat ones, round ones and 1/2 round ones. i start out with a hoof rasp, i think it is the best rough wood file their is. draw lots of lines that are measured from the old stock. go ahead, your not punching a clock, take your time and it will get done.

[Stephen Cohen]

A couple of ideas on getting rid of the two holes. you can use a hole saw to cut a plug out of but under the recoil pad, and use this to cut an inlay plug, make sure the inlay grain runs same way as stock. Another idea is cut off offending area and replace with a contrasting coloured nose cap.

[johnson1942]

stephen, i can see youve been their before. theirs always a way to solve a problem isnt their. i like your idea about a nose cap.

[Stephen Cohen]

Yes I just did a nose cap on a custom martini stock that was damaged. The hole saw idea was my bosses idea when I was only a young apprentice repairing and old 303 Lee Enfield.

[histed]

Now I'm scared. You guys are giving me too many "bright" ideas! Shaping a noes cap shouldn't be a big deal and I guess the barrel channel could be cut using either a rat tail file or a dowel rod and progressively finer sand paper. Biggest question - how (and when) do you attach it? I'm guessing glue, but what kind? do you need dowels or biscuits? I've seen this done using both straight and angle cut. Be kinda cool to put a matching grip cap on the pistol grip. Another project for NEXT winter, me thinks

[johnson1942]

get a 1/2 inch bradpoint drill bit. drill straight back into the stock a 1 inch or so in from the front on the square cut off spot. do the same to the nose piece. cut a 1/2 wooden dowel to the right length, just a little short for the glue behind it. use gorilla glue and rig it tight together, straight and so it doesnt move. also glue on the two ends that come together. also can use a 3/4 dowel if you want. brad point bits a expensive in the bigger one so you might want to stay with 1/2 inch. that one way.

[moose0011]

Moose - great work! I've got a Savage 110 LA I's like to make a stock for. I have a piece of curly maple I was saving for a muzzleloader that's pretty special - it came off the farm I called home for 54 years. I've read that inletting the action is the toughest part of the operation. Any advice for a raw beginner?

Sorry for taking so long to respond to this.. I forgot I posted the pics on here.. As Johnson said make and outline of how you want it. I like to to cut about 1/8" outside the line and on my length of grip I like to cut around 1/4 that way I can keep picking it up as I am holding it up and see what feels right. Inletting is the easy part because everything underneath is hidden when put together. make sure you measure the gap between your action screws and make some small holes at that distance apart where you want your reciever to set. I like to take some steel rods and put threads on them to match the reciever threads and screw them into the reciever and use them as guides in the holes.. Make sure you make the holes just barely bigger than the rods and make sure the rods are the same size as the Outer diameter of the action screws. That way when you set the reciever down you can also slide the bottom metal up the rods to trace around.. I will take a wax pencil and and machines square and go around the outside of my barreled action. and you can stat removing the wood inside. If you get down close to where you need to be. I will smoke the action and barrel and or bottom metal.

When I say smoke I will take an oil candle or lantarn whatever you call it. and light it and hold the metal over the fire and it will blacken the metal.. and when you slide it in the reciever the smoke on the metal will indicate where it is touching the wood. You can also use Pressian blue I think it is called. you can get it from brownells.

When you get close I will scrap a small amount of metal at a time.. you can make a scraper out of a bandsaw blade that is bad or any other piece of metal.

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask.. If I don't answer you can PM me to check and I will gladly. I hope that helps you

[moose0011]

Now I'm scared. You guys are giving me too many "bright" ideas! Shaping a noes cap shouldn't be a big deal and I guess the barrel channel could be cut using either a rat tail file or a dowel rod and progressively finer sand paper. Biggest question - how (and when) do you attach it? I'm guessing glue, but what kind? do you need dowels or biscuits? I've seen this done using both straight and angle cut. Be kinda cool to put a matching grip cap on the pistol grip. Another project for NEXT winter, me thinks

You can use a dowel rod in some places like around a cheek piece or top of the grip. If it was me I like to wrap a rubber Eraser with sandpaper. so it can contor the stock and not leave flat lines down the stock.

I like to use wood rasps I have them from rough to smooth. but then again it is my profession. I have used metal files but make sure you clean it very well and get all the oils off of it.

the nose is easy but I use a table sander to rough it out then.. sand paper in the palm of your hand and act like your polishing the knob.. go rough to smooth on the sandpapers. .

