Linseed oil soaking.

LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1

LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1

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I am working on a partial restoration on a sportered No.4 Mk1*. The rifle has its barrel cut down so I decided I am going to scope it. I bought a full wood stock for it but Since I plan to hunt with it, It needs to be stocked right. I decided to try soaking the stock in linseed oil like they did originally before bedding the rifle correctly. I was thinking of making a tub from some eavesdropping and heating the oil with those little "stove" burners they use for things like keeping food warm indoors. But would mixing the oil with turpentine have the same effect without heat?

Also, The BLO I have been using is from Canadian Tire. Is this that "fake" BLO with a whole bunch of drying additives? I checked the MSDS and it says it containes:

Name CAS number %

Linseed oil 8001-26-1 95 - 98
Fatty acids, C4-20-branched, cobalt salts 125328-48-5 0.1 - 1
2-ethylhexanoic acid, zirconium salt 22464-99-9 0.1 - 1

I already used a few coats of this stuff on the stocks, if this is the wrong stuff, will it prevent proper linseed oil from soaking in?

Thanks.
 
"Linseed Oil" is a pain in the ass to work with & does not have to high of water resitance for extreme weather conditions. Take it from me a painter. Go and try to find a product called "Tung Oil". Strip the wood with "Wax Wash" from "Mohawk" or use some sort of strong solvent. Once stripped then start with 400 grit and work your way down to 0000 steel wool. Once nice and smooth, clean it with compressed air & clean rag. Then apply tung oil in multiple light coats on a clean rag & with steel wool & compressed air cleaning in between. Once you acheave a finish that you like the rifle can be left it in water for a long long time and it will still won't absord a single drop. Just make sure to do this in a well ventalated area and allow two weeks of curing time.
 
Heating the raw linseed may make it penetrate a bit quicker,but it will soak in at room temp. A standard fix to tighten up loose wooden grips for the Luger pistol is to soak the grips in raw linseed for several days so that the oil can penetrate and swell the wood. Back in the FN days I recall getting the big metal cans of linseed so the troops could re-condition the stocks after spending some time in the tules. Remember that linseed is highly flammable,so I'd be careful of it around an open flame. Also,linseed or tung oil soaked rags are a risk for spontaneous combustion so it is a good idea to soak the rags in water after use and keep them in a sealed glass jar pending disposal.
 
Reading satain's and purple's nice and informative posts
makes me think that not only CGN, but generally the gun forums
are in screaming need of info about stock prepping and finishing.

It is so godam HARD for beginers to find info
about stripping old paint/varnish/laquer/whathaveyou,
prepping, sandpaper/steelwool, wet rags with vinegar,
and the way of applying/working the different types of
tri-oil/schaftol/linseed/tung/pootang and all the rest
of the different types of oils,
how much you apply at once (in each case),
how fast/vigurously to rub the oil in the stock,
how much time between layers and so on.

I think we need a sticky (primer) in milsurp or gunsmithing or wherever
with all this info.
Sorry for the rant.
 
you can laugh your ass off,
but I can't find primers or tutorials on the net.

When I start looking, I end up with info about
re-finishing old art furniture and bs like that.
I do not want to refinish furniture, I want to re-finish GUN STOCKS!
If a piece of expensive Chippendale furniture will distort 1/2" and
the diagonals between the corners
of an antique chest are no longer equal, who cares?
But if the gunstock distorts
and creates un-wanted pressure-points on the barrel, or
if it swells and I cannot fit the action in the stock anymore,
or the bedding pops out, then what?
 
Your Canadian Tire Boiled linseed oil if you read further down the MSDS contains NO toxic chemicals and will not make your genitailia fall off. You do not need a hot tank or any tank for that matter with modern BLO, heat and exposure to air will cause it to dry quicker. Apply your first coats mixed 50/50 with turpentine, the thinned mixture will soak into any dry areas, raw linseed oil will soak in better BUT you want to determine if the stock is “loose” before making your decision.

If you can insert a feeler gauge between the rear of the fore stock and the receiver socket you have wood shrinkage.

NOTE: linseed oil was used on the M1 Garand up until 1943 when the switchover to tung oil took place, raw linseed oil was used during WWII on the Enfield rifle.

IMGP0921.jpg


In the photo below the upper left a 1950 No.4 Mk.2 Enfield has had BLO applied to the stock, on the right and bottom the overhauled in 1953 No.1 Mk.3 has only been hot dipped in a tank of raw linseed oil. The stocks were first hot dipped in raw linseed oil when newly manufactured, because raw linseed oil penetrates deeper into the wood than BLO which would turn into a thick linseed oil Jell-O if heated in a hot dip tank.

diffrence.jpg


The fore stock should be making firm contact in the “draws area” where indicated.

IMGP2022.jpg


IMGP2023.jpg
 
Try spraying the stock with 50/50 ammonia/water or 100% ammonia to clean the wood of oil and dirt. Then clean with hot water and let dry for a few days. Use marine grade linseed oil on the wood, it works better.
 
LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1

Your BLO is non-toxic BUT it is still not real actual boil linseed oil, the fatty acids, cobalt salts and 2-ethylhexanoic acid are thickening ingredients and the zirconium salt is a drying agent.

If you put it in an open container it will turn into a thick Jell-O mixture because of these added chemicals.

1. You can soak your wooden stocks in pure raw linseed oil
2. With BLO you rub or brush in on let it sit as per the directions for a given time and then wipe the remaining oil off the stock.
3. If you want to make a sticky Jell-O bug trap that will mess up your stock then go ahead and let it soak.
(The zirconium salt is a catalytic drying agent that reacts when it contacts AIR)

I use linseed oil for artist oil painting on my gunstocks, it is pure and highly refined linseed oil.

Below left to right, pure raw linseed oil, actual boiled linseed oil and semi-fake BLO.

linseedoils.jpg


USGI Rifle Stocks and Hand Guards: Walnut and Birch
Entry Level Care and Preservation Tips and Considerations for CMP Wood.
(How to refinish your M1 Garand)

http://www.odcmp.com/services/Rifles/wood_cleaning_article.htm

*Marine grade linseed oil is nothing more than a wiping varnish.
 
OK then, since I already have a few coats of the BLO on this stock will just mix some with turp and rub it on.

As for my matching, collectors rifles, I would rather use the proper oil, where abouts can I get pure linseed oil?

Thanks.
 
Rona or Home Depot & ####'s Lumber would have it for probably the cheapest. If going for the "linseed oil" be prepared to rub like there is no tomorrow and every year or so you will need to re-apply a coat depending on how much shooting you do. Also be careful around bedded areas as it might losen up the bedding compound. This is one of many reason for the switch over to tung oil from the middle of World War II tell the early part of Vietnam. Or so I am told but besides being more labor intensive it's still efective, all be it for shorter period.
 
Hey Ed, I am thinking of giving my AIA #4 MK IV the tung oil treatment as you have suggested, among other of my rifles :), should I strip the finish on the stock? - They come from the factory with a Tru-oil finish, the other day I was shooting it and it was giving erratic groups, I got a clue to check the king screw tightness and sure enough it was loose. . .
 
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