Restoring a sporterized P13... My turn to play

[browningautorifle]

Very nice. The leather die will do the job, I made a matching set of a Walnut pump and a Maple butt on a CIL 871 (Savage 170) not long ago. You couldn't tell they were dissimilar wood. This one will be perfect.

[tatou]

Very nice. The leather die will do the job, I made a matching set of a Walnut pump and a Maple butt on a CIL 871 (Savage 170) not long ago. You couldn't tell they were dissimilar wood. This one will be perfect.

Yeah i even tried to match the wood color and grain as best as i could when i bought the block.
I just want the color to be the one i have in mind.
I initially bought 3 blocks of 2x2 walnut for $50... i used one for the fore end tip, one for the handguards and i have one left for future use.
Not to costly... if i don't count my hours

[browningautorifle]

Not to costly

I know, next thing you find you have a hundred grand rifle restoration.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Ispirational post. Nice work!

[tatou]

And then there was three.
I was able to acquire a third .276 Enfield round to go with the Pattern 1913.
Yeah i know what some might say... i changed the barrel to 303 so what's the point in those.
Why not i say... they are rare and do belong with the rifle... it's not like i would be shooting them anyway.

Btw, anybody knows what the chargers for the P13 look like ?

No progress to report on the finishing stage of the woodwork... to be honest i need supplies and the money went to new toys like the above cartridge. Got to be reasonable (sometimes)
Hopefully that will be soon.

[Lee Enfield]

And then there was three.
I was able to acquire a third .276 Enfield round to go with the Pattern 1913.
Yeah i know what some might say... i changed the barrel to 303 so what's the point in those.
Why not i say... they are rare and do belong with the rifle... it's not like i would be shooting them anyway.

Btw, anybody knows what the chargers for the P13 look like ?

No progress to report on the finishing stage of the woodwork... to be honest i need supplies and the money went to new toys like the above cartridge. Got to be reasonable (sometimes)
Hopefully that will be soon.

Attachment 125979

I have a p13 charger in my junque somewhere...

[tatou]

I have a p13 charger in my junque somewhere...

If you do find it and wouldn't mind sharing pictures, that would be great. Thank you

[tatou]

Here's a few dye tests i made on the original tip of the P13 and a couple of scrap pieces of wood that i used for the restoration.
Color shades doesn't show great in pictures.
I tested 2 alcohol base dye's. Fiebings on the left and mystery dye on the right (technically i'm not suppose to have it so i'm not going to name it )
All have 3 coats of dye and one coat of oil.
This was just a quick test to confirm things and give me a general idea of what to expect.
I'm used to Fiebings Dark Walnut, it served me well in the past. It has a red-ish tint to it and this is exactly what i'm looking for, for this stock.
Brand M is new to me. It is also alcohol base but unlike Fiebings it is especially made for wood. The color result is exactly has promise but without any red-ish tint. It's promising, just not for this project.
More visible on the test is how darker both dyes made the scrap pieces of wood, compared to the P13 stock tip... I was not expecting this.
I guess i might have to do some mixing of dyes, in multiple coats to get a match. I might also have to break out the alkanet root powder.

[browningautorifle]

Did you also find Fiebings will rub off to some extent? I oiled a Savage 170 wood after staining the maple stock to match the walnut forend and oil reduced the darkness even after it dried. Just took it right off the surface.

[tatou]

Yes it does. I find that it takes 3 or 4 coats of oil for the dye to stop rubbing off.
The way i do things, was taught to me by englishman_ca (more like explained via emails)
I apply multiple coats of Fiebings dye, until the wood doesn't absorb it anymore and the color is pretty much opaque.
The first few coats go on fast because they dry quickly.
I then let the whole stock dry for several days. A week if i can resist the temptation.
Next comes the linseed oil.
I lightly heat the oil and slap it on the stock with a rag, wait 30 min. and wipe any and all excess with kitchen paper towels.
This is were it is messy as any dye that has not penetrated in the wood pores, rubs off too.
No oil should be left on top of the wood, what ever hasn't penetrated has to be wiped off.
Let dry and repeat the same process 24hrs later.
I usually do this 3, 4 even 5 times.
At that point any surface dye should be gone and i will also have build a base layer of oil on the stock.
I then start to oil again but this time, before wiping the excess i use a very fine steel wool and rub it all over.
The force i use depends how much i was to ''sand'' or ''rub off'' even more dye.
This is were the matching of different color of wood happens... rub hard on dark wood, rub light on light wood.
Again i do this as many times i feel i need. Maybe 2 - 3 times, it depends on each projects.
During that time, sometime i will also use straight black to had stain spots here and there. The very dark, almost black spots often cause by cosmoline and rust we see on almost all Lee Enfields.
Those are great to help to hide repairs and splice lines. Instead of a very straight dark line you have a wavy with gradual strength and hardness spot that helps fool the eye.
It's not always desirable or possible but effective when it is.
Once i am satisfied with the color, i apply oil my usual way... soak the stock with a rag, wait 30 min and wipe the excess.

I find that a good staining job will almost always require multiple coats of different kind of dyes and/or stains.
This is what gives it character and depth.
The wood should not be sanded too smoothly to start with and i even wet the wood to raise the grain even more before applying the initial stain.
The steel wool will take care of that and i also finish (before the final coat of oil) by what englishman called ''boning''.
Using a bone or anything smooth (i use a round metal object and a leather creaser tool) to rub the entire surface to give it a rubbed almost polished look that only old rifles that have been handled for many decades, have.