Finished Gun Stock.

[ShadeTree]

I worked at this whenever I had time to work at it without being distracted so at times it went a week or more until I picked it up and went on to the next step in the finishing process. There's a few mistakes underneath in the prep that would be hard to pick out at a glance but I know where they are and can do better next time. But the finish itself turned out excellent in my opinion. I can turn the stock at all different angles with a back light and see no differences in depth of coverage, no smudge or smear marks, and no dry spots. It's like staring into a cue ball from any angle. A lot of depth to it.

Here's 1 before picture. It was looking plenty sad like this all over.



Right now it's plenty glossy. The specs on the finish state that this finishes at about 75% gloss rate but after 3-6 months finish cures at around 50% gloss so I'm probably going to wait until that time before I rub it out to a satin so I know what I'm working with.



When it's glossy like this it's hard to take pictures where there is enough light to show the grain without displaying reflective glares from the light. But these are good enough to get the idea.











This last picture I lightened up to try and show some of the burling around the pistol grip area. There's also some of that up top around the tang. All in all I'm very happy with how it turned out for my first one. I might of spoiled myself as I'm not sure I can replicate this finish on the next one.

 

[6mm Remington]

That is a really nice job that you did on that stock! It looks fantastic and it sure will protect the wood a lot better than the old finish did. I would say nicely done.

David

 

[Polaris]

What finish did you use?

 

[Thebear_78]

Looks good


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ShadeTree]

What finish did you use?

Waterlox original. I kind of did a mix of advice from what I could read about finishing a stock, tips waterlox suggests, as well as some of my own ideas. As you probably know there's as many different methods as there is flavors of ice cream. My method for sure isn't necessarily right or wrong, but it worked out.

I ended up wet sanding 4 coats if I remember right. I wet sanded it straight with waterlox, did not cut it. I then put on 3 brushed on coats so that it would have a much deeper base than just hand rubbing it on after wet sanding. However on the third coat I got a run that needed sanded out so I sanded the whole stock with 320, then 400 and then applied another brushed on coat, so because I sanded I'm not sure if it would have 3 full layers of brushed on coats or not.

I then hand rubbed 3 coats and allowed plenty of dry time in between coats. On the hand rubbed coats I wiped the stock down before each next coat with mineral spirits. Waterlox is a mixture of Tung Oil, Lindseed Oil, and gum esters, with mineral spirits as a base, so wiping down with mineral spirits was a good way to get rid of any dust that had collected and prepare the surface for the next coat. Like I said I'm not saying it's the best way, but it worked out well on this one in my opinion.

 

[JD338]

Beautiful work

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Quite a handsome stock, now. Your workmanship is commendable. Congratulations on what will be a rifle anyone would be proud to carry.

 

[SJB358]

Beautiful work buddy! I love Waterlox, used it for years on furniture and other projects. Very protective and lays down nice. Congrats on a super job.. can’t wait to see it all set up again. Talk about bringing a stock back. That is real nice.

 

[Gun nut]

Beautiful! Congratulations, excellent craftsmanship.
Duane

 

[truck driver]

Well done.

 

[ShadeTree]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. One thing I never mentioned about this gun because I tend to keep some things like that to myself is that this was my Father in laws gun. Far as I know he got it used. Among some things I got from him is also his best buck he shot with this gun.

My Father in law was a craftsman in the truest sense of the word. He had old shaping and forming tools he used that I wouldn't know the name of and wouldn't know how to use to this day. He could take something like an old dual trailer axle and some steel and he'd go to his bench and scratch out some drawings and after a lot of cutting, welding, grinding, fitting and painting he'd end up with finest well built hydraulic dump trailer that money could buy. Almost no limit to what he could make or build. He was a perfectionist that many times was aggravating to work with because of it, but he taught me things I use all the time.

I sincerely believe he would understand the work and appreciate the end product. I only wish he was still around so that I could hand it back to him and watch him look it over with a glint in his eye and a small grin. If I know him he wouldn't say much to me except a thank you, but he would show it to everybody that stopped in.

 

[SJB358]

You crushed it Shadetree. That’s a bunch of great work.

Your FIL sounds like a heckuva great fella. Guys like that are a treasure to learn from.

 

[ShadeTree]

You crushed it Shadetree. That’s a bunch of great work.

Your FIL sounds like a heckuva great fella. Guys like that are a treasure to learn from.

Thank you. Much appreciated. Like I stated my FIL was a perfectionist. Sometimes I had a project that I could use some help on but I had to weigh if it was worth taking down to his shop. He would insist on doing 8 extra steps on something that was only worth $30 when you were done. Lol. Something inside of him would not allow him to do anything but the best.

There's plenty of people that can rebuild a starter, alternator, or automatic transmission. But he didn't just replace parts, he understood how it all worked. He would explain to me how the magnetic fields and the brushes worked in the alternator, or on an automatic transmission he would say, see the fluid comes down this channel and shuts this valve until it builds up enough pressure to trip this lever then the valve opens and the fluid diverts down this channel, it was all way over my head. Lol

The man was an engineering and mechanical genius, as well as a top notch fabricator, welder, and painter. I wont ever hold a candle to him in that regard, but I was able to learn a small amount.

 

[DrMike]

That is a wonderful tribute to your FIL, ShadeTree. My dad was a blacksmith. He died the year I moved to Canada. I sure miss witnessing his workmanship with metal. Like your FIL, he was educated beyond anything degrees could register. Things just worked when he began to rebuild. Great tribute. I have no doubt your FIL would be extremely proud of your labour of love.

 

[ShadeTree]

Dr Mike. The world needs more of those type of people and sadly some things are getting lost to the point it's hard to find anyone taking up those type of crafts and skills. No matter how good we get with technology there will always be a need for people who know how to build and make things with their hands. And depending on what you're dealing with some of those old time methods are still the best in my opinion.

 

[cloverleaf]

Shade- Dr Mike is right- "you done good"! Ive always been a sucker for those high gloss "browning medallion" stocks. I like! CL

 

[Polaris]

Looks good. Wonder if the glossy look has subsided at all as it sits, maybe that's just coming out more in the photos than in real life? The one's I've done with BLO/turpentine and a very similar procedure to yours seem to get a little less shiny over time.

 

[ShadeTree]

Looks good. Wonder if the glossy look has subsided at all as it sits, maybe that's just coming out more in the photos than in real life? The one's I've done with BLO/turpentine and a very similar procedure to yours seem to get a little less shiny over time.

It should. According to Waterlox specs it usually finishes initially at around 75% gloss then drops to 50-55% gloss after 3-6 mo's when it's fully cured. Maybe I'll be completely happy with the final look as it is, who knows? But I'm skeptical.

I done a lot of reading and research before I ended up deciding on Waterlox, now after it's completely done curing I got to figure out how best to get it to the satin finish look I want to end up with. There was a member on here that commented about really liking magic eraser to take the finish down to the level you want. I might try a small spot with that and see.

If the gun was going to be a safe queen I wouldn't touch it and would let it exactly how it is. It's downright pretty in my opinion. However for hunting I prefer a more dulled down finish for a variety of reasons.

 

[SJB358]

000 synthetic steel wool is very good as well.

 

[hunter24605]

Fine looking stock, A++ job....I used to use Waterlux on my turkey calls..Easy to work with and durable, great looking finish..I stopped because during spring gobbler season I would use bug spray with Deet and I found out the hard way that deet will eat it up! But now there is an insect repellant called Gear Safe, and I purposely sprayed a little on a scrap piece of wood and it didn't hurt the finish...just something to bear in mind if you ever need to apply an insect spray, avoid Deet...Not just waterlux, it eats up many finishes...