[moose0011]

Everyone has a different way of doing the same thing. There is more than one way to skin a cat and get the same result or close. If I do a different color nose cap I will glue it after I get the barrel channel pinned and glued on and then match the barrel channel. after I have the barrel channel I will then shape it or use an old block plane or rasp to get it one to one with the rest of the wood. I will also add if you are doing ebony or other hard woods that like to crack I will cover with elmers glue every night so they are sealed. so I try once I get them on to do every thing I can every night so they don't crack over night. I have had it happen and it sucks.. Food for though

[johnson1942]

im surprised the ebony cracks as i did the whole forestock of my cpa stevens 44 1/2 in a solid piece of ebony. didnt even have to finish with any coating. just polished to a high shine. that was 10 years ago and still looks good, it was so hard that it wore out a 1 1/8 round nose router bit in just that one route for the barrel.

[moose0011]

im surprised the ebony cracks as i did the whole forestock of my cpa stevens 44 1/2 in a solid piece of ebony. didnt even have to finish with any coating. just polished to a high shine. that was 10 years ago and still looks good, it was so hard that it wore out a 1 1/8 round nose router bit in just that one route for the barrel.

thats when they let the ebony dry out.. most of it you buy now is covered with wax. meaning they just cut it off and didn't let it dry out.

[johnson1942]

thanks

[Bullshop Junior]

I need to redo the stock on my 92. This looks really good!

[moose0011]

I need to redo the stock on my 92. This looks really good!

When you say redo? do you just mean refinish?

[AlaskanGuy]

Before and After Pics of my Milsurp K31 using Rogers Method....

97710 After 97711

97712 After 97713

97714

Rogers method works for me.. and you dont have to make things all glossy and such... I went about 1/2 way with shine and removing all of the problems with the stock... To me it still looks like a milsurp, but a Nice one.... :D

Thanks Roger

Mark
AlaskanGuy

[johnson1942]

what a rifle and i really like beech. your right one doesnt have to go to the high gloss. if one wants the softy oil finish glow, pumice stone powder is enough. i knew you were working on some thing, gets addictive doent it? thanks for the post.

[histed]

Moose - Sorry so long gone! Your post helps a lot - both you and johnson1942. I'd never tackle this before reading your posts, since the entire action inletting seemed like voodoo to me. I'd also read different places that this was no job for a noob and Bubba was incapable .... Now I feel like I can do this if I take my time, work slow and don't force it. Thanks to both of you. When I get going - likely not till next winter - I'll likely become your least favorite hemiroid whit questions, but I do appreciate your offer.

AG - SWEET! Nice work, as usual

[johnson1942]

the whole purpose of the sticky was to help every one who had a mind to, do things with wood that they only thought about before. if i can do it, anyone can. it is really satisfying makeing a piece of wood look the best that it can. thanks for the feed back

[moose0011]

Moose - Sorry so long gone! Your post helps a lot - both you and johnson1942. I'd never tackle this before reading your posts, since the entire action inletting seemed like voodoo to me. I'd also read different places that this was no job for a noob and Bubba was incapable .... Now I feel like I can do this if I take my time, work slow and don't force it. Thanks to both of you. When I get going - likely not till next winter - I'll likely become your least favorite hemiroid whit questions, but I do appreciate your offer.

AG - SWEET! Nice work, as usual

No problem.. just remember measure 2 times cut onces.. I tend to then think about it even before I cut and measure again and think ahead. sometimes it isn't far enough.. The neat thing is even if you mess up you can fix it one way or another it is just trying to figure out how and then doing it. If you haven't done it before I would say to make sure you are working with fairly straight grained wood.

[Bullshop Junior]

Has anyone tried colored die? Amanda wants me to paint the stock on the handi rifle blue, but I think dying it and refinishing would be better.

[johnson1942]

bullshop junior, check out steward macdonald guitar finishing catalog. they are on the internet also. what you are talking about is how to finish a guitar. that kind of finish would be good on a gun stock. other good guitar repair or building sites should have what you want also. also call a one man guitar building shop and talk to the builder on how to use the products you chose, ive done that a few times. steward macdonald also has dvds and poss. books on shade busting and finishing a guitar. let us know how it turns out.

[w5pv]

You all make me envious of your talents,mine would look like a bubba job or a goats' *** sowed up with grape vine

[johnson1942]

thanks for the good laugh, but dont underestimate your abilities.

[Old School Big Bore]

Thanks so much w5pv for a new sarky remark. Can't wait to use it on my shooting buddy.
I've done a lot of stocks and other wood over the decade, in this general manner. Right now I'm tacticalizing my B92, and since I can't find a black synthetic furniture set for it I'm-a rasp the former, poorly-patched-by-someone-else buttplate notch into a semi-Monte Carlo notch, sand it down, then dye it black with an alcohol base dye, seal it with a matte poly, and fit a new black pad on it.

