A soaking tube for removing oil residue from wood rifle stocks?

[BCRider]

I've got a couple of short shoulder stocks which need splits repaired and both are soaked with more than 100 years of gun oil I soaked one end in acetone for one of them but it obviously stripped out the finish oil as well. The wood grain looks really nice in fact! But now I need to match the rest of the stock. And that means soaking the whole thing and re-finish.

I'm going to go to my favorite metal supplier down the road and see if I can find a scrap length of 2x6" inside rectangular tube so I don't need to use multiple gallons of solvent. It'll mean welding an end on the one end as a cap of course. But that's OK.

I was thinking a trough at first. But I'd like to limit the surface area of the solvent and thus the fumes. That's why I'm looking at a long skinny tube and dipping it.

Or what do some of you use for doing something like this? Or am I overthinking it? Do you just put half into a full gallon can then flip it and do the other half? No difference ring at the overlap?

 

[GUB]

Maybe a piece of ABS plastic pipe with a end cap? Cut to length?

 

[Potashminer]

I bought a 36" piece of 4" black ABS, glued an ABS cap on bottom with ABS solvent glue and use a blue removable cap on the top. I've soaked several Lee Enfield miltary stocks in 50/50 linseed oil / turpentine without issue - so long as you don't let it tip over!! (Guess how I know that now??) I just measured a Bishop Mauser M98 sporter stock with Monte Carlo - it will not fit - needs at least 6" inner dimension for sure.

 

[zuke]

I bought a 36" piece of 4" black ABS, glued an ABS cap on bottom with ABS solvent glue and use a blue removable cap on the top. I've soaked several Lee Enfield miltary stocks in 50/50 linseed oil / turpentine without issue - so long as you don't let it tip over!! (Guess how I know that now??) I just measured a Bishop Mauser M98 sporter stock with Monte Carlo - it will not fit - needs at least 6" inner dimension for sure.

Maybe heat up the top of the tube and squeeze it into an oval?

 

[cheb]

I bought a 36" piece of 4" black ABS, glued an ABS cap on bottom with ABS solvent glue and use a blue removable cap on the top. I've soaked several Lee Enfield miltary stocks in 50/50 linseed oil / turpentine without issue - so long as you don't let it tip over!! (Guess how I know that now??) I just measured a Bishop Mauser M98 sporter stock with Monte Carlo - it will not fit - needs at least 6" inner dimension for sure.

I prepared similar tubes to soak un-stocked rifles in mineral spirits for cosmoline removal. I did not cap the tubes at the top but simply used rags as cover to limit the amount of fumes. That is best done in the garage if you want to keep your spouse happy... To prevent tipping, simply use a bungee cord. Quick, cheap and effective setup. As mentioned above, better check the required pipe diameter before heading to the hardware store.

 

[BCRider]

Maybe heat up the top of the tube and squeeze it into an oval?

Now THAT is a very sweet idea ! ! ! !

I'm not looking at plastic pipe so far because the solvent of choice at the moment is acetone. I've got some of both plastics and I'll try a couple of shavings in some for an hour to see if it's an issue. But yeah, plastic would be superb. Especially with zuke's hint at flaring out the upper mouth to make a 4" round oval enough to take a 6" deep butt end on a rifle stock.

Or I need to consider a different solvent. Such as automotive grease and wax remover that they use before prep for painting. I could use low odor paint thinner but I'm not sure it is aggressive enough to remove the soaked in oil as effectively.

More after I try the plastic shards in acetone test.

 

[EJG]

Piece of stove pipe? we get them in 4, 6, 8, 10"
edi

 

[buzzmagoo]

You can get larger diameter plastic pipes ( used for municipal water and sewage ) 3,4,6,8,10,12,and 16 inches white or greenish push on ends, elbows,T`s and adapters more expensive for shure but if you can find them used lots of the time for free .

 

[BCRider]

For acetone plastic isn't going to work. At least not the commonly found ABS and PVC. Tested a small piece each of ABS and PVC in a jar with some acetone. Within 10 minutes the ABS was quite jelly like and falling apart. Was barely able to get it out of the jar in one piece. The PVC looked good at about that 10 minute point. But after an hour and a quarter it was visibly swelling up and I could cut away bits around the edge with my fingernail. Plus the acetone was turning a noticeably milky white which was the color of the PVC.

So plastic is out. At least as far as use with acetone goes. And that would go for the larger municipal sizes. I'm pretty sure those are PVC too.

The metal heating duct is actually a good idea. But I'd need to solder the seams along the length and for the bottom block off cap. And that means finding good ol' acid flux to clean away the zinc galvanizing in the joint first. I'm going to check with a local welding and brazing supply place that I have locally to me for suitable flux tomorrow.

