Getting the most accuracy from a No. 4 MK1*

[Edward Horton]

Ed is that manual you've reproduced those two pages from available somewhere on this site?

No, I have not converted it to Adobe .pdf book format for down load.

Therefore right click and save as

[curly]

Curly - there are big differences between UK and USA BLO, read the tins.
USA stuff is a 'health & safety' hazard and gloves must be worn.
UK stuff is OK

Thanks, Alan.
Is our (UK) Boiled Linseed Oil OK to use or should I still invest in some Raw Linseed Oil? I have to say I've been using the same bottle of Liberon (UK spec.) artist's BLO, mixed with one third artist's pure turpentine, to wipe over the furniture of my Enfields for some years now and it seems to be doing the job fine.

Curly

[RobD]

In the UK there is a huge variety of linseed oils available from B&Q, Homebase etc and some are completely useless, forming a completely non-setting goo. Go to an artists supplier like Hobbycraft and buy a little bottle of artists's linseed oil. It is very thick, and can be thinned with turps or white spirits. A little goes a long way.

[Alan de Enfield]

I use "Blackfriars" BLO from my local DIY shop, goes on well (no thinning) and soaks in well.

[Edward Horton]

Be careful about what you read on the internet, the stock below is NOT cosmoline soaked.

This is what a stock looks like that has been dipped and soaked in a tank of hot linseed oil, and the oil has penetrated deeply into the wood. It also explains why the stock shrinks when the linseed oil dries and is not replenished.





When I first came into the Enfield forums I was told to apply Behr's Scandinavian Tung Oil and it turned out to be a wiping varnish.

Below artists grade 100% pure linseed oil.



Finest quality purified alkali refined linseed oil, for us with artists’ oil colors. Improves flow, increases gloss. This product may be added directly to Artists Oil Color. It is recommended linseed oil be pre-diluted with Pure Gum Spirits of Turpentine, Grumtine™, or Odorless Paint Thinner.

Always read the MSDS sheets for the product you plan to use, thanks to Parashooter I found out "Stand Oil" is real boiled linseed oil used by oil painting artists.



Polymerized linseed oil made by heating pure linseed oil to high temperatures in the absence of air. High-viscosity, non-yellowing. Intended for use with oil painting mediums, as well as diluted with conventional solvents. Improves fluidity of paint and assists in laying down (smoothing out) brush strokes. Slow drying and improves dry paint film flexibility. May be diluted with any conventional oil painting solvents.

[sigman2]

Ed,

Thanks for all the excellent info!

[BushyFromOz]

would the same principles apply to sporterized No4's? I have a 25/303 that probably wants re-bedding, the barrel is free floating, but the forewood has a bit of slop in it so i guess the action isn't bedded anymore..... any ideas?

[Patrick Chadwick]

One of the best mistakes I ever made was to buy some pure (food quality) linseed oil from a health shop and forget about it for twenty years. After being moved several times and spending 2 decades out of the light it now has the color and consistency of runny honey. That is the stuff I now apply dropwise to old stocks on a linen* wad dampened (NOT soaked) in pure (I hope) artist's turpentine to help it get into those dried-out pores in the wood. I also have a liter can of genuine double-boiled linseed oil that is into it's second decade, and I think that these two containers will do for as many rifles as my cellar will take.

OK, not everybody wants to wait 20 years, and I certainly didn't intend to so, so my practical advice on BLO "boils" down to: Ed is 100% correct. Modern so-called BLO is often faked by adding siccatives. Read carefully what is printed (or NOT printed) on the can or bottle. Use only pure materials. Get them from a professional or artist's paint supplier rather than the local DIY store. The quantities you use are so microscopic that a liter will last you a very long time. Pure terpentine tends to separate out some resin deposit after years. No trouble, let the resin sit, just don't try to stir it all up again.

Patrick

*"Why on earth are you keeping those old sheets in the cellar?"

[Patrick Chadwick]

Athough it was implicit in what Edward wrote, I think it is worth stating explicitly that to refresh a stock the linseed oil must be applied everywhere as it is too easy to concentrate on the exterior appearance.

There seem to be two types of stock to be found on old rifles.
1) The kind with the barrel channel full of cosmoline, yak butter (my Martini-Henry stank when I bought it!) or whatever. Well preserved barrel, oil-soaked wood.
2) The kind with a barrel rusting below the waterline, and a dry-as-dust barrel channel.

The refurbishing of Type 1) has often been dealt with on these forums. Type 2) is neglected, probably because of the collector's tendency to focus on externals. But a dried out barrel channel is the ideal place for rust to develop. To get a dried/warped stock into balance again (AND preserve the barrel and action) you will probably need to soak the barrel channel, action cut-outs and all the inletting and leave it for a much longer time than the exterior would require. That is just the practical tip of a shooter, not a collector!

[villiers]

Curly - there are big differences between UK and USA BLO, read the tins.
USA stuff is a 'health & safety' hazard and gloves must be worn.
UK stuff is OK

Unadulterated linseed oil is generally used as a salad dressing throughout continental Europe.