Hey guys, Ive done some searching and just cant find any definitive answers. I ordered an unfinished 3 piece walnut stock set for my Garand today from boyds to replace my mismatched and well used usgi stock set on my M1. I have never finished, or refinished a stock before, so I dont now all the little tricks and steps in producing a good finish. But first off, I have no idea what finish to go with. I understand linseed oil was used in the early years of WW2? then they switched to tung later on? I'm going for the darker, more satin finish of the two, like an early issue M1 to go with the modern production Springfield leather sling that wolverine sent me. I'm also looking at Birchwood Casey tru-oil as it sounds like an easy finish for a beginner to try. I understand the kits come with a walnut stain, but have seen many different outcomes from dark, dull satin to light and shiny. I will be sending all the metal out to arma-coat to be reparkerized, and hope to get the stock fitting right and finished with a nice dark, dull finish. Any input would be greatly appreciated, as well as pics to help me see what you are talking about. Thanks guys
Finishing Boyds M1 Walnut stock
- Thread starter supernova
- Start date
The Wizard
CGN Regular
- Location
- Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil Gun Stock Finish. Follow the instruction.
The majority of Garand stocks were finished by immersion in pure tung oil at the arsenal. Once issued, linseed oil was used to re-condition the wood. GI stocks were not stained. the application of oil will darken down the wood and show a contrast in the grain.
If you want an authentic GI finish on a new stock I would use the pure tung oil. Apply it and let it soak in in successive coats. Wipe off any excess so it doesn't accumulate on the surface of the wood. You want it IN the wood, rather than ON the wood. When using tung or linseed oil keep the oil soaked rags in a closed ctnr to avoid the possibility of spontaneous combustion.
When refinishing GI stocks I use Minwax Tung Oil Finish. Unlike the pure tung oil, this contains a drying agent, so you need to avoid it accumulating on the surface of the wood which will yield an overly glossy finish.
Tru-Oil is a nice linseed based commercial stock finish which contains drying agents. It produces a glossy finish which can be toned down by rubbing with a fine grade synthetic sanding pad.
If you want an authentic GI finish on a new stock I would use the pure tung oil. Apply it and let it soak in in successive coats. Wipe off any excess so it doesn't accumulate on the surface of the wood. You want it IN the wood, rather than ON the wood. When using tung or linseed oil keep the oil soaked rags in a closed ctnr to avoid the possibility of spontaneous combustion.
When refinishing GI stocks I use Minwax Tung Oil Finish. Unlike the pure tung oil, this contains a drying agent, so you need to avoid it accumulating on the surface of the wood which will yield an overly glossy finish.
Tru-Oil is a nice linseed based commercial stock finish which contains drying agents. It produces a glossy finish which can be toned down by rubbing with a fine grade synthetic sanding pad.
Wood Finish
There are some realy good products out there that mimic the old school finishes. If you love rubbing your wood for hours on end, then polymerized tung oil is one good product. The more coats the better. Just wipe off the excess. Tru oil is a little soft. It will mark fairly easily. I just tried Dem Bart stock and checkering oil which seems very nice so far and can be finished with their stock wax for extra protection. If you want the maintenance free product, I have had very good success with minwax or other polyurathane spray in anything from dull to high gloss finish. This finish is very hard, but you can't steam out dents like a real oil finish. I boils down to your preference and skill level. It's hard to screw up rubbing oil on your wood every night for a week.
There are some realy good products out there that mimic the old school finishes. If you love rubbing your wood for hours on end, then polymerized tung oil is one good product. The more coats the better. Just wipe off the excess. Tru oil is a little soft. It will mark fairly easily. I just tried Dem Bart stock and checkering oil which seems very nice so far and can be finished with their stock wax for extra protection. If you want the maintenance free product, I have had very good success with minwax or other polyurathane spray in anything from dull to high gloss finish. This finish is very hard, but you can't steam out dents like a real oil finish. I boils down to your preference and skill level. It's hard to screw up rubbing oil on your wood every night for a week.
Does anyone know how much difference the walnut stain in the tru-oil kit makes? How much does the tru-oil darken the wood by itself? it seems googling tung, linseed or tru-oil shows a wide range of examples from nearly blonde to deep and dark. It sounds like tung oil is the way to go, if I could just find what each one looks like when finished.
Uh-oh...
If I use Hoppes 9 Gun oil on my Boyd's unfinished walnut stock set, will my #### fall off?
Sorry I could not resist. I just had to chime in here. All great suggestions up above! Thanks. Keep them coming!
And yup, gun oil is all I've used.....
Have a gander at my Breda .308 M1 and my Buddy's .30-06 Breda:
Cheers,
Barney
If I use Hoppes 9 Gun oil on my Boyd's unfinished walnut stock set, will my #### fall off?
Sorry I could not resist. I just had to chime in here. All great suggestions up above! Thanks. Keep them coming!
And yup, gun oil is all I've used.....
Have a gander at my Breda .308 M1 and my Buddy's .30-06 Breda:
Cheers,
Barney
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Yes, all I did was splash the oil to the stock. No stain or lacquer or fancy stuff like that. I kept it simple because that's all I ever did to my FNC1A1 (4L6178) that was issued to me at Battle School, Wainwright , AB.
Now, I did meet some American shooters who BONE their stocks. They will take a hambone or any large bone for that matter, place a couple of drops of oil on whatever part of the wood they are working on and make small circles with that bone and oil. That bone will 'compress' the walnut fibers/cells to ensure a very dense (and scratch resistant) surface.
They even suggested a hardwood dowel (birch, cherry, ash, hickory, beech) instead of an aminal bone. So I have 10" long piece of 3/4" doweling I use to 'bone' my Boyd's stock while watching "Band of Brothers."
