Stocks...

Just got the last coat of BLO dry enough to handle some stocks I've been working on. These are more of the Korean return stocks I have.
A few needed some wood patch repair, others just some minor cracks. A few needed just some TLC. All needed the rack paint jobs stripped. Couple more days of drying and I'll buff the finish down with a oily felt pad.

Cheers
Charlie-painter777

Pics of stocks and a few repairs....
Top To Bottom,
Underwood Type II cut to Lo-wood. MU.partial GHD/UEF with CC all in the box.
IBM Type I to Low wood. RMC B with Ghost of a CC. Patch on right rail.
S'G' Now a Low wood. RSG. Good boxed S'G' stamping but with a Ghost of CC.
WRA Low wood. Just the CC but a very nice one.
WRA/GHD Winchester with CC, lightly stamped...barrel channel chip repaired.
Q RMC Type II Hi-wood with partial CC. Clear marking but slightly raised.
RMC Type II..RMC and partial CC.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC05240-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC05233-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC05241-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC05242-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC05247-1.jpg

you do nice work

Hi Curt,
Some probably wouldn't believe the work that goes into these, let alone if it's worth it.
I have 2 Rock Ola Type II stocks here both with great markings but the right rails on both are splintered. Some way...some how I'll try fixing them with parts stocks.
Main thing is to make them sound and safe enough for use........
Maybe save a little history while were at it.

Thanks
Charlie

Charlie, you have done it yet again... I have got to figure out how to get in your will....

Nice work Charlie, I know how much time it takes to do this on one stock and you are doing many at a time. Are you going to sell them? Would the RMC type II be correct for my Rock 4,595,xxx? I think so, but you are the stock "meister" around here.....Frank

Beautiful clean & preserve work.
Got any before and after pictures ? Maybe some with the Hangul paint markings?

You seem to be a master of woodwork and finishes. It would be a real treat to see some of what you really do (painting) to earn a living. By the way, where do you find the time to do all this and continue as a full time working professional? I am retired and have difficulty keeping up with the new posts on this forum.
BB

Hi BB,
Lately we've been working on a big office reno.
We work from about midnight to 7 am.
Most of my guys are big hunters. So there working straight thru the weekends.....banking hrs for deer season.
I learned a long time ago........not to start too much at once.
It's pretty cool when you can pull an old rack paint job off and find the 'Toy inside'
Also sad at times to find a CC destroyed by sanding when the rack number was being applied.

Charlie-painter777

Before and After of a Q-RMC Type II,
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...03/QRMC4-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...0/QRMC11-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC01940-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC01935-1.jpg

Very nice work Charlie. I too have done some of those, and know what's involved.

It can be time consuming, but rewarding when you find a treasure. Kind of like opening a Christmas present and finding something you wanted but never expected.

Thanks for sharing.

John

SJB,
Here's one that made it feel like Xmas morning !
I don't want to show anything real close up.........but she's a beauty.
Real heavy grain lines in some areas.
Notice the Factory putty job on the knot hole didn't hold up to being stripped.

Cheers
Charlie-painter777
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...9/10/R41-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...09/10/R1-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC05254-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC05256-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC05261-1.jpg

Very nice Charlie. Personally I like the knot hole. It shows character, and obviously did not slow Rock-Ola down during production. Good original Rock-Ola wood is very difficult to find and would command a premium. Congrats!

Very nice batch this time and great work Charlie!

Do you plan to sell them here on the WTS forum or will they go on eBay?
If they're going on eBay, what's your user name there? It would be interesting to see how they do. Good carbine stocks have become hard to find over the past few years. I know from all the time and work you do you're not making a ton of money, but it's great to see these stocks back alive again.

~ Harlan

Charlie, that RMC is beautiful! That one must have taken some time, but what a great result!

Thanks again for demonstrating what is possible with some otherwise pathetic looking stocks.

Sloop

Very nice wood!! They came out sweet!!

