Got the Bess done!!

[Brasilikilt]

Hello everyone

I finally got my Bess stock stained up and figured I would show her off to those interested

I have to give mas thanks to Bakeoven Bill who donated his de-stocked Brown Bess parts to me without asking anything in return, and also to 'Ol Vern who gave me an offer to help with building projects. He put hours and hours of work into making everything fit on my E-bay purchased stock while letting me watch and learn from the process!

I must say that it was a treat to see a skilled builder at work!

I must also mention that Ghost was very kind to type out a few processes to stain and finish the stock. Even though I went with a different method, I still learned a lot about stock finishing which resulted in this final product.

Without the generosity of these people, I would almost certainly be musket-less today

Thanks again everyone!!

 

[rabjr]

Nice! Enjoy it Brasilikilt :thumbsup:

 

[Roy]

:thumbsup: congrats, looks good :hatsoff:

 

[RC]

ATTABOY! :thumbsup: nice work! RC

 

[BRUN]

Cool bess!!You've got some very good freinds :hatsoff:

 

[blacksmithman64]

Man, that stain is PURDY! I'm fixin to strip my bess down for a re-finish, mind sharin' yer woodstain secrets? :thumbsup:

 

[Brasilikilt]

Man, that stain is PURDY! I'm fixin to strip my bess down for a re-finish, mind sharin' yer woodstain secrets? :thumbsup:

Not at all

I did 3 coats of Birchwood Casey water based dark walnut,rubbing it in real good and letting it dry overnight between coats.
After it dried, I liked the color, but thought it looked pretty dull and lifeless. After experimenting on some scrap wood I decided to go over the dark walnut with some dark brown Fiebings alcohol based stain which started to really look good!
After applying 2 coats of Fiebings, I then started with the BLO and have given it about 3 coats so far.

I'm thinking that I'll experiment with a boiled mix of wax and linseed oil as it seems like it would fill up the wood pores and protect the stock.

What do you all think?

Thanks for your compliments

Iain

 

[renovato]

That came out nice! Bet she's gonna be a great shooter. Congrats!

 

[Russianblood]

I love the way your stock turned out. It's making me think about redoing my Pedersoli Bess stock.

 

[Patrick Hand]

a boiled mix of wax and linseed oi

I re-finished a rifle with thin hand rubbed layers of linseed oil... it came out a little to shinny, but I can rub it down....

Anyway.... I've never heard about a linseed oil and wax mix.... can you give me more information?

I wanna re-finish my doglock....still have to re-do the butt plate... change it to Fowler Butt plate from the flat plate....and make the stock a little "finer"...

I was thinking of using linseed oil again, but never heard of mixing it with wax......

 

[aloyalistdawg]

:thumbsup:
Awesome say want me to try her out shoot'en at reb scum? Well do yea? come please, pretty please... ahhhhh NICE piece , awesome look and a great job...
my best regards just another
loyalist Dawg :hatsoff:

 

[Parzifal]

:thumbsup:

A great job sir!

The after stain mixture I use on all my stocks "bess/dragoon/tradegun/rifle" is a mixture of mineral spirits and raw lynseed oil mixed 50/50
Applied on all wooden parts.

It takes a few days to dry but well worth it.

Cheers

Robert

 

[Brasilikilt]

a boiled mix of wax and linseed oi

Anyway.... I've never heard about a linseed oil and wax mix.... can you give me more information?

I read a story written by a gun builder who writes for Backwoodsman magazine quite a bit.
He tells a story about how these brothers throw together a crude "meat getter" gun.
He mentions them finishing the gun by throwing linseed oil, bees wax and walnut shells into a can to boil on a forge.

Sounded like a really good way to protect a stock

 

[trent/OH]

It's a well known fact that a pretty stock makes a gun shoot more accurately.

Actually it makes theshooter shoot more accurately, but because we are humble folks, we give credit to the gun.

 

[BEP]

Patrick Hand,
Here's a concoction that I've used, usually referred to as "gunny paste".

You need equal parts of mineral spirits or turpentine, boiled linseed oil, and beeswax. Using a double boiler and extreme caution (turpentine and mineral spirits are very flammable) melt the beeswax and add the linseed oil and either turpentine or mineral spirits. Mix thoroughly and allow to cool. The resulting semi-soft paste is a great polish - use an old rag and elbow grease to rub it into a stock. Not a bad job for a winter's evening, perhaps with the TV on.

Again, be very cautious while melting/mixing the ingredients. And dispose of any cloth used as you would of any cloth containing linseed oil, with that oil's tendency to spontaneously combust.

Be aware that it gives a somewhat shiney "glow" to a wood finish - not everyone likes this effect on a muzzleloader. Sure looks great on an M1 though.

Brasilikilt,

That Bess stock is beautiful. Great job.

 

[captgary]

Looks mighty fine to me :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
So why did you throw her on the floor........

 

[The Baron]

Looks great! What a great example of the generosity of folks in the blackpowder world. :thumbsup:

 

[TVG.75]

Brasilikilt,
Great looking musket! You did a very nice job indeed. I am looking forward to shooting some clays with you this year at a shoot or two!!!
Do you have a place to shoot much? If you would like, we go to a club shoot very close to me on the third sat. of every month and I shoot every weekend at my mother's place. Just drop me one of those P.T. things or give a call!
Take care sir,
Travis

 

[jethro224]

Lookin' good! :thumbsup: