Seeking opinions/advice restocking Krag Rifle

[jdmcomp]

I purchased a Krag rifle (1890) that had been refinished both metal and wood. And sadly, the metal appears to have been in first rate shape before refinish with no pits or scratches showing. The stock shows several repairs where wood was replaced. The stock was finished with a poly finish and shines. The story was that the rifle was used in the movie about the SpanAm war. Could be but I bought the gun and not the story. As I remember, I paid $250 for it. It will never be a collectors gun due to the metal refinish but I still would like it to look as original as possible.

Boyds makes a replacement stock and I am considering restocking due to the wood repairs to the original. I could strip the originals poly finish and put BLO on it but the wood repairs are quite visible. I am seeking the opinion/advice of the board as to this action. Also, I seek anyone who has experience using a Boyds Krag stock. (I have used their commercial stocks without problems and find the products a good buy for the money, fitting perfectly and finished as I like them.) Pitfalls and problems? Thanks in advance, John McP

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[noelekal]

I'd probably try the stripping route first but with raw linseed oil. Apparently Springfield Armory used raw linseed oil to finish stocks in that era. It does cure to a slightly reddish hue as may be found on original stocks.

It'd be worth it just for the experience and knowledge gained from the stock rehab effort.

[Salt Flat]

I agree. First of all the wood that is being used for reproduction stocks (in most cases) is inferior in grain and color to the original wood Spirngfield Armory used. There is a lot to be said for saving an original stock, even if repaired and refinished. Also my experience with Boyds---The C stock that I got from Boyds was the worst piece of wood I've ever seen. It was light colored sap wood that was about a 1/4 inch fat everywhere. It didn't even work like hardwood. Show us a picture or two of what you have to work with. Salt Flat

[jon_norstog]

+1 on that, John. If you can rescue the old wood, use it. As for the metal, you could do a bead blast and blue, or maybe parkerize. I've seen both done and they look good on a beater rifle. Good luck!

jn

[jdmcomp]

The old wood is ok except for the small repairs (wood match is not especially good) and a very shiny poly finish that will be the devil to remove. I have done it and I know how hard that stuff is to remove from the grain. The metal is refinished and also very shiny, no beater here, but rather the metal refinish is a bit too good (very high polish). All that said, I think I will have a go at the stock and see what it turns out to be. I recently did a K98 (Brno RC) that had been given a shiny finish and it turned out quite well, looking very good as a laminate with BLO finish. Using unboiled linseed oil is not possible, as I doubt any of us will live long enough to see that harden (at least from my experience). I guess you could add some Japan dryer but then why not use BLO? The rifle is meant to be a display and shooting gun so the fact that it is not desirable as a collectors item makes it perfect. The purchase price did not hurt either.

Thanks all for the advice. Will post pics when finished.

[professor9]

I have an 1898 with a stock built in 1895 and the stock is very poor shape - nearly split in two at one time in it's history. I have decided to go with a repro stock and wonder if Boyd's or any other would be a good choice. I've read plus and minus comments about Boyd's.
Thanks Prof

[Salt Flat]

Professor, Can you post a picture of your stock? Depending on how it broke it might be repairable. See my above post regarding repro stocks. I would always be in favor of saving an original Krag stock if possible. One of the most desirable things about a Krag IS that beautiful stock. You just can't accurately reproduce it. Here is a picture of a repaired stock that was cracked from just behind the trigger guard and going back 3-4 inches. Repair was done using epoxy and a screw. Note: Always mask areas around the crack real close to keep the epoxy off the surface. The screw was covered with a small wood plug that is under the grip area. The plug was stained very dark is hardly noticeable. I also made the forearm from the rear band forward. The original finish was mostlty retained with the exception of the repaired areas. Salt Flat

[andiarisaka]

I have an 1898 with a stock built in 1895 and the stock is very poor shape - nearly split in two at one time in it's history. I have decided to go with a repro stock and wonder if Boyd's or any other would be a good choice. I've read plus and minus comments about Boyd's.
Thanks Prof

If you have a stock that was made in 1895, it is for a model 1892 rifle. Although an 1898 rifle would fit in one, one could peer in and see the trigger mechanism as the cut for the bolt handle is larger. I've had to some repairing myself. One 92 rifle was delivered to me broken in two at the wrist, to jagged to fix, so I bought another 1895 made rifle, it too was cracked at the thin wrist, and it had the forearm lopped off. So I repaired the crack by drilling a hole through it, then using a syringe to inject epoxy throughout the crack. A brass screw and wooden cap for it finished the repair. Then I spliced the forearm from the woefully broken stock onto the repaired stock.