Interesting Piece o' Wood!

[Mark Landskov]

I started cleaning the wood on my bent-stock NH. It is not the original Parker stock, as it was inletted by the use of hand tools, not machines. It was very well done, though. My photography skills leave something to be desired, but here is what I found under layers/remnants of old varnish and oil. I am using the hairdryer and alcohol wipe method for oil removal. Cheers!

[charlie cleveland]

you will surely have a great lookin stock when finished... charlie

[Mark Landskov]

Thanks, Charlie. I read somewhere about minerals and such in the soil causing the dark streaks in walnut.

[charlie cleveland]

ive learned something new..id never heard this before but bet your rite...can not wait to se what your stosk looks like done... charlie

[Justin Julian]

If the head of the stock is deeply soaked with oil, you will probably need to submerge the stock in acetone, perhaps for a few days, to draw it all out. Then apply the hair dryer or heat gun and use alcohol or acetone wetted swabs to remove the remainder from the surface. It takes time, patience and a lot of work, but if you don't get all the oil out of the wood, it will migrate upwards and cause dark spots to form under your new finish. Be sure to wear rubber gloves, a face mask, eye shield, and work in a well ventilated area at all times with no open flames present. Keep us posted on your progress.

[Brian Dudley]

Very nice mineral streaking. And a few small knots are nice to see. It adds character. That will look great with finish on it!

[Mark Landskov]

Thanks, Brian, I thought so, too (concerning the little knots). Justin mentioned the acetone soaking treatment for oil removal. What does that do to the wood? Does it swell or 'whisker up'? I guess my concern would be the fit of the inletted portions of the wood.

As for the knots....they seem to be rare on factory made stocks. Are they considered blemishes?

[John Campbell]

Roundsworth:
If I were you (and I'm not) I would "anchor" those knots before finishing the stock. In other words, knots will expand and/or contract at a different rate than the surrounding wood. And they often "pop up" after a few years. Best medicine I've found is Hot Stuff glue or black Acra-Glas. You don't need much, but enough to get down between the knot and nearby wood. Then sand and finish normally.

As for acetone... some is OK. But a lot of it... think a minute. It's an oil distillate. And does no good for cellulose structure (wood).

Best, Kensal

[Brian Dudley]

The small knots should not be considered blems, per say. That is all in the eye of the beholder. Small knots like that are not uncommon. I have seen even larger ones in factory stocks.
Acetone will not really do any damage to the wood or effect the inletting in any way. It MAY whisker the wood some, but with old wood that has had finish on it before, this is not always the case. If it does whisker, just knock them down with some 320g or finer paper before finishing. Depending on how much oil is there, Acetone alone might not get everything. You may need the help of whiting to get the job done.

[Bill Murphy]

Mark, is there any chance this gun may be at the Annual Meeting? I guess not, since the stock is under restoration. Please don't turn this thing loose until I get a chance at it. Thanks. Bill Murphy

[Justin Julian]

I've had to soak several oil stained old stocks in solvents including acetone, lacquer thinner, and/or denatured alcohol to de-oil them thoroughly, and never had any problem with wood damage as a result. From the numerous articles I've read on the subject, that's SOP for de-oiling an old stock; not something I invented. I would note that the de-oiling process does tend to remove both the natural and artificial stain in the wood too, so it will likely need some re-staining prior to finishing to restore the desired coloring. The open pores in the inlet areas will also need to be sealed.

Just by way of example, here's two photos of a D grade stock I recently re-finished. When I got the gun, the wood was black with oil most of the way back to the remnants of the disintegrated Silver's pad, and the checkering worn almost smooth. I did not even know it had such nice grain until after soaking it in acetone for a few days to remove the oil and grime.

I lightly stained it with Galazan's "pre-64 red" before applying the hand rubbed oil finish. The wood to metal fit did not change one iota as a result of the de-oiling process. Of course, your experience may be different. I'm just saying that I've done this about a dozen times with satisfactory results every time so far.

[Tom Carter]

Beautiful job! Tom

[calvin humburg]

WOW Justin that is something.

[Mark Landskov]

Very nice, Justin!

I have been working on the oil quite a bit. Being retired, along with inhospitable weather, gives me plenty of time to de-oil. So far, so good! I found one hairline crack, about 5/8" long, that I opened up a bit with a tiny burr in my Dremel tool. I stabilized it with Acraglas. It is well hidden within the upper tang inletting.

[Justin Julian]

Every old oil stained stock that I have de-oiled has also revealed cracks of varying size that I've repaired during the refinishing process, which undoubtedly makes the stock stronger and less prone to further cracking in the future. It always amazes me how many problems and pleasant surprises can be concealed under a layer of old darkened oil and crud.