Stock finished, Garand assembled, what do ya think?

Cocked&Locked

Cocked&Locked

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well, this garand stock and I are at an impasse. I think i'm winning though. Two trips thru the dishwasher, a week in a bag in the sun, an hour in the oven wrapped in paper at 150 and half hour under circa 1890 stripper then rinsed with mineral spirits and it finally looks like wood again. Pity each part seems to have come not only from a different set, but a different species of tree:(. Oh well, it seems to have finally stopped oozing up cosmoline so maybe one more soak in mineral spirits and i'll put a coat of BLO on her. I know tung is the proper oil, but being as it's not a thing of beauty, and I have BLO on hand, for a shooter it'll do. Least the weather was sorta nice so i could do the stripping outside, and my wife is only complaining about the stink of me, instead of the whole operation. :rolleyes:
 
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"...I know tung is the proper oil..." It's an either/or thing. Both oils were used. Difference is do you want a flat finish or shiney. BLO gives a flat finish. Tung oil, properly rubbed in over several days, gives a hard, waterproof, shiney finish(any stain must go on before any tung oil). Might be an idea to get the oils out then leave the project for a while, before you decide.
Drop the stock in a vat/tub of Varsol(Canadian brand name for mineral spirits) or any grease remover and leave it there for 24 hours. Then wipe off the gunk. Do not dump any of it down any drain. It's toxic.
"...not only from a different set..." It'll be walnut, birch or beech.
 
If you have ever seen the movie "Band of Brothers", take a good look at the Garands that were featured. I'd say that 95% of them had "mismatched furniture". A great (and quick) way to remove all of the finish from the wood is with Acetone and ultrafine steel wool. The Acetone raises the grain of the wood, so it's necessary to smooth it out with more steel wool, but you are left with nice, clean, bare wood.
 
Thanks all, i'm going BLO because i prefer the flat finish. When i recieved this rifle, the stock looked like black beat up plastic. You actually couldn't see any wood grain to it, and if it got warmer then low room temperature it started to ooze. The barrel had no visable rifling, and pitting on the outside of it over the chamber over an eighth of an inch deep. I found a new surplus barrel and had that installed and it actually shoots really well, and dropped it into a boyd's stock for a while, but i've always wanted it back in the issue stock. The barrel guard/op rod cover looks to be birch, the main stock may be walnut or beech, and the front hand guard is about the same color, but has a much coarser grain, more open. I'll post pic's when she's back together, i wish i'd taken some when i first got it.
 
well, i put her back together today. Here's pics of the wood, and the assembled lady. Anyone who can date or provide information from the #'s, I would be obliged to. I see the op rod is marked NM, but thats the only part that seems to be. I suspect she's a parts bin job, but she runs well and shoots straight. I need to try some handloads and see what i can get.

Oh, you can see my crew chiefs supervising. The last pic was when the boss decided that there where enough pics and it was dinner time :D
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You can see here where it was re enforced with a couple of brass pins, and the wood where the bottom plate pulls onto was replaced and pined in as well. She's had a hard life.

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Any one know what the "3" or "11" signify?

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And the boss and foreman keeping an eye on things
 
Rifle looks good to me. Bet you can't keep fur out of the action. I always ended up shipping a little bit of my mutt with every gun I sold no matter how careful I was.
 
The receiver was produced in June 1944. The bottom of the stock shows a commonly used arsenal repair to improve vertical lock-up when the trigger guard is closed. In this case the bearing surfaces for the trigger housing are cut out and re-blocked with the blocks secured by glue and brass pins. The blocks were then dressed down to provide the desired degree of tension.

2 trips thru the dishwasher will have expanded the wood fibers somewhat. The initial fit may be tight, but there will be a tendency for the wood to compress over time from the tension of the trigger guard. The same thing may occur on the vertical surfaces of the stock where the rear face of the receiver lugs bear. Looseness in both area is detrimental to accuracy and can be remedied by gluing wooden shims on the surfaces which are affected. Exposure to hot water is destructive to wood, so the use of a dishwasher or other extreme measures, like using caustic solutions, is not recommended when refinishing stocks.

Your rifle is fitted with a national match operating rod which was intended to allow a tighter fit with less chance of interference with other parts. It can improve accuracy when used in connection with re-fitting other parts of the rifle. Good that you are happy with your rifle.
 
Hi there Cocked & Locked! Nice work there! I've not had the opportunity to look at a Garand closeup before, and your large detailed shots were just what the doctor ordered! That rear peep sight looks very interesting. I noticed that there are numbers and some sort of measure around the dial. Is it adjustable for windage as well as distance?

Overall, looks like a great piece of restoration work. Congratulations!
 
Thanks for the replys and information everyone. Yes, the rear sight is adjustable for elevation to 8 or 900 yards (I forget which) and for windage (click adjustable, i'm not sure what the movement is, on the standard sight, and there was a National Match version that had finer movement and a hooded peep with a finer front blade)

The dishwasher was a desperation measure, I wish i'd taken picks when i first got the stock. It was so oil soaked nothing much was helping, and i've never done this before. I suspect now i'd try a long term soak in mineral spirits to try to soak most of it out instead.

And yes, every thing i own comes complete with yellow and brown dog hair.
 
OEM said:
Hi there Cocked & Locked! Nice work there! I've not had the opportunity to look at a Garand closeup before, and your large detailed shots were just what the doctor ordered! That rear peep sight looks very interesting. I noticed that there are numbers and some sort of measure around the dial. Is it adjustable for windage as well as distance?

Overall, looks like a great piece of restoration work. Congratulations!
Click to expand...

OEM, the Garand rear sight is wonderful. The markings you refer to are numbers and (usually) a triangle, which represents the battle sight zero (BSZ).

Here's some info on adjusting the Garand sight and the definition of BSZ:

http://www.agarms.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92&Itemid=111
http://www.ocabj.net/?p=332
 
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