 

[BCRider]

EUREKA ! ! ! I remembered that a few years ago someone had given me a 1lb jar of Kester flux. Found it right where I left it. Right on the front it says "Self Cleaning Acid Paste Flux". Just for giggles I tried it on a bit of heating duct I have here and it soldered up wonderfully. So I'm going to get a length of 4" and an end cap tomorrow and solder up a tall solvent dip tank.

The short ring of PVC for the solvent test above was cut from a short piece of 4" drain pipe I had on hand. When squeezed to an oval it fits the butt end of a couple of rifle stocks with about 1/4 inch all around. So 4" will be just a dandy size to make up this low volume solvent dipping tank. So thanks again for that hint zuke ! ! !

 

[bearhunter]

EUREKA ! ! ! I remembered that a few years ago someone had given me a 1lb jar of Kester flux. Found it right where I left it. Right on the front it says "Self Cleaning Acid Paste Flux". Just for giggles I tried it on a bit of heating duct I have here and it soldered up wonderfully. So I'm going to get a length of 4" and an end cap tomorrow and solder up a tall solvent dip tank.

The short ring of PVC for the solvent test above was cut from a short piece of 4" drain pipe I had on hand. When squeezed to an oval it fits the butt end of a couple of rifle stocks with about 1/4 inch all around. So 4" will be just a dandy size to make up this low volume solvent dipping tank. So thanks again for that hint zuke ! ! !

Your choice is likely adequate. I was going to suggest a piece of aluminum irrigation pipe. There's lots of it on every farm that uses the stuff in your area. Lots of bent and broken pipes piled along fences or in barnyards.

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[josquin]

FWIW, there are various online resources for plastics resistance to chemicals, such as this one. IPEX also has one. But for acetone, probably nothing that's readily available. Southern Irrigation down the road from you (BC Rider) has tons of municipal drain pipe, etc., and sometimes offcuts.

 

[BCRider]

Your choice is likely adequate. I was going to suggest a piece of aluminum irrigation pipe. There's lots of it on every farm that uses the stuff in your area. Lots of bent and broken pipes piled along fences or in barnyards.

Close to home here I haven't actually seen any of those long pipes with multiple spoked wheels that stretch across the field. Likely because most of the local fields end up in corn for about 3 out of 5 years. And they can't use that rig in tall corn. They tend to use really powerful sprinklers. Or for the fields that are in grass they pull a big hose around behind a tractor that has a "soup" spreading spray bar. But none of the long pipes with wheels along the length. So no caches of the pipe either.

I've also never worked with that particular pipe. I have no idea of what the diameter is or the wall thickness. Plus keep in mind I have to cap and seal what will be the bottom end. Sure I could go out and have a piece welded on. But that would cost a lot more than the heating duct which I can solder myself easily with tools and supplies I already have on hand. There's lots of options I'm sure. But this one will be cheaper and easier for me. And being metal there's no guessing about if it will hold the solvent or not. Plus it will be easy to form the top open end into an oval that takes the height of the butt ends but still minimizes the amount of solvent I have to use.

 

[marshall]

You don't have to get rid of the zinc. Just has to be clean . I would just scape off the rest of the finish, sand lightly wipe down a couple times with acetone, and see what it looks like. I don't like soaking wood in acetone.

For acetone plastic isn't going to work. At least not the commonly found ABS and PVC. Tested a small piece each of ABS and PVC in a jar with some acetone. Within 10 minutes the ABS was quite jelly like and falling apart. Was barely able to get it out of the jar in one piece. The PVC looked good at about that 10 minute point. But after an hour and a quarter it was visibly swelling up and I could cut away bits around the edge with my fingernail. Plus the acetone was turning a noticeably milky white which was the color of the PVC.

So plastic is out. At least as far as use with acetone goes. And that would go for the larger municipal sizes. I'm pretty sure those are PVC too.

The metal heating duct is actually a good idea. But I'd need to solder the seams along the length and for the bottom block off cap. And that means finding good ol' acid flux to clean away the zinc galvanizing in the joint first. I'm going to check with a local welding and brazing supply place that I have locally to me for suitable flux tomorrow.

 

[BCRider]

You don't have to get rid of the zinc. Just has to be clean . I would just scape off the rest of the finish, sand lightly wipe down a couple times with acetone, and see what it looks like. I don't like soaking wood in acetone.

I don't know if the flux is removing the zinc or tin or if it's only cleaning it. But the quick spot test I did on an elbow I have sitting here showed that the flux I have is working like a champ. The metal looks the same so I tend to think you're right and it's just cleaning the plating, whatever it is, and letting the solder do its thing.

