Lets see that pretty wood

[Pookie]

I'm a sucker for pretty wood. I have my share of composite too, I get it. I just really like the classic wood look, with fit, figure and character. How could you not?

Let's see those safe queens, heirlooms and ones that get used.

I'll start. I have several Coopers. Here's one with AA+ French walnut. It has some minor field battle scars. Always good to get the first scratch behind ya.

View attachment 1005770

View attachment 1005775

I regret selling mine

 

[Steve300xcw]

Good source of tools here
The basics:
1) a spacing cutter handle and a double cutter blade or three. I like 22lpi or even 20lpi.
2) a single line cutter
3) a grease pencil
4) some clear, stiff acetate plastic to make a 60* angle template and a flexible straight edge.
5) auto detailing pinstripe tape in 1/8” and 1/4”. Plastic label-making tape can be nice too for straight lines. Both help tape off borders and set your master lines. Not strictly necessary but really helpful.
6) an old throwaway walnut stock from the throwaway bin at the local gun shop to practice on (or finish your own piece of scrap wood to practice on.)

@Steve300xcw if its helpful shoot me your email and I am pretty sure I can send you a instruction guide with pictures that a friend of mine did.

Thank you.

Results of my late night shopping spree are about 8 weeks out. I'll hit you up after my lumber gets here

 

[bielenbm]

How many coats of tung oil should I do on a new stock?

 

[Macintosh]

Depends entirely on the wood and what you want out of the finish and how you apply it. Ie it will vary significantly depending on the individual piece of wood, as well as on how you apply it. Probably more than 5, probably less than 25.

 

[bielenbm]

Probably more than 5, probably less than 25.

This made me laugh but I completely understand what you mean.

 

[Macintosh]

I actually wasnt trying to be snarky, sorry if it came out that way. A really nice tight-grained piece of wood might fill and finish quickly even with a very thinned finish. But I have had very open-pored blanks that just drank up finish like a thirsty camel, and took multiple dozens of coats to get the finish I wanted—in that case I probably should have filled the grain differently to cut out a lot of work…but hindsight being 20:20 and all…. It will also depend a lot on exactly what finish, if you thin it, etc. You really have to treat every piece of wood as an individual and let the wood and how the finish is building, tell you what its going to take.

 

[fshaw]

WOOD

View attachment 1011333

Golly!

 

[bielenbm]

I did not read it to be snarky at all. I’m oiling my first stock, so I’m just trying to get an idea.

 

[Decker9]

Thanks Rock!

Soon as we’re back home and settled I’ll be finishing this one, should have a nice look in it.

View attachment 1016564

All finished up, someone’s going to win themselves a pretty cool package on Saturday at the salute to conservation in BC. A local knife builder built a blade from a piece of the blank and ebony to go with it.

 

[Teo74]

Some beautiful rifles posted, Here is my humble contribution.

 

[RockAndSage]

All finished up, someone’s going to win themselves a pretty cool package on Saturday at the salute to conservation in BC. A local knife builder built a blade from a piece of the blank and ebony to go with it.

View attachment 1027893View attachment 1027894View attachment 1027895
View attachment 1027899
View attachment 1027891
View attachment 1027892
View attachment 1027901

Wow, man - that turned out fantastic.

 

[TheM1DoesMyTalking]

All finished up, someone’s going to win themselves a pretty cool package on Saturday at the salute to conservation in BC. A local knife builder built a blade from a piece of the blank and ebony to go with it.

That turned out absolutely stunning. Incredible work!

 

[eLightfoot]

All finished up, someone’s going to win themselves a pretty cool package on Saturday at the salute to conservation in BC. A local knife builder built a blade from a piece of the blank and ebony to go with it.

View attachment 1027893View attachment 1027894View attachment 1027895
View attachment 1027899
View attachment 1027891
View attachment 1027892
View attachment 1027901

Beautiful work! What did you use to finish the stock?

 

[Decker9]

Beautiful work! What did you use to finish the stock?

Thanks fellas.

Lightfoot, I used tru oil and BLO 50/50 for the finish and renaissance wax on top. Normally I would have thinned that out a little but I was on a time crunch so I didn’t dilute the mix, and went 75% tru oil for the last coat to get it to dry quicker.

I did use a couple coats of spar urethane and mineral spirits soaked in Alkanet 50/50 for sealing before the finish.

 

[bielenbm]

Thanks fellas.

Lightfoot, I used tru oil and BLO 50/50 for the finish and renaissance wax on top. Normally I would have thinned that out a little but I was on a time crunch so I didn’t dilute the mix, and went 75% tru oil for the last coat to get it to dry quicker.

I did use a couple coats of spar urethane and mineral spirits soaked in Alkanet 50/50 for sealing before the finish.

Do you like the renaissance wax? I’ve done two coats of danish oil and I’m working on my third coat of tung oil. I think I’m getting close to being finished.

 

[Irish Miner]

I use Renaissance wax on all my wood firearms. A light coating on all the metal parts too. It's great stuff.

I used to use Howards Feed & Wax, which was okay, but will stick with the Renaissance going forward.

 

[Bugger]

View attachment 1027891

View attachment 1027901

It’s a beaut Clark!

 

[270quest]

For a 3-4 year period in my early to mid 20s I got really into stock making...Built some pretty nice stocks with high end claro and English walnut as well as a few wild color laminates. Was always drawn to the the high gloss type finishes on Weatherby rifles. Had extended family that had a little gunshop in Pocatello that built fancy wood stock guns in the 80s and 90s and Early 2000s with Mauser and sako actions and high gloss monte carlo type stocks - that's where I got my fascination for them from.

As my hunting got more involved and I was backpacking in the backcountry and being hard on my gear I moved away from wood and onto synthetic stocked rifles...Haven't hunted with a wood stock rifle in years and other than a marlin and Ruger 22s, don't have a wood stocked big game rifle in my safe right now.

Seeing this post and revisiting some family recently and seeing some of the heirloom rifles they still have triggered an itch...Time to put something together to have in the safe and pass down to my son or daughter - even if its more of a safe queen then a hunting tool.

Ordered a Tikka Lite Blued 6.5 PRC with 24" barrel from Euro Optic. Then hit up Richards and ordered an Exhibition English Walnut with Ebony tip and cap in a Custom Rollover Style (Family has been getting Richards stocks for years with great results). Going to put this rifle together and hopefully have a fine looking wood stocked rifle that's accurate, practical, and something that can add a little class to the gunsafe. If Richards hits their quoted Lead Time of 8 weeks, hopefully can get going on this project by May which will give me plenty of time to have the rifle ready to go by the fall.

When I was doing the ultra high gloss finishes oil rubbed, some of those took up to 30 coats of finish having to let it dry 24-48 hours between each coat - so that always is the slowest part of the process.