Charlie,
Maybe you've covered this elsewhere, but why BLO as opposed to Unboiled Linseed Oil?

jim

Charlie: I've been unable to find any satisfactory putty. Any recommendations?

Jim,
Many will have their own opinion about the BLO VS. Un-Boiled Linseed Oil.
Here's my take......
Main reason I don't care for Un-Boiled LO is it takes so long to dry.
Another is it doesn't help prevent the later effects of oxidation as well....Walnut turning black. This still happens naturally in Walnut, but is slowed down by the additives found in BLO. Oxidation of Un-Boiled LO can also show up as white flaking or crystals with age. Like a transparent white wash haze.

I like using the Boiled Linseed oil......
With BLO, I'm able to first prep and color a stock.....if coloring/staining is needed.
Then thin the BLO in a heated tank with mineral spirits. With the BLO thinned and warmed the lighter viscosity allows for better penetration. If you don't thin it, once you start warming it up.......you'll make BLO sludge. I keep it weighed down and fully submerged. Usually overnight is all thats needed to swell and fill the grain back up. You'd be surprised at how much a stock can and will shrink if not sealed or stored properly. I've had stocks that a trigger housing would almost fall thru. After sealing the fit improves greatly. Makes for a better metal to stock fit and can raise small dings and dents. I don't care for the steaming.....but know of many who swear by it.
After pulling a stock from a tank, I let it drain over it and then wipe the extra BLO off. YES, It's a sticky mess. Next after she's dried a day or so I add a couple more full strength 'Spit Coats' of BLO on the outside...more if needed. Every stock takes or accepts the oil different. Maybe depending on how much natural oil remains in it and /or how dry it was to start with.
Other advantages of BLO is that it will dry. It has transition metal compounds added to it like Japan Drier that helps it dry faster than Un-BLO and to slow down the natural Oxidation that occurs.

After the stock tells me......it's full. I buff it down with a felt pad to where it's warm to the touch. I then like to add 1 last coat of a thinned 50-50 coat of Tung Oil in a lo-gloss. It seems to add some strength to the last of the wood fibres and gives the wood a clean uniform look without having any blotchy areas. This sorta mirrors that been polished in hand look from being used. When dry that last top coat is buffed down with a felt pad soaked in clean oil. Normally the finish will appear a little to shiney for most collectors........but give it a few weeks. After all that oil cures.......they look just about right.
Using the Tung Oil full strength is a no no. You want to keep the pores open and breathing.

Sorry so long.......
Regards
Charlie-painter777

Thanks, Charlie!!!
Now I feel like I got my Aunt Kate's secret recipe for her dutch apple pie!!!!!

ulflyer,
I've never found a stainable wood putty in almost 35 years of finishing wood. They (the makers of) will put everything you want to hear and see on their labels/products. but it's always the same thing...puttied areas stand out like a sore thumb. We've found that on things that have been damaged and are just too costly to replace that the puttied repair will have to be colored over with a gel type stain. Often we have to wood grain these repairs to get them to blend in. Any damage that runs across the grain and not along it will be a trouble spot.
I've been following the hard wood floor installers watching the putty mixes they use. It smells like Auto Bondo.......but blends great after they intermix a number of pre-mixed colors to get that just right match. They use this AFTER the floors have been stained.......to get the correct color match. BEFORE the first oil or sealer coat is applied.

The Floor Boys put me onto this link,
http://woodworker.com/fullpres.asp?PARTNUM=296-007

I haven't tried it yet. But did notice they carried oil based paint pigment with them in case they needed to tweak a batch of putty. Best to wipe the stock with a damp paint thinner rag to see what the oiled color will look like before mixing up the putty.
I can say that it dries hard and fairly fast.

If I find out more......I'll pass it along.

