[Jack Orr]

I bought a birch stock about the first of the year and just started tinkering with it. It is a service grade in very good condition. I got the finnish about as stripped as it's gonna get. It came very dark with almost no grain showing. I thing it was a ROTC or parade rifle. It has the Eagle with arrows DoD mark & the proof on the grip. No signs of the rear hump where the receiver heal sits, and no sign of bedding or any other mods. The wood is dark even where I took a dremal to it for bedding, so I don't think it's gonna get too much lighter. It is redish in colour and I would like to finnish it as light as possible. I have Tung oil & have always used acraglass for bedding with pretty good results.
My question is, what will give me the lightest finnish to enhance the grain, and what do you all like for a bedding compound. The accra gel I use is good for about a year if you are careful not to get solvent or oil on it. Also, it does'nt seem as hard when you use the die. Seeing some of the work on this site puts mine to shame in the looks department. I sure would be grateful for a few tips from those with more talent and experience than me. Here is a photo of the stock after 2 applications of EasyOff oven clener. I have since hit it with mineral spirits, 220 grit & 000 wool.

 

[dighawaii]

Aloha Jack,

If that is Birch, I would try to light sand the stock to see if I could not get the stock a more uniform color. Of course, be careful around the cartouche!

Since it has "no grain", you might think of staining it! Now comes the hard part, which color... I like a "golden/brown" for stocks like that but I have also used a deep red/brown and a deep, dark brown before and all have come out very well.

For simplicity and speed, I have been using different kind of "Danish" oil finishes. But I still love Truoil, but I only put that kind of effort in the best of the stocks that I have.

I can say with confidence that there are many on this board that do outstanding work with wood stocks... so there should be no shortage of ideas here! :lol:

As for bedding, I have used Acraglas Gel and it does good but I know it won't last like some other products. I do recommend Acra Steel Bed, that is super strong but you need to work fast and it will harden like steel. Another good choice, is Marine Tex and Devcon!

I am currently "pillar bedding" a Rem 700 bolt gun and using exclusively Devcon products! This is turning out to be one of the best jobs I have ever done and it is easy to work with.

I am sure this is going to be awesome fun working with this stock that you have! The "icing" on the cake is when the rifle performs!!! That is the most ultimate satisfaction! Good Luck and have fun!

Aloha,

Tom O.

 

[Jack Orr]

Thanks Tom, I was thinking about Devcon, In keep hearing how great that stuff is. This stock is ment to be a shooter, but why not have a looker too. I'm hoping to bring out the red in it. I have a chocolate already. Again, thank you for your help. You have some mighty fine looking wood & steel Tom 8) . I have all the time in the world, this is also my thearapy until I can get back to work.

 

[dighawaii]

Good Luck, Jack! I am sure it will be "kick butt" awesome! It will be great therapy! Have fun and be sure to keep us posted on how it goes!

Aloha,

Tom O.

 

[Jack Orr]

Well, she's getting there. I'm finding more & more grain everyday. I thich this one had a lot of greasy hands on it, or someone oiled up but good. Usually, 2 coats of Easy Off Heavy duty & wool does the trick. So far 4 coats oven cleaner and wool, 220 grit & today mineral spirtits & 360 wet. I knew it would lighten after a while. Where I routed out was redish but still darker than my oak. I'll keep on with the 000 wool & mineral spirits and should have 'er finished buy the time my bedding comes in. Can't decide to get one of hawks kits, fill the hole or leave it. Guess I can check my bank balance or leave it for another day. Hard to match bedding with stock finnish, at least for me :? .

 

[Cheetahman]

For the really nasty dark oily areas, I got this stuff called stock whiting from Brownells. It's really masonary lime and you mix it up to a slurry with 111 trichloroethane. You get that stuff at the hardware store in a pint can, next to the laquer thinner and mineral spirits and benzene and stuff. Then apply it to the stock and it sucks the ugly oil spot out like no tomorrow. I use it inside the hand grip toward the trigger and up near the heel where they usually are black. Good Luck!!!

 

[roadkingcurley]

8) You need to go to Home Depot and go to the paint section and get some Wood Bleach. Follow the directions and it'll come out as light as you want it. You can also get it from boating supply places. I've got a Birch stock that is almost Bleach Blond!!! I call her "Irene" She is such a tramp!! :wink:

 

[Jack Orr]

Thanks 30wolverine & cheatahman, running out of elbow grease :lol: . Plus I messed up a little and took part of the arrows off the Eagles feet. She is comming along good though. Ain't thought of a name for her yet. I'm thinking of getting a hold of the O.R. here and getting a dummy selector for her. Pretty is as pretty does I reckon. Like the country song goes about the Dolly Parton wig & full of ruege. I like 'em on a little on the trashy side . I'll wait till she gets further along before picking a name. Thanks all.

 

[Jack Orr]

Well, going to the big city today to see new doc. I was going to find a craft store for some modeling clay for the bedding job. Can't find nothing in my house . I also am going to pick up some wood bleach. I was talking with the local Gun Smith last week. He got out of refinnishing stocks & checkering because he said nobody wants to pay for the labor any more. He had some nice examples laying around though. He told me to use true oil sealer before using true oil Tung oil. Does anyone seal first before putting on finnish. If so, what result does this do. I just close the grain with 000 wool. Thanks in advance. Also, I ordered some steel bed from Midway. I have 2 Acraglass Gel bedding kits laying around here some where but can only find the release agent & hardener. The stuff I ordered has the steel already in it. Before they gave you a pack of powdered stainless to mix in it. I like Acraglass products because I'm fimilar with using them. This newer stuff is triple the price of the old Gel & looks like it should hold up well.

 

[Jack Orr]

Meet Amanda. I finally put my but in gear and bedded and finished her up. 1 coat of sealer and 6 coats of tung oil. Yep, I put that big ole scratch in it on the left side. I think I'll just leave it there for awhile untill I put a few more on it :lol: . Anyways, I think it turned out pretty well for a G.I. stock. Fit is very tight, both reciever & trigger group. I also had to remove a fair amount of material from the hand guard to keep it from binding.

 

[fubar]

looks good jack.

 

[bluedsteelnwood]

"true oil sealer"

To me it doesn't make sense to use "true oil sealer" before using tung oil. as the sealer should close up the grain and no tung oil will get into it. Ask around again I could be wrong.

 

[Jack Orr]

I used tung oil mixed with pure mineral spirits for first coat instead of buying the sealer. The stock sucked it up like a sponge. I don't know if I will get better sealing properties with this method, but I did notice the wood turned dark about an 1/8" deep when routing out for bedding. The colour did'nt change any different that I could tell from the first coat to the last. The wood was almost white untill it was wet. Even water changed the colour to a redish brown untill it dryed out. After the seal coat it never dryed back to white and further coats of T.O. just brung out more sheen. I used 0000 wool between coats. Now I just have to make it to the range to see if it's a shooter. Thanks everone for there help.