finishing walnut stocks

[tallbear]

Tg
I may have been the cause of the confusion.I stated I sanded the finish while wet to fill the pores of the wood.I really don't sand but use scotch brite to smooth the finish and make a little dust to fill the pores between coats.I just don't sand the wood prior to finishing.

Your rifle looks great and is probably closer to most of the work during the period :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Mitch

 

[tg]

Thanks for the clarification and kind comments about my Fusil, yours looks great also. TG

 

[George91946]

I'm no professional builder, but just put finished a Trade Gun with walnut stock using the burnishing technique that is described in Ravenshear's booklet. I scraped the finished stock to smooth, and then rubbed the heck out of the wood with the convex side of a shallow stout spoon. I used a stainless steel mustard serving spoon that I stole from my wife. The convexity of the spoon was very shallow. The wood seemed to work harden like steel after a bit of burnishing. It soon started to acquire a shine. I then applied a coat of sealer which produced a smooth matte finish. After several afternoons of handling it with my unwashed powder dirtied hands, the final finish seems authentic for a firearm that a plains Indian might have owned. Smooth, matte. The burned powder seems to have acted like a wood stain to make the walnut color darker than original.


Lisle George