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This info is also for Garra and anyone else who may be interested in the 1/3 beeswax, 1/3 linseed oil, 1/3 Turpentine stock finish. Other people describe it as a 1:1:1 ratio mix.
These suggestions may/should save others some problems I ran into or heard about.
Since I messed up the first time I posted it, I want folks to make sure they don't heat the turpentine in the double boiler or microwave. ONLY the beeswax is heated to melt it and then removed from the heat source and the other components mixed in right after it comes from the heat source.
You may have a tendency to mix too much up for use. If you use a teaspoon measure as the measure for each component, you will probably have enough to do an entire long rifle stock. I had customers ask me to make some up for them and filled small plastic containers I got at Ben Franklin that were about the size of a 35mm film cannister. They reported they could do two complete stock and hand guard sets for M1 Garands with that much. I had left over mix, so the wood tools in my antique/old tool collection got a coat of it as well. Works great to lubricate the sliding surfaces of wood planes, BTW.
I got a large block of beeswax from a bee keeper and it was almost black. I broke off chunks and heated in the microwave and in a glass Pyrex style Measuring Cup so the cup wouldn't melt or other bad things happen. I zapped it for about 90 seconds at a time, two or three times or so, until it was all melted. Then I skimmed the dross off to get clean/clear beeswax.
Make sure you have the turpentine and oil ready to put in the melted beeswax as soon as it comes out of the microwave or double boiler. It mixes better that way when the beeswax is liquid and still hot/warm.
Make sure you use REAL turpentine. Do NOT use "Turpenol" or other turpentine substitutes as they don't work as well and some substitutes can ruin the mix. Oh, the turpentine smell goes away in no more than two weeks’ time, unless you have an unbelievably acute sense of smell.
OK, the original formula was with RAW Linseed Oil, but that does take longer to dry out. People have used the original formula BLO, that Stophel mentioned in an above post, but not everyone can make it or have access to it. PLEASE make sure if you use BLO, it does not contain petroleum distillates and that means stay away from the kind usually sold by Home Depot or Lowe’s. Ace Hardware Stores sell “Klean-strip” Boiled Linseed Oil that does not have petroleum distillates in it. (You may also find this brand at other hardware stores.) Looking at the label of the “Klean-strip BLO,” it says it is 95 to 100 percent pure Linseed Oil, so it probably is “Stand Oil” that Stophel also mentioned earlier. That is what I used and it works well, until I got some of the original formula BLO and that does dry a little faster.
OK once well mixed by stirring a lot, this is really sloppy goop when you first mix it. That’s why I suggested waiting a few days to a week to let it firm up a bit. I did try reducing the volume of turpentine on a couple of batches, since all the turpentine does is act as a solvent to mix the beeswax and oil. I found when reducing the volume of turpentine, the wax and oil did not mix as well and the mixture dried out to semi hard a few months sooner. So I suggest sticking with the original 1:1:1 ratio mix.
Like an Oil Finish, use a TINY amount on a small section of the stock and rub the dickens out of it, then go on to other small sections and repeat until the entire stock is covered. I hand buffed it with an old terrycloth towel.
OK, here’s where I admit I wound up “cheating” when I used it. My professional and personal experience with Birchwood Casey’s Tru Oil makes it my number one choice for a stock finish. So I put two THIN coats of Tru Oil on the stock to seal it and rubbed it with the “Scotch Brite” type pads the hardware stores sell as a replacement for steel wool to rub out wood finishes after each coat. THEN I put a coat of this 1:1:1 ratio oil/beeswax/turpentine mix on the stocks and handguards as a “top coat.” There have been no problems with this mix coming off with the Tru Oil under it. That made the stocks look “authentic” while it had the added benefit of the hugely superior Tru Oil underneath.
Having written all of this, I do have to say I no longer use this mix on gun stocks. I went back to only using Tru Oil and after the last coat was rubbed out with the Scotch Brite type pads to knock off the shine, I rub the dickens out of the stock with a terry cloth towel. That gives a soft “glow” to the finish that looks like it has been lovingly applied for many, many, many weeks, months and years. Everyone who looks at this finish loves it.
