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

BCRider

Perhaps this Kester paste you have will do the trick. The standard Keter paste we had for soldiering copper you could get it on your skin with no adverse affects, the type you have sounds more caustic. All you can do is give it a try and see what happens.

Tin plate is very shiny and thin. Many of your wife's baking pans maybe made of thin tin plate with rolled wire edges. Sheet metal is galvanized, sheet iron with a zinc coating. All the duct work in your home is made from sheet metal which appears a dull silver in colour. Black flue pipes on your wood stove are not galvanized as the high heat burns off the galvanize and discolours it. So stove pipes are blackened and are of thicker min 24 ga. Sheet metal is not food grade acceptable since the galvanising is affected by heat and I am sure the galvanized coating taints the food as well.

So do a test soldiered seam with this Kester paste as if it easily pulls apart.
 
Actone, as you know by know will eat abs and pvc, if you would Like to make something as a soaker tank , uses Fiberglass to make the tank out of. But steel would be better, that way if you ever start doing any bluing , your ahead of the game.
If you would like one made for you( out of fiberglass)..just ask...we could probably come up with some sort of barder/ trade for skills labour. šŸ˜³ lol
 
quinnbrian said:
...If you would like one made for you( out of fiberglass)..just ask...we could probably come up with some sort of barder/ trade for skills labour. ļ˜³ lol
Click to expand...

Hmmm... Fibreglass.... aren't there long fibreglass planters? Or metal ones? (Used as liners in planting boxes) If so, all you'd need to do would be make a lid for the top, which could be a piece of 3/4" ply with some aluminum flashing on the bottom.
 
marshall said:
There is acid core solder you know.
Click to expand...

There USED to be for sure. I suspect it's a rather specialized product these days. Certainly nothing at all like that in the big box hardware stores.

Mrgoat, the stuff I got from Home Despot is far shinier than even the clean stuff that was already in place when I did a couple of heat ducting mods some years back. What you described is exactly what I was expecting for zinc plating on heating sheet metal. But this stuff is REALLY shiny. Not smooth and mirror like because the texture of the steel below is not smooth and mirror like. Instead it's like a flash plate. But it's not far off what cheap shiny zinc flash plated nuts and bolts look like. So my gut says "tin" but the cheap atom thin shiny zinc on nuts and bolts is whispering "zinc" to me at the same time. But the piece that I tried a patch of solder on is very shiny and very much like "tin cans" in appearance. And that's why I was wondering.

Things are starting to lean towards doing the dip process. I've washed the splits in the stocks with acetone in a shallow tray and just wiping it liberally to go into the cracks twice since my last post and I'm still seeing "wetting" from the oil leaching up around the edges of the cracks. I'm going to try a couple of more times before I go for the whole stock soaking in acetone for a half hour option
 
There are fiberglass wound tanks( Cylinders) the ones that are used for water softener/ filters . You can find them on the side of the road on big garbage pick up weeks. Talk to plumbers they can find you one cheep . 6 to 8 inches diameters
 
BCRider enough of the screwing around. Just fill the kitchen sink half full of acetone. Turn on the exhaust fan over the stove and open the window. Soak the stock for half the day. By days end the stock will be stripped and degreased and you'll be divorced. Two problems solved. But the divorce may cause a few more. Need anymore helpful advice feel free to ask away.
 
Three passes thru the pots & pans cycle in a dishwasher will leach all the oils out.

I did that to a Norc M305 CHU wood stock. I came out Lilly white ready for refinishing.

M
 
gnmontey said:
Three passes thru the pots & pans cycle in a dishwasher will leach all the oils out.

I did that to a Norc M305 CHU wood stock. I came out Lilly white ready for refinishing.

M
Click to expand...

You serious or having me on? Someone stuck a nice little paring knife I've got with a wood handle in the dishwasher when I wasn't looking and the wood looked seriously harmed by the time the cycle was done.
 
BCRider said:
You serious or having me on? Someone stuck a nice little paring knife I've got with a wood handle in the dishwasher when I wasn't looking and the wood looked seriously harmed by the time the cycle was done.
Click to expand...
I think it's a joke referring to the famous dishwasher warning thread lol.
 
get some aluminum flashing and bend to form an appropriate sized container to hold the stock. cover stock with solvent of choice. cover with tinfoil--cheap, easy and works just fine.

44Bore
 
bertn said:
I think it's a joke referring to the famous dishwasher warning thread lol.
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry. I didn't know about that one.

get some aluminum flashing and bend to form an appropriate sized container to hold the stock. cover stock with solvent of choice. cover with tinfoil--cheap, easy and works just fine.

44Bore
Click to expand...

That sounds like MORE, not less, work than I was planning on. Plus I can't imagine how it would hold acetone or other similar solvents. Or are you describing making up a long open top tray? The idea I wanted to incorporate is to limit the surface area of the container to reduce the evaporation. Acetone and similar solvents gas off quite strongly. It's not just a case of putting on a loose cover. Sure, a cover is better than nothing. But a smaller surface area AND a cover is even better. That's why I wanted to go with more of a vertical shape.
 
Murphy's Oil Soap really pulls out the old finish and gun oil if you leave the wood in long enough. Nice thing is this is not toxic to anyone or has dangerous fumes.
 
I was just going to suggest that, as I don't think plastic would hold up, and if it is clean, easy to solder., run the joint down with steel wool, and degrease it.
BCRider said:
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 ! ! !
Click to expand...
 
We should keep in mind the OP will be using acetone, which is not compatible with some, if not most, plastics. Acetone will dissolve some plastics and escape through others. That is the reason Ed's Red containing acetone should be stored in a metal or glass container.
 
I made a soaking bath out of electrical pipe 3"EMT 30 inches long cut a hole in the side and JB welded two 4" box covers to the ends and I use it for soaking barrels and actions in Acetone prior to Cerakoting. Acetone is peculiar when it comes to plastics it will eat some without issue others it will not touch if you get your acetone from Home Hardware it comes in a plastic jug. I usually only get half the actions covered with the acetone so I turn them over every couple of minutes and agitate the acetone so it doesn't just sit in the bath.
 
Last edited:
Guys, the project is long done. In the end I didn't even solder up the heating duct. Instead I just used a rectangular gallon can with the lid cut off. I soaked the area of the stock with the splits that needed repairing and at "half time" turned them over to soak the small portion sticking out so the color for the later boiled linseed oil finish would come out even. The two stocks I was repairing worked out like a charm and both shotguns (these were two 1897 shoulder stocks) have both been used and are holding up fine.

Granted it was a bit smelly but I kept the open topped can outdoors anyway. I was worried about how much acetone would evaporate over a few hours of soaking. But it turned out to be only about a half inch worth. I did rubber band a plastic bag (which survived in fine style) over the top to at least keep the breezes out. That might have helped a bit.

I still like the idea of the tall narrow container and I likely will solder up the 4 inch heating duct and cap the lower end at some point. It would be handy for long one piece stocks.

3 inch ID EMT won't work. Even if it is squished down at the open end into an oval. Assuming a 3" ID it is 3 x 3.14= 9.42 inch in circumference. A stock I just measured with a tailor's tape is 11.5" around at the recoil plate. So no dice. Even 4" heating duct squished into an oval is only JUST big enough at a hair over 12 inch circumference.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom