danish home guard eddystone

[shjoe]

brought danish home guard "notched" eddystone home (M53/17). bore cleaned up well, no evidence of corrosion from excessive blank ammo firing. headspace appears good. firing pin protrusion is excessive and i ordered a replacement and have milled/contoured firing pin to within .045-.059". will attempt to bring her to the range at first opportunity. danish front sight (pin-type) set at .046, may have to adjust post to set battle sight zero at 100yds. LOTS of cosmoline through out. i dont suspect that it has been fired or field stripped for cleaning in years. using a version of "Ed's Red" for cleaning. replacement remington stock without arsenal stamps,(eddystone handguards). stock, bolt numbered to match receiver. other small parts either remington or eddystone. nothing unusual. i would like to clean, not strip the stock and re-apply linseed oil to preserve the wood. any recomendations on how to go about this? is linseed oil the correct preservative or should i use tung oil? my goal would be to clean and preserve the rifle in the issued condition it was in when the last soldier held it in his hands. thanks.

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[AlReiter]

shjoe, I scrub my stocks with Go-Jo (original version not the orange stuff) using either green scrubbing pads or 0000 steel wool (found out about this technique from a guy who refinishes antiques). I do that several times until the stock is clean and smooth wiping off the Go-Jo at the end of each cleaning. Then I scrub it a few times with mineral spirits using 0000 steel wool. Finally, I apply 10-12 coats of a 50/50 mixture of BLO and mineral spirits using 0000 steel wool. Let it sit for about 15 minutes after each coat and then wipe off the excess. Let it sit for several hours and apply the next coat. I just refinished the one that I got at the CMP South Store on a recent trip. If the weather clears up here I'll try to get a couple of pics.

[shjoe]

thanks for the procedure and what product to use, Al. in my reading i discovered that BLO was the finish applied to the stock wood. as you mention, a good and thorough scrubbing will be in order. thanks, john

[AlReiter]

I've found that if you use the 50/50 mixture of BLO and mineral spirits, it will soak into the wood better. Don't get concerned if the scrubbing process starts to make the wood look very dry and almost have a weathered gray look, the first coat of the BLO/mineral spirits mixture will bring the color right back. I don't try to get the dings, etc. out figuring that's part of the history of the stock.
Good luck!!

[shjoe]

Al. will the scrubbing procedure raise the grain a little, and if so, the 0000 steel wool should smooth it out. your are right, every handling mark, dent and gouge adds to the character of the stock. saw a bring back sks once that had a bullet hole in it. the owner stated that he would never replace the stock. john

[AlReiter]

I've never had any problems with the Go-Jo raising the grain. Maybe it is the 0000 steel wool that takes care of it. All of the stocks I've dome (15-20 at last count) have come out nice and smooth.

[AlReiter]

Pictures before cleaning the stock:




Pictures of the cleaned stock:

[shjoe]

nicely done, Al. the stock still retains its "character" even though it is now "re-preserved". best, john

[AlReiter]

Finally finished cleaning/lubing everything and got it back together:

[irishsteve]

Al,that looks super ! I wouldnt have guessed you could have gotten it that light.Ive got a 17 about the same before color.Going to have to try it.