HTH
Charlie-painter777

Well, Painter,
If I understand things correctly, basically the pure linseed oil is boiled to take all the aeromatics out.....Making BLO. Then you add back what you need, according to your varying needs.. Depending on the stock in question. Most interesting, Sir...:rolleyes:
I have always used pure stuff. Liking the way it dried quicker. But it's pretty dangerous to use, if you don't clean up properly (read burn, baby burn) from spontaneous combustion. But then, if you are adding mineral spirits, doesn't that do the same thing. Make it more --- uh -- volitle?? Of course, I don't refinish nearly as much as you. Too, I live in a very dry climate, so drying is not usually an issue.:dunno:
So what percent do you use of mineral spirits, Sir? And I've heard of Japan Drier, but am adrift on what or how it does it's work.
I apologize for the number of questions, Sir, cause it looks like you are creating a primer for those of us unwashed who slop a little oven cleaner on a stock, hose it off with water, then wipe a coat or two of linseed oil on and call it good.
Thanks for your indulgence..:cheers:

jim (aka Ronnie)

Jim,
I'm shooting from the hip here.
If I had to memorize every Safety Data Sheet on every material we use.....I'd never get anything else done.

Un Boiled LO is actually just Raw Linseed Oil that starts out as a type of natural Crude oil. Then is warmed slightly and allowed to stand in tanks up to two years. After the impurities settle, the top (Raw) oils are pulled and used as a Raw Linseed Oil.

Actually BLO isn't boiled. It's produced by blowing air through the oil ( Oxidation) and heated until thickened along with having dryers added like Japan dryer. It just a mix of Raw Lo with added oil based solvents and metallic dryers.

Since the use of Alkyd based oil paints, Linseed oil has mainly been used as a binder for paint pigments.
Now with the newer improved Latex Acrylic lines of paint......the oil bases are being used less and less except for Industrial finishes.

There are many versions of Linseed oil...one called Stand Oil is heated to aprox 600 degrees F and held at that temperature for a number of hours. The change is a molecular one, called polymerization. Stand oil is a heavy, viscous material. It can be thinned to a painting consistency by mixing it with several different types of thinners. It is one of the most useful ingredients in varnish.

Spontaneous Combustion Warning.........
Best ways to discard rags would be to submerge in a bucket of water.
Just for kicks.....on a hot sunny day, we'll pile them up on a dirt mound and bet on how long it will take to combust. Usually they'll start smoking in under 10 minutes.

I don't care for Turpentine. I use mineral spirits. Low flash point, just keep away from open flame.

I thin the BLO in the tank 50-50 to start with...as it warms and thickens I keep adding mineral spirits as needed. When applying coats by hand I use BLO full strength. Last coat is Tung Oil and cut 50-50.

That's about all I know about BLO and they're are still other versions of it.......

I'm trying buddy !
Gotta get to work........spraying varnish tonight !! WOOOO HOOOO

Regards
Charlie-painter777

Great info about a great job.
Have you run into stocks that seemed to have non-US wood putty in them ?

I encountered a Blue Sky a few years ago that seemed like it had been re-furbed as a ceremonial gun. The bottom & sides of some gouges were lined with putty. Sadly someone had ( freshly ) sanded the right side of the high wood stock between the oiler slot and the grip area -- destroying the stamp & the slogan. The only US stamp left on the the outside was in the sling well:
TRIMBLE
. . TN

ETA:
The carbine was close to like new as re-furbed.

campperrykid,
I did run across this Korean returned stock that had what may have been a bullet hole thru it. Not sure, but some here thought thats what the repair may have been for. I had the old camera back then and couldn't get pictures any bigger.
The patch was like a Resin, you'd find on Fiberglas repairs.
It was a NPM stock, made by Trimble. Can't remember if it was a hi-wood....thinking it was a cut down, but not sure.

Charlie-painter777

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...06810164-1.jpg

Painter, you wonder what they would say if they could talk!

I bought an 1889 44 WCF Marlin levergun that appeared to have a bullet hole through the top edge of the comb of the stock. The path went from front to rear, left to right at an angle. I bought it from an old boy that just listed it as having a damaged stock. Always wish I knew they story on that one. I should see if I still have a JPEG of it.