back at her

todd

Well-Known Member
ever since my died, i've been feeling "eh, i get to it tommorow" and i'd go on the porch and read and listen to music a little bit. but friday i started sanding my son's Apache gold stock(richards microstock). i started to use 220 grit but the machine marks on the wood was er......heavy. so i used 40 grit, 100 grit and finally 220 grit. it took me about 2 - 3 hours each day (5 days) or until my eyes were buggy!!! i still have to do some (the roundness of the finger grips) 220 grit, but then i'll move on to 340 grit, 400 grit and finally some bronze/copper steel wool.



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the next step will be minwax antique oil and i think minwax wipe on poly(1 or 2 coats). i never did wipe on poly on my other gunstocks, but i will try it. there is always citri strip if it comes out bad.




www.amazon.com/Minwax-Gloss-Wipe-Poly-U-S/dp/B009YNUT6Y/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=kqtP1&content-id=amzn1.sym.bbb6bbd8-d236-47cb-b42f-734cb0cacc1f&pf_rd_p=bbb6bbd8-d236-47cb-b42f-734cb0cacc1f&pf_rd_r=HA5R49GSXMP09Q21MDWG&pd_rd_wg=RBPHX&pd_rd_r=a983bc31-1598-4a38-adb6-5116383eafd3&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mi&th=1
 

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
That's quite the collection of colors in that stock. I think if I were going to wipe on poly, I'd do it in a cool basement because it dries so damn fast. I remember doing the trim for our house when we put the 2nd floor on. Wife and I were doing it in the garage. Long pieces of trim, she'd start at one end, and we'd meet in the middle. By the time we had all of them done, the first one was dry so we started again and got all 3 coats on it no time at all. Hot summer days make for fast cure times, at least with poly.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Nice to see a shop that is in the proper state of disorganization!!! Some of these yahoos here have work areas that look like a cover shot for "Surgically Clean and Over Organized Workshop Monthly" magazine! Well done!

Whats the stock fit?
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
That looks great, @todd ! Glad the motivation is returning. Good to see your good work again,

I've always had a prejudice against polyurethane in general and anything "Minwax" or "Homer Formby." My perception was that they were for the unskilled, impatient crowd - "one-coat-wonders," disrespectful of the skill, knowledge and experience it takes to make a good finish (on the wood, not the product) that truly enhances the wood instead of providing a fake layer of something sort of like wood. I've changed my mind about the Wipe-On Poly though. I really like it.

I think in 2003, I tried the Minwax Wipe-On Poly on a large blanket chest of quarter-sawn white oak, bald cypress, black walnut and aromatic cedar, the last of which received no finish at all. I applied this over both analine dies and oil-based stains (and a combination of the two) and it worked out very well on all these woods and over both "stains." I don't fill grain on furniture, and the low viscosity of the Wipe-On Poly will flow into the tiny pores and coat the sides, leaving some natural texture to the surfaces instead of puddling up and filling. I'm sold on this stuff ans a final finish, but have yet to try it on a stock. I do have one on-deck to be finished sometime in the future and want to try it though. I actually applied this over shellac (for the amber hue you don't get with the poly finishes) and it has held up extremely well.

I have used Homer Formby's "Traditional Tung Oil" finish on gun stocks and it's actually very handy and has all the same benefits of the Minwax Wipe-On Poly. It's not straight tung oil, but a pretty basic, thinned wiping varnish, which has yielded very good results on furniture and gun stocks. I'm not a fan of the slick-surfaced, "dipped" look on some production stocks, so either of these wiping varnishes stand out. One thing I really appreciate about them is that you can add a coat a day with mininal time and no fussing over runs or dust settling on a drying finish.

By the looks of your shop ("experienced") and what I've read of your posts in the past, you know all this.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Nice to see a shop that is in the proper state of disorganization!!! Some of these yahoos here have work areas that look like a cover shot for "Surgically Clean and Over Organized Workshop Monthly" magazine! Well done!

Whats the stock fit?

I've seen some of the most amazing work emerge from some of the darkest, cluttered holes - "shops" you might be afraid of entering once daylight is done, and even apprehensive about doing do in broad daylight.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
ahhhh yes... the good ol' radial arm saw workbench. Many a shop has one of these fine fixtures. For me it's the delta unisaw with router table workbench that sees alot of use.
I had one and it looked just like the one in @todd 's shop. I referred to it as a "dust-collector," because I never warmed up to the thing. I eventually sold it and replaced it with - an actual dust-collector, and I put it in the same spot.:)
 

todd

Well-Known Member
i have a unisaw workbench, drill press, table saw, belt disc sander, bandsaw.........and some others that are disorganized too!!!

jeff h, i was going try tru-oil but with only 3oz of stuff and $16-18, well....i rather not. i refinish alot of old military rifles, so to me Minwax antique oil is a great comprise. Johnson's paste wax followed up with some ballistol is good enuff for me, a coat or two of wipe on poly should be good for my son. i use old masters neutral wood filler and cherry and red mahogany wiping stain. i tried to use famowood wood filler but it is like using silly putty.

at first i tried Lin-speed oil, but i quickly found out that you have several days between coats or else it gets gummy. if you had time, i'd say lin-speed is around the best finish.

 
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Jeff H

NW Ohio
...

jeff h, i was going try tru-oil but with only 3oz of stuff and $16-18, well....i rather not....
Thanks for the link, Todd.

Your chosen "voodoo" for stocks seems to work. I've seen several of your stocks before and they all look nice.

Linspeed is like a lot of other old-time oil finishes in that possessing the wisdom and patience to put up with the protracted drying times. If that's what I had, then I could deal with it. I've mixed a few concoctions myself, which required the time, some heat and dry air to cure and they provided a nice finish. Minwax Wipe-On poly is pretty ho-hum - clear, non-yellowing (so far), but I've been able to apply as many as three coats in a day, even with summer humidity and lower temps don't have an adverse affect - like in the 60s.

True-Oil has only one benefit over several other finishes and I've used it on some kitchen trim to speed things up. The Armor-all/Tru-oil trick will allow you to do MANY coats in a day. I never looked into the composition of either product and how they work together, but it's basically like adding a "drier" to oil varnish. True Oil isn't worth what they want for the little bottles, when I have so much of so many other things on hand. The Tru-Oil did not stand up well in the kitchen thoiugh, and I should have just ordered some McCloskey's Spar Varnish - if they haven't ruined it by now.
 

todd

Well-Known Member
The Swede is never a poor choice!

i was going to make a Douglas barrel in 7x57, but i didn't have the money. i was on Numrich's site and they had unfinished 93 small ring 6.5 swede for around $100(i think, it may be $85 or so). i got in touch with my son and i told him about it. he said buy it, so i did. my gunsmith finished the barrel and put it on. i put on a timney trigger (my gunsmith did a D&T and safety).

i have a bunch of 120gr Nosler BT(6.5mm) that i no longer use(i had a 6.5 creedmoor), so i will load them up and see if the Numrich barrel is accurate or not(1 1/2" at 100 yards, 3 shots/bench is accurate enuff fer me).

Thanks for the link, Todd.

Your chosen "voodoo" for stocks seems to work. I've seen several of your stocks before and they all look nice.

Linspeed is like a lot of other old-time oil finishes in that possessing the wisdom and patience to put up with the protracted drying times. If that's what I had, then I could deal with it. I've mixed a few concoctions myself, which required the time, some heat and dry air to cure and they provided a nice finish. Minwax Wipe-On poly is pretty ho-hum - clear, non-yellowing (so far), but I've been able to apply as many as three coats in a day, even with summer humidity and lower temps don't have an adverse affect - like in the 60s.

True-Oil has only one benefit over several other finishes and I've used it on some kitchen trim to speed things up. The Armor-all/Tru-oil trick will allow you to do MANY coats in a day. I never looked into the composition of either product and how they work together, but it's basically like adding a "drier" to oil varnish. True Oil isn't worth what they want for the little bottles, when I have so much of so many other things on hand. The Tru-Oil did not stand up well in the kitchen thoiugh, and I should have just ordered some McCloskey's Spar Varnish - if they haven't ruined it by now.

using lin-speed, i was at coat #7 or 8 when i found the cheek rest gummy. i had the stock hanging for 5 or 6 days and to me the stock was dry. so i put lin-speed on and put the stock on the hanger. 5 or 6 days go by, then the cheek rest was a little gummy. all right, i put it back to dry. 3 or 4 days, gummy cheek rest. 7 or 8 days later, gummy cheek rest. at this point i was mad!!! citri-strip to the rescue and then i bought antique oil. i still have a glass jar of lin-speed oil......somewhere!!!!
 

todd

Well-Known Member
this is after my 1st sanding with 340 grit. i wiped on a little bit of water just to see what it should look like when i'm done.
 

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todd

Well-Known Member
i have three sanding done with 400 grit and now i'm filling with neutral filler.

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i waited about 15 minutes per side and then i wiped the filler off. tommorow it should be dried and then i have to sand it to 400 grit again.

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Ian

Notorious member
I have the same Craftsman 10" radial arm saw workbench with 10' girdered outfeed table with full back fence and four-way adjustment. It collects the cut-offs that the 12" compound miter saw generates and the outfeed table doubles as a stand so I can store plywood between it and the wall without worrying about the sheets falling over.
 

todd

Well-Known Member
after sanding it with 400 grit and copper/bronze wool, this is one coat of antique oil. i was going to do two, but it is muggy out, 90-95% humidity.

i was trying to get minwax wipe on poly, but i went to three stores and nada. so i got some minwax fast drying polyurethane warm gloss. then today, when i was looking at the stock, i go to myself, "you forgot the brushes, dimwit." so i go to amazon and buy a 2" fine brislte brush and just for kicks, some 2" foam brushes. i never did poly with a foam brush, but i'll try it.

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todd

Well-Known Member
i sanded with 0000 copper wool and then a 2nd coat of antique oil. i think i'm done with this step, but i have to make sure if 2 coats of antique oil is enuff.


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