Olive wood stock?

[Philip63]

I have a Hawken style replica that I was made in Italy. Says Ranson Italia on the barrel that came on it. I replaced it with a Green Mountian barrel and wanted to stain the stock darker as it is not very pretty as it is but if it is made of olive wood that may not be easy to accomplish. Does anybody know if olive wood was used for stocks on guns made in Italy. I know olive wood can be beautiful but sadly that is not the case with this stock. If it is olive wood, which is what it seems to be, can it be stained dark in some fashion?

 

[Grizzly Adams]

A picture would be a big help. It is likely European walnut.

 

[Stophel]

I HIGHLY doubt it.

As I understand it, olive trees are relatively short, and generally twisted and gnarled. Probably impossible to even get a piece of olive wood large enough for a gun stock.

This is not an atypical olive tree, from what I have seen!

Sight-unseen, I'll lay a wager that your stock is beech. :wink:

 

[Philip63]

Definitely not walnut. I've worked with plenty of that. Maybe Beech though. However I was able to sand and wash repeatedly with denatured alcohol until it took a fair coating of dark walnut stain. Will add another coat tomorrow or the next day. Wish I had taken a picture before staining but I keep forgetting about these modern devices we have now like cameras,,,,,, on everything.

 

[Doug Lykins]

hotoSmile:

 

[Philip63]

I would post a picture but that involves putting them somewhere else first which requires me to devote time to learning how to do that. Time I figure could be better spent playing with my more important toys like guns and hunting gear and,, and ,, you know,,, important stuff. Besides I tried to post pictures before with moderate success if I remember correctly but I'm getting older now and I forgot how to do it. Combine that with the fact I didn't grow up in the computer age and would much rather spend that time standing at my work bench doing something I like and this justifies in my mind why I don't relearn how to post pics.

 

[BrownBear]

This is not an atypical olive tree, from what I have seen!

Sight-unseen, I'll lay a wager that your stock is beech.

I also suspect it's beech, but not for the reasons cited.

Olive trees are too valued to be cut very often, making the wood too valuable for cheap gun stocks.

And "younger" olive trees are often plenty straight enough, depending on wind, soil and grown rates. If anyone was foolish enough to cut them down. Old trees get pretty gnarly, but they are likely well over 50 years of age and someone's prized possession.

 

[don hepler]

I have stained some unknown wood in the past. Min-Wax makes a sealer that goes on before the stain, that seals the wood. It will take the stain following the sealer, but will not be splotchy.

 

[Scota4570]

Dye stain will work on anything. I do not even buy hardware store stain anymore. They are made from powdered pigments. They do not penetrate woods like maple. Dye stains will work on more porous woods too, like walnut, just dilute them.

There is no reason to seal the surface before you stain. It defeats what you are trying to do.
When staining pine or other soft woods a sealer may be helpful. That does not apply here.

Chambers Flintlocks had an assortment of spirit or dye stains that will work great. They also have ferric nitrate stain (aquafortis) I can not predict what effect it will have on your mystery wood.

 

[swathdiver]

My father loves black olive trees and has a very tall one in his yard, must be near 50' now and looks more like an oak than that knarly thing. In the house we grew up in, he had another, though much smaller but it too was pruned to be straight and tall. The former would easily make several gun blanks, even on some branches if one were so inclined.

However, do olive tree wood make for good gunstocks?