No.1 mk lll with brand new wood

archer2u

archer2u

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Picked up this 1918 B.S.A. With brand new stock made from the same blank. All I know right now is a guy in Montreal is able to replicate stocks one at a time. I’ll get more info hopefully in the next couple of weeks (started my holidays this week). To my eyes it was a very nicely done, it has some minor gaps between the upper and lower fore stocks. I do love the way the grain continues through the whole stock. I am wondering if I should give it a few coats of tru oil or leave it the way it is. Either way I love it.BC6BD71A-8796-4E18-B818-F19769F8B2F7.jpgB85F6BC9-B45D-42C7-A9C9-00F3D9B9D5D2.jpg5CAFFFFF-068F-4AEB-892E-C171024EE710.jpg12AC128E-DA76-4369-80D6-4E09C0DDEA97.jpg6842D6D2-178D-4618-92BC-6A83C9D8D06F.jpg3C6AED45-F82F-4607-A7C6-CDE111FDE9C9.jpg647C43FF-6DC4-4DE4-93E7-550D37C5401B.jpg
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Hopefully I’ll get to the range in the next few weeks and give a range report on how it shoots, the bore is brilliant and I’ve got several types of ammo including some surplus wwll as well.
Hope you guys ( and gals) enjoyed this as much as I did finding this.
Adam
 

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That’s is beautiful!! It’s nice to see sporters being restored. I hope to someday restore a Lee Enfield myself.
Excellent work!
 
You ask about finish - that rifle was originally made with Linseed Oil on the stock. Kind of a dull, but glowing, finish after a few years of the linseed oil oxidizing. The stocks were initially soaked in warm raw linseed oil; when in service, were periodically (monthly?) given a hand rubbed coating, and then were subject to annual(?) overhauls. In my opinion (maybe just me), these rifles do not look correct with a shiny finish like from Tru-Oil or varnish. I have done a couple stock restorations - after cleaning out the grease, cosmoline, oils, etc., I soaked them in a bath of 50/50 RLO/Turpentine, drained and allowed to dry, then periodic hand rubbed coatings with BLO. They definitely do change hue after a couple years.

(Edited: the initial soak was 50/50 raw linseed oil/turpentine - the subsequent coats that I hand rubbed were Home Hardware "Double Boiled Linseed Oil")
 
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Keep slapping the raw linseed oil onto it, rub it in with your hand and let it soak in for half an hour or longer. Then buff it with a soft rag. The secret is to put many, many, micro thin layers of oil on the wood letting it cure in the air. The wood will absorb the oil and darken. The oil will oxidise over time and darken even more.

The regime for oiling was once a day for a week. Once a week for a month. Once a month for a year. Then once every year.
 
That's a very nice stock, I as well as many others would be interested in learning more about the fellow making them.

Give her plenty of oil (raw Linseed or Boiled Linseed) not any of the modern fancy stuff like Tru-Oil though. It takes time to give a military stock a proper oil finish, so take your time giving her plenty of thin coats then removing the excess after a half hour, and repeating once the previous coat is dry.

As for ammo, just me personally but I'd save the surplus .303. It's getting more and more rare to find it, and the prices have been going up steadily.
 
I appreciate all the input and just checked on my BLO and I believe I’ll be picking up a fresh bottle before I start the regime. As for the ammo one of the boxes is open, I’d taken to firing a few rounds on remembrance day when I was able to make it to the range and those two boxes are the last of the surplus that I have so I’ll probably keep the intact box.
 
As was said, treat all older .303 ammo as corrosive.

A couple of patches with solvent are not good enough. I have one of the Enfield funnels and always combine kettles of boiling water with patches of CLP etc.

Boiling water is necessary to dissolve the corrosive salts.

Very nice stock work on the OP's rifle btw! Lovely.
 
archer2u said:
Picked up this 1918 B.S.A. With brand new stock made from the same blank. All I know right now is a guy in Montreal is able to replicate stocks one at a time. I’ll get more info hopefully in the next couple of weeks (started my holidays this week). To my eyes it was a very nicely done, it has some minor gaps between the upper and lower fore stocks. I do love the way the grain continues through the whole stock. I am wondering if I should give it a few coats of tru oil or leave it the way it is. Either way I love it.
Hopefully I’ll get to the range in the next few weeks and give a range report on how it shoots, the bore is brilliant and I’ve got several types of ammo including some surplus wwll as well.
Hope you guys ( and gals) enjoyed this as much as I did finding this.
Adam
Click to expand...

if the wood is raw and untreated you will have to do something for finish (or it will split crack and warp in no time at all) you can use whatever you want, but as mentioned, the traditional ones are linseed and/or tung oil. Tung will cure faster. wipe it (either oil) on thick inside and out, every nook, cranny and bolt hole (even the big one through the butt stock), let it sit for 1/2 hour or so and wipe it off (all of it!) let it cure completely (!!! if it does not cure completely - subsequent applications of oil will prevent the initial application from curing resulting in a sticky mess !!!)
Once your initial application is cured, that's basically "it" the stock is sealed and oil will not penetrate any deeper, subsequent applications are basically just filling gaps and pores. yes, the finish will get darker and thicker, just make sure each coat is wiped completely and cured completely. As to the once a day for a week, once a week for ... ignore that. if there is a lot of humidity in your area that first coat will probably take a good 5-7 days to cure anyway.
Oil finish by itself will always be matte, unless it has some additive, if you want a semi gloss type sheen ~ wax it, yup - ordinary furniture paste wax.
 
Tung oil was not used in the British Army. It was used in USA.

Raw linseed oil is the original finish on a Lee Enfield. No secret to the process. The stock was soaked in a tank of warm oil at the factory and then hung up to drain. Duplicate this the best that you can.

Field maintenance was by the soldier who had a can of oil and a rag. You want the oil soaking into the wood, not sealing the surface as tung oil will.
Some people use a 50/50 mix of raw linseed oil and turpentine for the initial coats. The turps thins it down and allows it to soak in deeper.

If the wood is full of oil, then water can't get in.

The raw linseed oil takes a long time to oxidise and cure (if it ever does), the finish can be refreshed with subsequent treatment with oil which will continue to soak into the wood with each application.
The fit of old dry woodwork can be sometimes be improved with treatment with linseed oil which revitalises the wood and swells the grain a tiny amount.

There might be more 'alternative' finishes around these days, however, traditional raw linseed oil has preserved rifle stocks for hundreds of years.
 
can you please provide some contact info for the guy in montreal? because i would love to put new wood on my no1 mk3. its cracking infront of the magazine and continues to do so even after being repaired.
 
I will be taking to the person I bought it from tomorrow, hopefully I can get more information.
84wankel said:
can you please provide some contact info for the guy in montreal? because i would love to put new wood on my no1 mk3. its cracking infront of the magazine and continues to do so even after being repaired.
Click to expand...
 
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