Chambers stock finish streaking

[reddogge]

An old (90s) stock maker friend of mine taught me to use a pantyhose stretched over my finger and apply the finish very sparingly. Then wipe it down after a bit. Repeat repeatedly.

 

[FlinterNick]

Hello all,

Im sure its been asked before but im new here. Im using Chambers stock finish and im having a hard time with getting streaks in finish. Im applying in light coats small areas at a time with my fingers. My hands are rough so I've even sanded my rough finger tips smooth.. "desperate men take desperate measures" I'm buffing between coats every 24 hours with 000 steel wool. Any tips tricks or advice would be appreciated.

Pete.

Most finishes contain solvents that enable to varnishes to dry quickly and you’d want to make sure you didnt sand the stock to fine, i stop at 150/180 never generally go higher than 220.

one thing I do is mix the varnishes with spirits staring with 50/50 then working up to to around 80/20 with the final coat being 100% varnish, after it dries I work it back steel wool and some water and then hand rub on small droplets of linseed oil, then rub it back outside with handfuls of pumice or rotten stone.

If you’re streaking, it might because the stock was sanded too fine.

One little trick i did learn was to apply varnish with a ‘magic eraser’ a very thin layer and the streaks will be blend in more on a smooth surface.

I have my stocks dry in a cardboard box that is next to a space heater on low heat and plugged into a surge protector that is on a timer.

 

[GREENSWLDE]

Said it before & will say it again. Best oil finishes are obtained using Artist Grade Refined Linseed Oil.
You just have to put in the time. Can take up to 3 months to obtain the sort of finish you find on Purdeys,Bosses H&H and other Top Flight British & European guns..There is NO easy way.. O.D.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I didn't mention; I put the finish on the stock in the earlier picture with a small brush then wiped the stock with a piece of T shirt to get rid of the excess finish. I do the same with Tru-oil but use a piece of green scotch bright pad for the applicator then wipe off the excess.

This makes a nice satin finish, again 5 coats but this time Tru-oil.

 

[user 34300]

Hard and fast rules on finishing sometimes fail. That has happened on my current build. Every piece of wood is different. It is fancy sugar maple. My regular dilute spar varnish routine failed. It looked bumpy and too shiny. In disgust I remove the finish with lacquer thinner, scotch brite, a used a suede brush in the carving and steel wool to even it all out. That left nicely filled grain and smooth stained wood. I applied a very thin coat of dilute spar varnish and wiped off the surface layer. Looks good! I may even add a dab of BLO at the end to add a pleasing aroma.

 

[IanH]

One thing I never see mentioned here, even by the most experienced, professional builders, is the oil dryers used by original longrifle and fine gun makers in their finishes.

 

[reddogge]

An old (90s) stock maker friend of mine taught me to use a pantyhose stretched over my finger and apply the finish very sparingly. Then wipe it down after a bit. Repeat repeatedly.

He also taught me to use an old shot bag to vigorously wipe down the stock. It seems to generate a little friction the help the oils soak in.

 

[user 34300]

Agree 100%, If you want to use BLO as part of the finish for sure add some Japan Dryer. Wet oil in the wood long term is bad.

Here is something to ponder.... Why is is important to soak the wood with oil? I thought the finish was there to keep liquids out, including oil. An oil soaked stock is not a good thing. There is a lot of information out there about how to get oil out of the wood. Yes, I know the military soaked stocks in BLO back in the day. They were not concerned about beauty. They cared about fast mostly. They also were not much concerned about longevity. The rifle needed to survive a short stint in the field and maybe a few decades in the rack. The guns we make are hoped to be used and admired for many decades or more.

 

[LongWalker]

One thing I never see mentioned here, even by the most experienced, professional builders, is the oil dryers used by original longrifle and fine gun makers in their finishes.

There is a school of thought that many rifles may have been originally finished with varnishes. There are period recipes and descriptions of linseed oil boiling, both as a drying oil and as a step in varnish making. If not careful this approach can lead you down a rabbit hole of varnish-making (sometimes resulting in accidental linoleum making) and possibly into the heresy of luthery. . . . .

I have two oils on hand; the ingredients in both can be documented as being in use by workers in various woodworking trades during the 1750-1850 time period but usually as a step in the varnish-making process. My recipe "boils" the oil, and uses lead carbonate and aged spirits of turpentine as driers.

The base oil consists of
1 pint linseed oil (I usually get cold pressed flax seed oil at a drugstore--not because I think it is better but for repeatability)
5 teaspoons spirits of turpentine (thickened by exposing to air for a few weeks)
1 teaspoon lead carbonate
3 teaspoons Venice turpentine

Put the linseed oil, spirits of turpentine, and Venice turpentine in an enameled pot, and stir. Take out a couple of tablespoons and mull the lead carbonate into it, then add back to the pot. Slowly and carefully bring the contents of the pot to a simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes then remove from heat. Keep a lid for the pot handy in case it gets too hot and burst into flames. Let it cool to around 110-120 degrees F and filter it into a Mason jar through a piece of old T-shirt.

My other recipe is basically the same, except I use "red oil": raw linseed oil in which alkanet roots have soaked for a year or two (a couple months, shaken frequently, would be fine; I find it easier to just dump the roots and oil in a jar and let it sit in a cupboard til I need it). I'm still experimenting with this one.