Gus
These suggestions may/should save others some problems I ran into or heard about.
Since I messed up the first time I posted it, I want folks to make sure they don't heat the turpentine in the double boiler or microwave. ONLY the beeswax is heated to melt it and then removed from the heat source and the other components mixed in right after it comes from the heat source.
You may have a tendency to mix too much up for use. If you use a teaspoon measure as the measure for each component, you will probably have enough to do an entire long rifle stock. I had customers ask me to make some up for them and filled small plastic containers I got at Ben Franklin that were about the size of a 35mm film cannister. They reported they could do two complete stock and hand guard sets for M1 Garands with that much. I had left over mix, so the wood tools in my antique/old tool collection got a coat of it as well. Works great to lubricate the sliding surfaces of wood planes, BTW.
I got a large block of beeswax from a bee keeper and it was almost black. I broke off chunks and heated in the microwave and in a glass Pyrex style Measuring Cup so the cup wouldn't melt or other bad things happen. I zapped it for about 90 seconds at a time, two or three times or so, until it was all melted. Then I skimmed the dross off to get clean/clear beeswax.
Make sure you have the turpentine and oil ready to put in the melted beeswax as soon as it comes out of the microwave or double boiler. It mixes better that way when the beeswax is liquid and still hot/warm.
Make sure you use REAL turpentine. Do NOT use "Turpenol" or other turpentine substitutes as they don't work as well and some substitutes can ruin the mix. Oh, the turpentine smell goes away in no more than two weeks’ time, unless you have an unbelievably acute sense of smell.
OK, the original formula was with RAW Linseed Oil, but that does take longer to dry out. People have used the original formula BLO, that Stophel mentioned in an above post, but not everyone can make it or have access to it. PLEASE make sure if you use BLO, it does not contain petroleum distillates and that means stay away from the kind usually sold by Home Depot or Lowe’s. Ace Hardware Stores sell “Klean-strip” Boiled Linseed Oil that does not have petroleum distillates in it. (You may also find this brand at other hardware stores.) Looking at the label of the “Klean-strip BLO,” it says it is 95 to 100 percent pure Linseed Oil, so it probably is “Stand Oil” that Stophel also mentioned earlier. That is what I used and it works well, until I got some of the original formula BLO and that does dry a little faster.
OK once well mixed by stirring a lot, this is really sloppy goop when you first mix it. That’s why I suggested waiting a few days to a week to let it firm up a bit. I did try reducing the volume of turpentine on a couple of batches, since all the turpentine does is act as a solvent to mix the beeswax and oil. I found when reducing the volume of turpentine, the wax and oil did not mix as well and the mixture dried out to semi hard a few months sooner. So I suggest sticking with the original 1:1:1 ratio mix.
Like an Oil Finish, use a TINY amount on a small section of the stock and rub the dickens out of it, then go on to other small sections and repeat until the entire stock is covered. I hand buffed it with an old terrycloth towel.
OK, here’s where I admit I wound up “cheating” when I used it. My professional and personal experience with Birchwood Casey’s Tru Oil makes it my number one choice for a stock finish. So I put two THIN coats of Tru Oil on the stock to seal it and rubbed it with the “Scotch Brite” type pads the hardware stores sell as a replacement for steel wool to rub out wood finishes after each coat. THEN I put a coat of this 1:1:1 ratio oil/beeswax/turpentine mix on the stocks and handguards as a “top coat.” There have been no problems with this mix coming off with the Tru Oil under it. That made the stocks look “authentic” while it had the added benefit of the hugely superior Tru Oil underneath.
Having written all of this, I do have to say I no longer use this mix on gun stocks. I went back to only using Tru Oil and after the last coat was rubbed out with the Scotch Brite type pads to knock off the shine, I rub the dickens out of the stock with a terry cloth towel. That gives a soft “glow” to the finish that looks like it has been lovingly applied for many, many, many weeks, months and years. Everyone who looks at this finish loves it.
Gus