Hope this helps.
Barney
Now, I did meet some American shooters who BONE their stocks. They will take a hambone or any large bone for that matter, place a couple of drops of oil on whatever part of the wood they are working on and make small circles with that bone and oil. That bone will 'compress' the walnut fibers/cells to ensure a very dense (and scratch resistant) surface.
They even suggested a hardwood dowel (birch, cherry, ash, hickory, beech) instead of an aminal bone. So I have 10" long piece of 3/4" doweling I use to 'bone' my Boyd's stock while watching "Band of Brothers."
Hope this helps.
Barney
Petroleum oils will cause wood to go punky over time. This is especially ruinous to the bedding areas where metal contacts wood and you often see this in guns where people slathered excessive oil on the metal which then drained down onto the action and surrounding wood when the rifle was stored on it's butt. Petroleum oil will also prevent the application of a stock finish. This is why people spend so much time and effort to extract petroleum oils from military stocks before they are refinished.
Linseed (from flax seed) and tung oil (from the tung tree nut) are natural oils which will preserve wood and are the preferred agents for wood conditioning and preservation. Raw linseed oil and pure tung oil do not contain drying agents as opposed to boiled linseed oil and various tung oil finishes which do.
Back in the FN days I recall the big metal tins of raw linseed oil being issued so the troops could re-condition their rifle stocks after a time in the field. The directions were then, as now, to wipe it on,let it soak in, and then wipe off the excess so it didn't form a gummy surface on the stock. In the old US Army days many of the troops had 2 stocks for their '03 Springfields, one for show and one for the field-just like boots. The parade stocks were "boned" by rubbing in linseed oil with a piece of bone or a toothbrush handle (back before dental fitness was a big issue I suppose).
Linseed (from flax seed) and tung oil (from the tung tree nut) are natural oils which will preserve wood and are the preferred agents for wood conditioning and preservation. Raw linseed oil and pure tung oil do not contain drying agents as opposed to boiled linseed oil and various tung oil finishes which do.
Back in the FN days I recall the big metal tins of raw linseed oil being issued so the troops could re-condition their rifle stocks after a time in the field. The directions were then, as now, to wipe it on,let it soak in, and then wipe off the excess so it didn't form a gummy surface on the stock. In the old US Army days many of the troops had 2 stocks for their '03 Springfields, one for show and one for the field-just like boots. The parade stocks were "boned" by rubbing in linseed oil with a piece of bone or a toothbrush handle (back before dental fitness was a big issue I suppose).
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I was going to use just TruOil on my Boyd's M14 stock, but I thought it looked too light. Instead, I put a light coat of Minwax Walnut stain on it, then followed up with the Tru. The stain really darkened the wood, but it looks like a real USGI stock now, more "era original" IMO!
raw linseed oil like this:
Its been in the garage for years, previous owner left it behind. Does it freeze? will that affect it? Its been subject to many Alberta winters, but its full. I'm wondering if pure tung oil, followed by raw linseed oil will give the look I'm after, as a few have stated this is the way it was done originally. The tung seems to leave a lighter finish than the linseed, but it sounds like a more durable and moisture resistant finish. Would rubbing in pure tung oil, then raw linseed oil give a darker finish? I do appreciate the look of a finely sanded and finished stock, but for the M1 I like seeing and feeling the grain, with a dark, dull finish. Keep the info comin guys, I'm learning alot
Its been in the garage for years, previous owner left it behind. Does it freeze? will that affect it? Its been subject to many Alberta winters, but its full. I'm wondering if pure tung oil, followed by raw linseed oil will give the look I'm after, as a few have stated this is the way it was done originally. The tung seems to leave a lighter finish than the linseed, but it sounds like a more durable and moisture resistant finish. Would rubbing in pure tung oil, then raw linseed oil give a darker finish? I do appreciate the look of a finely sanded and finished stock, but for the M1 I like seeing and feeling the grain, with a dark, dull finish. Keep the info comin guys, I'm learning alot
As indicated in my first post, the initial treatment for Garand stocks at time of manufacture was PTO followed by conditioning with RLO in the hands of troops and repair facilities. As more oil is added the stock will darken down more. For an authentic look, I'd do several applications of the PTO for starts and then follow up with RLO from time to time until you get it the way you like.
Don't sand the stock with fine sandpaper either. the original surface was quite coarse and open grained (a good thing to soak up the PTO/RLO). As an aside, I once did a new stock set in Lemon Oil and it came out very nicely with a good contrast in the grain. Nowadays I give my MILSURP stocks, except the ones refinished with Minwax Tung Oil Finish, a PTO wipedown once a year to keep them conditioned.
Your RLO can is just what we used to get for the FN stocks. I even confess to liberating a couple of cans to treat my Cedar fence in the Lincoln Park PMQ patch at CFB Calgary.
Don't sand the stock with fine sandpaper either. the original surface was quite coarse and open grained (a good thing to soak up the PTO/RLO). As an aside, I once did a new stock set in Lemon Oil and it came out very nicely with a good contrast in the grain. Nowadays I give my MILSURP stocks, except the ones refinished with Minwax Tung Oil Finish, a PTO wipedown once a year to keep them conditioned.
Your RLO can is just what we used to get for the FN stocks. I even confess to liberating a couple of cans to treat my Cedar fence in the Lincoln Park PMQ patch at CFB Calgary.
thats exactly the answer Ive been looking for Purple! I wasnt planning on sanding the stock, I was more reffering to stocks that had been sanded and given a finer finish. Do you know if the RLO Ive got is still good, after going through so many winters and freezing temps? *edit* I did some digging and found some helpful instructions, looks pretty easy. And a big thanks to all who helped, I'm sure others will benefit from this as well
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