AG42b question - stock finish?

louthepou

louthepou

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Hi folks,

Just traded and received this AG42b. I know very little about this one. Seems to be in good shape - metal, bore; but I wonder about the wood finish. Seems to be a walnut-colour stain, which shows rubbing off in certain spots. Was this stain applied at a certain point it its official life, or is this the work of a previous owner?

Thanks for any tip...

Lou

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It's a choice you will have to make, what do you want for a final finish in colour?? The stocks are light in colour BUT not as light as you will get using B linseed. I have found the danish oils in medium walnut and black walnut will give the colour you want. You can apply these in alternating coats or mix a small amount and use this for all the finish coats. The danish oil is more durable than linseed oil. Its a superior finish.
Enjoy.
 
Lou, I have had a about 5 of these fine rifles and they all were similar in that they were a light tan to light reddish brown stained colour and some came with a very light shellac or wax finish over the raw Linseed applied at the factory.

I read some were in the past that they (Swedish Armourers) later used a mix of Linseed oil/Turpentine and bees wax hand rubbed in as their preferred final stock finish.

It was very similar to the mix of shellac and mixed BLO/Turpentine finish that the Swiss applied to their beech stocked K31's.

I had a few that the only reason you could tell it was shellac or wax on it was when you scrapped it with your fingernail and it came off and the fact the stock would not take in any linseed oil except at the end of the butt, inside of the handguard and at any wear spots. If you look at pictures of most on the internet you can see they have a slight shine to them that is not the same as most straight oiled finished early Swedish M96 rifle stocks.

Also you could tell they were stained when you disassembled them and saw the stain finish runs over the much lighter bare wood on the inside of the handguard and stock barrel channel and under the butt plate and stock disc.

This is what the beech stocked Swedish rifles looked like originally -

 
Thanks guys. Mkrnel, these are great bits of info, will prove very useful for me over the holidays when i tackle this project!

Lou
 
Hi Lou,
I picked up my AG42B a few years back, and it was stained quite a bit darker than yours. It only cost me $275, which made me happy , and when I got done with the Circa 1895 and BLO, I was even happier! Shoots like a laser, too.....
 
The pores in beech tend to let an oil finish over-penetrate and leak it out over time.
That why the Swiss use shellac on their beech stocks.
The wax would help if oil is used.

Shellac is is easier to touch up, if needed by using alcohol to feather in the shellac.

Quote from Guisan.

"Ah, easy job that is,

Take off the old shellac layer by using a high percentage alcohol and a piece of cloth.
Iron out the dents with help of a wet cloth.
Bleach the stock with some chloric toilet cleaner to get rid of the dark stain, rinse well with water after.
Fill up the remaining dents and scratches with beech wood filler.
Apply a new layer of the cheapest shellac you can find and it's as new."

Recipes:
http://theswissriflesdotcommessageb...e-original-Swiss-stock-finish-recipies?page=1
 
Last edited:
louthepou said:
Thanks guys. Mkrnel, these are great bits of info, will prove very useful for me over the holidays when i tackle this project!

Lou
Click to expand...

Lou if you need any help call me and I can come over to your place and help you out, I can bring one of mine so you can see what they originally looked like up close. We need to catch up again soon anyhow as it has been awhile.

Here is a close up of a stock colour on a original one -

 
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