Reworking M1 Garand Stock

[randy88745]

I recently received a CMP Field Grade Rifle from a raffle and as you would expect the stock has seen better days and it does have some small gouges in the wood. Is the stock worth the effort to refinish or would just getting a new stock from the CMP be the best thing to do and just keeping the original stock as is for future collectors value?

I can be emailed at randy88745@gmail.com.

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[Kirk]

If the receiver is tight in the wood - no fore & aft movement when you push/pull the action and with the trigger guard unlatched - and if there are no major cracks or splits, then the wood is salvageable. You'd keep an authentic stock. Some people report steaming the dents out; I've tried & never had much luck at raising the grain so my stocks kept their dents. What I would do is clean the stock thoroughly with 0000 steel wool and straight Concentrated Simple Green. Go over the stock several times with this & you'll remove all the accumulated grime & cosmoline, etc. Then, refinish it, inside & out, with Tung Oil. The Army switched to Tung (China) oil in 1938 so it is authentic as well. Tung Oil penetrates better than linseed oil and, after several coats, becomes virtually water proof. If the stock fits the receiver loosely, you may be able to fill the grain with enough TO (20 coats or so) so that the grain absorbs it & expands to makes a tight fit again. I've done this with several FG stocks & they all turned out OK. Good luck!

[Orlando]

Only you can answer the question if the stock is salvagable or not. Small dents will easily steam out it just takes time,large dents with crushed wood fibers will not.
I have refinished many, many stocks and use BLO. Its a personal prefernce
If I want to do a deep cleaning and refinish of the wood here is how I do it. Takes maybe 10 minutes for a completetly bare clean stock
I first take Purple Power degreaser and put it in a spray bottle.

I then spray down the stock with degreaser, immediataly you will see years of grease. oil and dirt start to roll off

I then take a soft nylon bristle brush and go over the stock.
Rinse "well " with hot water while rubbing with brush .
I will usually do procedure one more time except the last time wipe dry with cotton towel.
It probably only takes 10 minutes for the whole procedure
If stock is very oil soaked it may take another cleaning .
I then let set to dry out of direct heat source.
If it drys slowly you have a less chance of wood warping.

This is what the wood looks like after drying


I let the stock dry for a day or two before refinishing

[browningautorifle]

For those who cry "Heresy" at these refinishing techniques, I say"Give it a try first" before calling foul. They ALL work and some better than others. I too was a disbeliever until I tried Easy Off on a scrubby stock and it came good. Some of these home remedies work better than others but you must do it the way the poster describes. If you vary it you get a different result and then can't understand what happened. In the long run it will be cheaper than buying new wood and if you're having difficulty finding replacements it helps a bit.

[Bill Hollinger]

Yeah but in the bath tub? Gawd, you really want to get us all in deep kimshi don't you? Sheesh!

I know it's a garage type wash basin but it looks like a bath tub!

[Orlando]

Yeah but in the bath tub? Gawd, you really want to get us all in deep kimshi don't you? Sheesh!

I know it's a garage type wash basin but it looks like a bath tub!

Bathtub? Oh no, my wife would skin me. Its a utility tub .

[browningautorifle]

AW she'd never know...

[DaveN]

Question. I have a field grade I picked out at Anniston 3 yrs ago and it was and still is rough.
The only thing is it's grown on me and to strip it and re oil, would that destroy the DAS cartouche ( the one thing this stock has going for it plus the condition it's in has history)

[Harlan (Deceased)]

When I've done it the cartouche actually looked better Dave.

[DaveN]

Thanks Harlan, I'm still up in the air about doing it but the Musket I striped the way they explained here came out good. the pictures were added they are a good and the bad HRA and the bottom one is a 5.8 mill SA used for comparison.