The oil in the splits of the first stock was REALLY in there. It took two dip and swish events and even then more oil leached out. That led to the nearly hour long soak followed with a blowing out of the splits which were wedged apart a little with brake cleaner than some compressed air. Of course that left a lot of solvent in the wood which took a couple of days to fully dry away. But looking at it just now I've beaten the oil soaking in the wood. It's staying dry and even the end grain has some brown in it instead of just black from the old gun oil. So now the task is to blend the clean end with the rest of it.

You're right though. Before I go out and buy the sheet metal I'll try scrubbing the rest of the surface with some solvent in a tray and a brass bristle brush and see if I can lift and clean enough of the old finish to blend it without the extreme treatment. This isn't a restoration of a fine old looking piece of wood. It's got dings all over and what seems like a cable or wire cut groove on one side. It's really darned ugly even by my understanding standards. But with the splits repaired it'll be a serviceable stock. And that's all I need for this old Win 97 that will be used for cowboy action work.

The other stock was in even worse shape and needs a huge number of repairs. But I've located a used stock that also has splits but only a little gun oil staining. So I'm hoping I can get by with just wedging the splits open a little and degreasing it with some brake cleaner and compressed air.. But if it keeps leaching oil out like the other after the "gentle" attempts to remove the gun oil then it'll be dipping time ! ! ! !

 

[marshall]

hit with a heat fan, or a heat gun, and that will tell you if it is dry, but don't burn it, the heat will pull any oil, act. to the top, wipe off repeat.
you can blend the stain also if not a sharp transition line.

 

[buzzmagoo]

Heavy trucks and machinery Exhaust Tubing is easily welded and come in large diameter sizes up to 6 in I believe .

 

[bertn]

EUREKA ! ! ! I remembered that a few years ago someone had given me a 1lb jar of Kester flux. Found it right where I left it. Right on the front it says "Self Cleaning Acid Paste Flux". Just for giggles I tried it on a bit of heating duct I have here and it soldered up wonderfully. So I'm going to get a length of 4" and an end cap tomorrow and solder up a tall solvent dip tank.

The short ring of PVC for the solvent test above was cut from a short piece of 4" drain pipe I had on hand. When squeezed to an oval it fits the butt end of a couple of rifle stocks with about 1/4 inch all around. So 4" will be just a dandy size to make up this low volume solvent dipping tank. So thanks again for that hint zuke ! ! !

In case you are in a pinch for soldering flux again you can use hydrochloric/muriatic acid. Put a bit in a jar and add as much zinc that no zinc will dissolve anymore and you are done. Jar will get pretty hot so keep that in mind.

 

[mrgoat]

In case you are in a pinch for soldering flux again you can use hydrochloric/muriatic acid. Put a bit in a jar and add as much zinc that no zinc will dissolve anymore and you are done. Jar will get pretty hot so keep that in mind.

Yes Muriatic acid cut with zinc is what we used in the sheet metal shop. Kester paste flux is used for copper, such as water lines etc. also used it on sheet copper when we did some specialty roof's, and decorative fittings. I would doubt using soldiering paste on zinc coated sheet metal is etching and cleaning the zinc enough to give you the proper adhesion. I would test just how well the soldier is actually adhering to the metal using the paste before I trusted it. I am a sheet metal mechanic/tinsmith by trade, have been since the late 60's. I have soldiered a lot of sheet metal in my day and none of it was with Kesters paste all with muriatic acid cut with zinc. But maybe I was missing something but I doubt it.

 

[BCRider]

Heavy trucks and machinery Exhaust Tubing is easily welded and come in large diameter sizes up to 6 in I believe .

Now that is a great suggestion. I'll keep that firmly in mind. Thanks

Mrgoat, thanks to you also for your experience. I only soldered a little puddle onto the surface to see how it would flow. I'll be sure to try an actual lap joint and then rip it apart to test the joint.

The stuff in this case is not the light brown color of the usual Kester paste flux I've had around for many years. Also on the side of this particular jar the the first aid instructions have the opening line "Caution, contains zinc chloride....." and goes on from there. So am I right in thinking this is good even for galvanized metal to remove the zinc?

When I looked at and finally cleaned off the flux from the test spot I did the other day I see that there's patches of the plating that is now gone. Not all of it but some spots are now the more dull silver grey I would expect of the steel under the plating. So it seems like it might well be doing the job.

Is there an easy way to tell if the plating is zinc or tin? Hot dip galvanizing or heavy electro plating is easy to tell. But the "flash zinc" I see on fasteners and some other products these days is hard to tell from tin plating. So I don't know if this duct is zinc or tin plated.