[johnson1942]

check out the refinished restored rust bucket mossberg the alaskan guy did on the factory rifles section of cast boolits. really nice job.

[menotseeyou]

AlaskanGuy (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?32433-AlaskanGuy)..Sent PM

[johnson1942]

i want to update my finishing process. ive changed what i do on the top coat and it saves a lot of time and i think comes out even better. in stead of poly urethane as a top coat ive gone to a spray on high gloss clear enamal that they top coat paint finished on cars. the ones ive got at auto supply stores in a spray can have been good but recently the lady who runs the local auto parts store did some research for the highest end one she could get. ive tried it and it is the very very best ive tried out their. cost more but it is worth every penny. goes on better, polishes out faster and looks better. it called napa specialty cut-in acrylic clear, number 8887. says it is available in canada also. cost about 25 dollars for a spray can in stead of the usual 4 to 9 dollars. again it is worth every penny. put several coats on for a top coat, let each one dry good before you put the next coat on. rub out when completely dry first with pumice powder, then with rotten stone, then with HUTS plastic polish then finally with brownells 5F rubbing compound. you wont have to rub much with pumice and rotten stone before you get to the Huts plastic polish stage. also you will think you cant get a higher polish than Huts but the brownells 5F will even take it up to a higher trasparent gloss like you have never ever seen before. their it is, my up date and i see nothing come down the road better that that yet, johnson 1942.

[Bob Busetti]

Having stained my forearm with Minwax black walnut stain I found the stain was not dark enough, so I applied another coat after the first coat set for 4 hours. Now the second coat will not dry completely, it remains tacky. Question is how do I get it to dry. Its been tacky for 5 days now.

[johnson1942]

take paint thinner and rub it off untill you get what you want. that type of finish wont build up on the surface of the wood. it only goes in the wood. your best by far wood stain is leather dye, it really gets into the wood. get some leather dye that is not water based and thin it some in a container and work it into the wood. then wash off and rub down for a natural oil finish or top coat several layers with the finish i recommended above. when the wood has enough of the finish you put on it it wont take any more and just gets gummy.

[Bob Busetti]

Thanks for the help johnson1942. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

[44man]

Good post for sure. I have made many custom stocks for friends and myself. I have refinished hundreds.
Some stocks will never let dents steam out, will drive you nuts.
I use Accra Glass for cracked stocks, stain it to match with the stain that comes with it. Force it DEEP and then wrap with strips of inner tube or surgical tubing, TIGHT! Fix cracks first, you will not see them if done right. Don't fill them, close them up.
Leather dye sounds OK but the best is Laural Mountain and you can mix walnut and cherry to match the English finish.
I remove all finish with paint remover but Rem stocks with epoxy need scraped. Remove finish from checkering with paint remover and a toothbrush or re cut. Mask checkering and never sand it.
Where wood meets metal, NEVER sand below the metal.
I use only Tru Oil to finish and fill grain. Lot of work with 0000 steel wool.
Once grain is filled to dead smooth I use a touch up spray gun with thinned Tru Oil. Spay a thin coat and prop in a vise, I use a dowel in a stock hole or screwed into the channel. Let get sticky and spray again, never let fully dry. 5 to 6 coats that blend together is what you want. If you let each coat dry and rub it out you will break through layers and see it. The secret is to keep the layers only sticky so you have one thick coat in the end as a new layer will dissolve into the previous one.
Now it must dry until you can't smell any finish. I have propped stocks in the truck cab in the sun to speed it up, does no harm to Tru Oil. Might take a few weeks.
Now remove tape from checkering and put Tru oil on it and use a tooth brush, you do not want a build up. Just soak the wood and remove excess, wipe off any outside the checkering. 2 coats is enough. If you checker a stock, finish all the way first. Don't checker an unfinished stock.
I have checkered punky wood and lost a diamond here and there. You can use super glue to harden the wood and replace a lost diamond with Accra Glass and cut again. Color the Accra Glass.
With one thick layer of finish, you can rub it out without the dreaded "break through of layers." Worst thing is trying to hide one.156731156732156733 My swede stock, made from cherry that fell in my woods. 156734 My flintlock, made from a curly maple plank.

[44man]

You have not lived until you checker by hand. The swede is my second job. i was asked to checker for years so I bought tools. I practiced on scrap wood and tore it to shreds. Can't do it so I drew a pattern on a WW .22 smooth bore I made a stock for. Not a single mistake so I then made the swede stock. Practice is like dry firing, no use at all.
On my ML's I leave wood 1/8" thicker to carve then remove wood to final shape. I made my own tools because store bought tore wood. Junk chisels.
By the way, all curly maple must be cut cross grain or it will chunk out.

