Refinishing a Lyman GPR

[Randy W]

Looking to improve the appearance by addressing the poor metal-to-wood fit and refinishing the surfaces. I don't know what type of (cheap) wood it is or what kind of finish was applied to it but I'm thinking that it could benefit from having the grain filled for starters. The wood does have some "figure" in it that might be brought out some how? I'm also going to try my hand at browning all the metal parts. I realize that you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear...but I have it shooting pretty well, have plans to make it shoot better and now hope to make it look more presentable when hanging on the wall. I'd be most grateful for any advice.

 

[1950DAVE]

Looks to me like a lot of wood needs to be removed . Looks like fit around metal ain't that bad. Was this assembled from a kit?
Dave

 

[Randy W]

Looks to me like a lot of wood needs to be removed . Looks like fit around metal ain't that bad. Was this assembled from a kit?
Dave

Not a kit.

 

[Randy W]

Not a kit.

It might as well be a kit for all the work needed. It's a left-handed flintlock and they don't come in kit form so far as l know.

 

[SDSmlf]

Not bad. At least you are removing wood, not trying to add it.

 

[Bob McBride]

It seems you have two choices. Reshape the stock or fill the inlets. Be careful if you’re going to just lower the wood to match the inlets, especially on the tang as it could concave or otherwise funky up your wrist profile. Plan carefully. You might consider just bedding the inletted parts. Tiny washers on each screw under the parts would be a noninvasive way of straightening out the aesthetics. I would be a bit concerned about simply lowering the wood as your final result is in the hands of random inlet depths. That said, reshaping would be a lot of fun if you have the skills. Keep us posted.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I did the same rebuild to TC kt gun, mostly I rounded off the square corners and did away with everything that was slab sided for a more rounded look. I made all the parts flush with the wood in the process. I removed a lot of wood in the cheekpiece, wrist and defined the lock and sideplate panels as well.