Leaching Oil

[Brad Bachelder]

For the sake of clarity I thought it would help to explain this step of our refinishing process.
Gunstock wood is dried prior to machining. The drying process removes the water from the wood at a cellular level. The lack of water "moisture" makes the wood stable and hardened. Dried wood is like a sponge, it readily absorbs moisture. The inside of a stock head is not usually totally sealed. Years of exposure to animal based lubricants absorb or "wick" oil into the dried wood.
As the oil degrades it turns the wood black. Like a wet cardboard box the cells collapse and weaken, turning the wood "punky".
The process that we use is refered to as "leaching". This is a multi step process utilizing several very nasty chemicals and specialized equipment.
One of the steps, the one Mark refered to as "boiling in acid" Is a superheated solution of a buffered organic Carboxly compound. This compound is a purifying and precipitating agent. It litterally draws out and neutralizes any existing oil. When the wood is removed from the solution it is completely dry and free of oil. At this point the wood is neutralized, degreased and stabilized to a desired moisture content.
Unlike "salt cured wood", no residual chemicals are left in the wood.
The process reverses shrinkage, raises dents and removes dark spots. The cellular structure of the wood expands to its original state and properties. Refinishing is like working with a new piece of wood.
I learned this basic process from a retired German cabinetmaker. This process, if not done correctly will virtually destroy the wood. Been there, done that.

Brad

[Robin Lewis]

Thanks Brad, I took your post and added it to the FAQ page. Good information!

[David Dwyer]

Brad
Thanks for sharing some of you "trade secrets".
David

[Francis Morin]

My friend Brad grew up in Grand Rapids, MI- at one time home to most of the best handmade furniture furniture in the USA if not the world. Interesting to me that the German word for Cabinetmaker is exactly the same in English. Eine pensionierter deutscher Cabinetmaker. Brad once put me on to a good product for stock finish touch-ups- WATCO oil- my guess is- the older Watkins door-to-door sales era. Hard to find, I use Formby's tung oil.

Having worked with some retired Dutch and German ancestry carpenters on Habitat projects- aud Deutsch- carpenter--Tischler-- rough-in (framing) level carpenter rau-im Tischler, and finish (not from Finland however) grade carpenter- Endetischler--

Brad has done two stock repair/install projects for me in past two years- the replacement pg Buttstock for my GHE 12 project Parker- had a slight crack in the lower part of the grip, you'd need a magnifying glass to see it- he also repaired the pg on my son-in-law's "pet" rifle- a LH Browning A-bolt in .270 Win-- good for another 100 years I'd guess-:bigbye:

[Paul Bridges]

For the sake of "do it yourself" folks on small budgets I thought I would post my recent experience with removing oil from a Parker stock. I bought a gh 1 1/2 frame made in 1896 that was basically in parts. The previous owner (at some point) appears to have oiled the stock everytime he oiled the gun. The entire head was black. I am not saying dark, I am saying black. The black extended all the way down the pg, through all the checkering, and was also present creeping up from the butt plate. I made a paste using whiting (calcium carbonate) and carb cleaner, and applied it to the stock with a toothbrush. The paste turned a yellowish brown in areas in a few minutes. I brushed the dried paste off with the toothbrush, then cleaned the residue of with carb cleaner. It was way lighter after 1 application. So I tried a second time. This time I used calcium carbonate and carbon tetrachloride (old cleaning fluid). This also worked, pulling even more oil out.

Here is what my experiment yielded:

1) This process will remove a tremendous amount of oil, and sort of weathers and dries the wood.
2) Be aware it will remove most of the original finish, as well.
3) More applications pull more oil.

I finish sanded the non checkered areas of the stock (400 through 800 grit paper, I didn't wet sand it, as the stock is old, worn and well marked from use, even after ironing). I then finished the stock using "Original Parker Finish". Which I finish sanded and polished with Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish.

It looks pretty fair, still a little dark at the head, but lots of red and gold grain where there was only black, both within the inletting and outside on the stock.

I may not recommend this on a high value Parker, but for a shooter field gun, heck yes it worked pretty well. The gun has 30" imp mod/full and I plan on using it on turkey, if and when I get it back on its feet.

Best to all of you.

Pauly

[charlie cleveland]

thanks pauly thats some good info..i too am on thatrestricted budget an every little bit of info like this is well appreciated...hope you get on your feet soon. there is a big gobbler waiting for you out there.... charlie