Cherry wood.....

[BLAHMAN]

At the moment I am working on a rifle that will be stocked in cherry, the furniture is steel and will be browned. I'll make a patch box for it. I am wondering if any body has ever stained cherry to make it appear aged. I am thinking of usin Magic Maple, then burnishing with steel wool, or perhaps an acid like "Old Bones".

Also, this thing is full stocked, a small caliber (36) and I am making it with a perch-belly shape on the butt. I am thinking of putting in some carving...very light, brief and not all to deep, a few lines perhaps. As to the pattern...well...I'm not sure, but simple, organic perhaps. Any suggestions? :hmm:

 

[Birddog6]

Cherry wood is not normally dark, like you see on furniture, but actually a very light red or pinkish usually. Exposure to sunlight will cause the exterior of the wood to oxidize & turn a darker red... I would suggest getting the rifle in the white completely finish sanded & then expose the stock to sunlight for a month or so as to darken it. :results:

IMHO, stain to make it darker may enhance the wood & deepen the color, however may not be PC if that is a consideration..

Someone recently posted on a message board about darkening cherry wood with a solution to accelerate the darken process, but I am not sure who it was, or what the solution was. Possibly is was on the American Longrifles message board...

 

[Stumpkiller]

As luck would have it, I just received "baby pictures" of my cherry stocked Lehigh. Now, just a pinch of stain and a nice rubbed oil finish is all she's getting.

 

[bovey]

A solution of lye water was normally used to color cherry a rich red/brown color. About a teaspoon of lye to a quart of water. You could also use LM stains in place of the lye solution.

 

[BLAHMAN]

Thanks for the reply's, I just dabbed on some "Old Bones" on a piece of cherry.....looked pretty good...it sorta looks like a piece that has aged and browned up.

 

[Zonie]

Blahman: If you use the MAGIC MAPLE and it works for you, let us know.
That is the only stain I've ever used that gave my Maple Stock such a yucky appearance I threw the stuff away and completly resanded the wood to get it off.

Maybe it works for others, but for me it was a disaster. :curse:

 

[BLAHMAN]

Blahman: If you use the MAGIC MAPLE and it works for you, let us know.
That is the only stain I've ever used that gave my Maple Stock such a yucky appearance I threw the stuff away and completly resanded the wood to get it off.

Maybe it works for others, but for me it was a disaster. :curse:

Zonie,

I've used "Magic Maple" on curly maple and had good success with it, but that was some time ago. The formula may have changed since then.

Anyhow, the project I'm working on is a variation of a some of the guns built in the northwest area of Ohio and eastern Michigan. The rifles were halfstocked, small caliber, percusion and sported a "perch-belly". They mostly had a small cap box. They were somwhat like the Vincents, but were indicitive to the area I mentioned.

What I'd like to pull off is a fullstock, small caliber, flint rifle with a perch belly, using steel (not brass). I would also like to incorporate a petite patchbox, maybe with a piercing. I'd like to use cherry. I've got the barrel inlet, lock mortise is in, butplate on and the cheekpiece and comb pretty much in place. I'm just starting to shape out the wrist area.

I'd like to add some sort of coloration to the wood so it doesn't look so new, perhaps add interest. Today I applied "Old Bones" to a scrap of cherry and it looks very mellow, not red, not brown, sorta like a combo of the two.

 

[JBark11957]

Blahman. I am experienced as a furnituremaker, specifically 18th century. I am trying to get into rifle building. I would like to offer that there are tons of stains and dyes out there. The colors achieveable with these colors, available through any decent woodworking catalog, are endless. Woodworkers Supply comes to mind as a company that carries a good variety of colors. The furniture company that I trained with, a very reputable firm, very authentic, would first lay down a base color with an aniline dye (alcohol base doesn't raise the grain) and then further color with a brown oil based stain of varied strenght (depending on the desired result.) I don't know if you folks prefer traditional methods or what?

 

[Zonie]

JBark1957: Welcome to the group!
To answer to your question
"I don't know if you folks prefer traditional methods or what?"
the answer is: yes.

There are a number of builders who like the finish staining to be traditional (Aqua fortus, Potassium Permanganate, Asphaltum, vinegar+iron etc) and a number who perfer water based or alcohol based stains. There are a few who use oil base stains.
I personally prefer the modern water/alcohol type stains.

The same can be said for the finish coats. Many use Linseed, Tong and variations of these like Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil.
Very few would consider using a modern material like Urathane, Deft or Lacquer and even spar varnish would not set well with most of the locals (even though some old guns were varnished).

One of the things which guide in their choice of finishes is the product the builder is making.
For true recreations, only the original will do. For many who wish only to have a authentic looking gun, the modern materials might be a good choice.
Then there are those who strive for the old, but are willing to use the new when the old is unavailable.
Aqua fortis is one of the things which comes under this idea.
Although one can make their own, it is (as you may know) a hazardous task using Nitric Acid so many decide it's not worth the trouble.

Again, welcome to you. Any knowledge you have about any of these materials and methods would be more than welcome here. Post and contribute often.

 

Blahman, how bout some pic's. I to am trying to create an Ohio gun. No specific school, and am slightly behind your timeline, as I'm just finishing the lock mortice, and am starting to inlet the trigger. My problem is too slim a belly. I'm switching from a set to a single trigger and changing my guard, as there is not much meat at the front/underside of the lock. Any thoughts

 

[BLAHMAN]

Bill,

I have some pictures on their way, they will be on a picture CD. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to get the blasted things posted, I've tried, but no success. I need to take a few more pics, I've pretty much finished with the butt dimensions, the cheek piece is about 95% done, the lock side of the wrist and lock shoulders are established and I will be starting on the left side of the wrist soon. I'll take some pics to show where I'm at. If I have to, I'll E-mail them to you....sounds fair?

 

From the CD you need to go to[url] Photobucket.com[/url], and post them there, then it's a matter ofcut and paste to the post. There's a thread on the sight, just do a search on posting photos Bill

 

[BLAHMAN]

Thanks Bill, I'll keep trying this thing out and get some pics posted.