[44man]

If you carve at all and want a "V" chisel, Take a small triangle file and a Moto Tool. Cut a "V" chisel on the end. You can follow any line in any direction like butter.156739156740
better picture and an Enfield stock I did.

[Shiloh]

Folks,

been sweating cosmoline out of an '03 "C" stock. Greek return and full of cosmoline.

After many hours of sweating the cosmoline out in the sun, it is to the point where I'm not getting a lot out anymore.
Used to look like a glazed ham or BBQ ribs from the leakage of melted cosmo. not anymore.
I've never used alcohol based dyes or stains. Always used water based. Will the alcohol penetrate the area's of residual cosmoline??

What about water based dye?? I thought I might get a damp sponge and wet down the wood. Will the area's with retained cosmoline bead up or the water won't soak in??

I have read about the Feibig's dye. The medium brown is supposed to have a touch of red in it. I would like some read showing, but not overdone. There are also threads that say RIT dye can be mixed with alcohol.

When it is done being stained, it will be finished with organic BLO.
Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks, Shiloh

[Texas by God]

I'm trying my best to remove the remainders of the impressed checkering on the pistol grip of my 1965 Rem 700 ADL. Every time I think I've got it- I wet the stock with water and Arghh. I shortened and reshaped the for end so it's good. I could go nuts wth a rasp but I don't want to change the shape of the pistol grip. Anybody been there? I DID a 70's 22-250 decades ago and I gave up and lived with it. I don't really care for checkering or stopping so That's out.
I know-shut up and sand, right?
Best, Thomas.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Discus420]

SO I never went to woodshop what's the difference between wet sanding and dry sanding? Do I wet the paper or the wood?? how much water ?? soaking wet?

[Discus420]

Really no kidding do I wet the paper or the wood???????????

[Edward]

The paper and rewet paper as it dries to clean paper and sand on!

[Discus420]

The paper and rewet paper as it dries to clean paper and sand on!

Thanks Edward I think I got it where I need it now but I cant get it to stain I went to 400 grit maybe too smooth? I am also gonna try leather dye someone else mentioned it

[pietro]

I'm trying my best to remove the remainders of the impressed checkering on the pistol grip of my 1965 Rem 700 ADL.

Every time I think I've got it- I wet the stock with water and Arghh.





You can sand until you end up with a toothpick, and still not remove the lignin ( the substance that bonds the wood fibers together ) that was melted when the factory checkering was applied.

I was successful, however, in converting the factory negative/impressed checkering to positive checkering diamond via running a single row checkering tool (head) up/down/across the rows with the tool cutting out the ridges between the depressions, leaving the high spots ( at each X ) as the tips of the checkering diamonds.

If you attempt it, though, cut the partitions between the depressions with a razor knife before running the checkering down the rows.



The photo below shows Negative Impressed checkering with the upper left portion converted to Cut checkering

http://sparetimeactivities.net/photos/StockCheck05.jpg




The photo below shows Positive Impressed checkering with the right portion converted to Cut checkering

http://sparetimeactivities.net/photos/StockCheck04.jpg



The photo below is of Negative Impressed checkering converted to Cut checkering

http://sparetimeactivities.net/photos/StockCheck10.jpg




.

[Chad5005]

i would like to thank Alaskanguy and everyone else that posted helpful hints on this post,i have finished redoing my first stock with the rogers method and im very happy with it,its for my stevens 14 1/2,i went the tru oil route 231484

[Shawlerbrook]

Tru oil is a very user friendly product that look nice.

[Chad5005]

thank you sir

[M-Tecs]

You can sand until you end up with a toothpick, and still not remove the lignin ( the substance that bonds the wood fibers together ) that was melted when the factory checkering was applied.

I was successful, however, in converting the factory negative/impressed checkering to positive checkering diamond via running a single row checkering tool (head) up/down/across the rows with the tool cutting out the ridges between the depressions, leaving the high spots ( at each X ) as the tips of the checkering diamonds.

If you attempt it, though, cut the partitions between the depressions with a razor knife before running the checkering down the rows.



The photo below shows Negative Impressed checkering with the upper left portion converted to Cut checkering

http://sparetimeactivities.net/photos/StockCheck05.jpg




The photo below shows Positive Impressed checkering with the right portion converted to Cut checkering

http://sparetimeactivities.net/photos/StockCheck04.jpg



The photo below is of Negative Impressed checkering converted to Cut checkering

http://sparetimeactivities.net/photos/StockCheck10.jpg




.

Thank for the info on this.