Longbranch rebuild

[A. Quatermain]

It's going to be a Bubba'd rifle anyway so what you use as a wood finish won't matter. I'd suggest Pure Tung Oil instead of RLO or BLO. When properly rubbed in(one coat per day with 24 hours drying time between coats using a new lint free cloth every day.), it gives a hard, shiney(more of a sheen), waterproof finish that keeps everything else out.
Any stain must go on before any oil, but especially Pure Tung Oil.
Make sure your smithy knows what he's doing when he installs the barrel. If he doesn't have the right tools, as in barrel vise and action wrench, it's easy to twist an Enfield receiver. And proper head space gauges can be rented for cheap. Don't let him buy 'em as you'll pay for 'em but won't get to keep 'em.

It will never be original, but I at least want it to pass the rack test.

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[mrclark303]

It will never be original, but I at least want it to pass the rack test.

Alternatively, prepare the wood, colour with the stain of your choice (I use Liberon spirit based), then use raw linseed oil, applied for a week.

I keep the woodwork in a large plastic bag, keep applying every day, a week will do the trick ...

Wipe off the excess and watch the woodwork darken a bit more every day as it penetrates and oxidation gets underway.

Buff up the wood with a cloth and you get a lovely deep semi Matt finish that only gets better with age.

The choice is yours, many different ways..