plain maple stain suggestions

[captaincaveman]

I just dropped off a TVM southern Rifle kit[url] http://www.avsia.com/tvm/south.htm[/url] to Ed Cain on Saturday. He said I should have it back in the white in about six weeks. All metal is going to be browned. What color for the stock? I've seen alot of beautiful curly maple stocks on here, but what would look good on plain maple? Any suggestions? If anybody has pictures that would be great. Thanks yall :hatsoff:

Josh

 

[longrifle78]

Plain red maple with aqua fortis.

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[captaincaveman]

how exactly do you apply aquafortis?

Josh

 

[rich pierce]

After whiskering, put it on liberally with a lint-free rag, missing nothing and dripping nowhere. Allow it to dry for an hour. It will look ugly. Now use a heat gun (safest method) to heat the stock. Do not burn the corners of lock moldings etc. Move the heat gun along all the time, revisting areas where the color has not completely turned. Reminder- be careful of any edge area for overheating. The heating can also be done over a stove, turning and moving the stock all the time, or with a big piece of flat iron out of the forge passed over the stock.

Now look at your color and wet the stock with water to get an idea whether you have a deep enough tone. If you want a deeper tone, apply more AQF and repeat the heat.

When all done, wash the stock with water, then with baking soda in water to neutralize the acid. Finish with another water wash. Now the stock will be hungry for finish, pores very open and the stock will have a dry appearance. All oils removed. I wait 2 days for the stock to equalize moisture content before sealing.

 

[flintlockmdj]

For plain maple I like minwax early american, gives a nice medium brown not too dark and not too light. They now have a stain called gunstock that looks good but I haven't tried it.

 

[grey8833]

Captain:

I like the Laural Mountain Forge stains/dyes. The colors can be mixed or thinned to get nearly any color you would want for a gun. Penetrate much better than oil based furniture stains.

Mike

 

[kawaker900]

Just my opinion, I like a darker finish on plain or fancy maple. Jim Chambers has a finishing kit. Check it out. Link
My flints are finished with his kit.

 

[Raynor]

This might sound crazy, but I use Fiebing's leather dye. You can buy a 4 oz bottle at any tack shop for a couple bucks. :grin:

Here's a picture of a hawk handle I just finished using Fiebing's Dark Brown.

 

[tom hargrove]

i agree fibeings dye is (imo) perfect for maple and is fool proof cant mess it up cause of the alcohol base you can adjust the color also :thumbsup:

 

[captaincaveman]

thanks for the ideas yall. I may have to give aquafortis a try :hatsoff:

Josh

 

[Birddog6]

Try it on some sample maple first, NOT testing on the rifle........... :shake:

 

[Mike Brooks]

I stain curly and plain maple the same way.

 

[captaincaveman]

That was the plan. I had Toni send me the scrap pieces after they cut my stock out

Josh

 

[smshea]

I like dyes alot on plain wood because they give you a chance to adjust the color in different areas on the gun. You can highlight some areas while shading others. You can lighten areas to "fake" ware etc. In this way you can really bring a plain piece of wood to life and that is alot harder to do with oil based stains in my opinion.

 

[don1836]

cardsplitter-
do u have any pics of your flinters? I'm curious to see what the Chambers kit looks like.

 

[captaincaveman]

after talking to a few people and seeing your hawk, Fiebing's leather dye just made the list. It's probably what I will use. Thanks for the idea :hatsoff: . Now what color or color combination :hmm:

Josh

 

[Raynor]

The stuff works great.

With oil stains, if you don't keep the leading edge wet, you'll see the overlap. Not the case with Fiebing's, I love it. :thumbsup:

Rubbing alcohol works to get it off your hands after staining. :rotf:

Good luck and show us some pics along the way.

 

[BP]

Thought I'd give the stuff a try after seeing your handle. Called every tack shop in the area and none carries Fiebing's.

Guess I'll keep looking or stick with LMF stains.

 

[Raynor]

That's funny, around here it's everywhere. :hmm:

You can get it on E-bay and maybe even Tandy Leather. Should be many other online suppliers as well. I like buying it from the tack shops, no shipping cost and it's only like $2 a bottle.

 

[DrTimboone]

Here is my So Colonial .54 in plan maple using LMF Nut Brown stain and Chambers Traditional oil finish.
:thumbsup: