Trapdoor comb

[bigted]

Got this old. Snazzy cut down trapdoor 1888. Love the crazy thing but the comb is too high for me and she smacks my cheeck rather rudely ... So gonna carve it down but wondered how to stain/finish it so it blends into the darker wood. I asume the carved wood will be lighter anyway.

[pietro]

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I would advise you strip the stock with FORMBY'S Furniture Refinisher (HomeCheapo), either before or after you shave the stock, then you can seal/stain/finish the entire stock evenly to suit.






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[44man]

I had the same with a friends, bashed my cheek HARD. I went to 3031 powder and it went away. 4198 was the devil. I even went to a 500 gr with 3031 compared to the 405 with 4198.

[waksupi]

I agree with totally stripping it. Otherwise the alteration will stick out like a sore thumb, and it will bother you every time you shoot it. Leave half assed work to the government, they are better at it.

[John Boy]

* strip the existing finish
* Add Burnt Umber to the tung oil or linseed oil to bring color up to the rest of the finish

[bedbugbilly]

OR . . . you could just paint the whole stock whatever color you want after you carve and sand it . . . LOL

You could be the "first" to have a 45/70 with a "came" stock . . . might get the younger ones interested in shooting BPCR.

[mazo kid]

Ted, I agree that you should strip the old finish as it is old and would be hard to match. Are you gonna shoot black powder in it? For a bit of color, you could mix a tiny bit of cherry stain in the Tung oil/TruOil to your liking.

[44man]

We bought hickory cabinets for the kitchen so when I refinished the trim and made the pie cabinet, the cabinets were so pretty I wanted the same for all. I went to the paint dept at Lowes and the guy knew right away how. He came up with a base and mahogany stain. Put the rag in the base, then a dab of the red.
I made white oak and pine a perfect match.
But an old stock might just have oil on it and no stain so age is hard to match.

[bigted]

yes so far i have been shooting BP thru it but am tired of the hassle of needing to swab the barrel every 4 or 5 rounds to keep accuracy ... as well as needing a spotter to say where the rounds hit as i see nuttin but a cloud of smoke when the trigger is yanked.

kinda wish i had purchased another roller as i like the action much better but i have this ol war horse and she is a shooter. gonna develop some smokeless loads for her as well so as to see if it will function with smokeless better then the BP.

i am sure that there is oil and years of gunk in the wood and this is the why of the question of how to match it when and if i shave the comb down.

maybe what i should do is look round and give her a tradin to somebody else in return for a good solid roller. then i would not further mess up a good ol piece of history. i do like the old rollers.

[44man]

Try 3031 first. It is a crime to cut an original. I got off the 4198 bandwagon. Same as 4227, Lil'Gun and a few Accurate powders. Hokum at the least. Been experimenting longer then some have been alive.

[bigted]

Interesting ... I just loaded a few with IMR 3031. I never got too impressed with the 4198 IMR either.

I remember reading an Elmer Kieth article where he stated that a case full of 3031 wouldnt harm an 1886 winchester ... Now i would never do such a thing with my trapdoor ... However i do know that either the 1884 or 1888 trapdoor was used for testing the 30 government ( 30-40 craig). So i recon my action/ barrel is stronger then given credit for.

So 44man ... Are you in the cerial for filler on top of smokeless or no? I have done with and without and except for feeling safer with the filler ... Didnt notice much difference.

[44man]

Interesting ... I just loaded a few with IMR 3031. I never got too impressed with the 4198 IMR either.

I remember reading an Elmer Kieth article where he stated that a case full of 3031 wouldnt harm an 1886 winchester ... Now i would never do such a thing with my trapdoor ... However i do know that either the 1884 or 1888 trapdoor was used for testing the 30 government ( 30-40 craig). So i recon my action/ barrel is stronger then given credit for.

So 44man ... Are you in the cerial for filler on top of smokeless or no? I have done with and without and except for feeling safer with the filler ... Didnt notice much difference.
I use garnetted polyester fiberfill (dacron) I guess. Can't compress it on the powder and leave space. I let the boolit push it down. I use it with 4759 in my 45-70 BFR but not with 3031. I have shot 4759 without but I see better accuracy with Dacron.
You can use cereal with BP since you compress it with the powder. Wads must be tight against BP boolits too. I read you can get away with .020" but I don't chance it.
An air gap acts like an SEE event where the boolit is an obstruction. Dacron has no weight and compresses but I still do not leave a space.
The wrong use of a filler can ruin a gun but so can just a reduced load of slow powder.
But it is not fully understood. I had an SEE event with my Swede with a perfectly safe load of 4831 but my mistake was a light bullet seated out too far. It popped out and stopped when the pressure hit it. I now seat deeper and went to Varget. No gun damage but it is not pleasant to have. My friend did the same with his by seating out. The Swede has a LONG throat for the long bullets of the time. Never try to get close to rifling. Same with a Weatherby, long throat to reduce pressure, ignore bullet jump.