Wood Finishing

[büchsenmacher64]

I have a barrel browning. It won’t be done with the cure until tomorrow. My stock has been sanded and I was wondering if I could whisker and start the staining process or should I wait until I have a lock and barrel to insert. I’ve always waited but was wondering if this wood would swell having the oil on it without the lock and barrel?

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I finish my guns with out any parts on them. You should have wiskered the stock before you browned the barrel.

 

[büchsenmacher64]

I finish my guns with out any parts on them. You should have wiskered the stock before you browned

I’m sorry, I confused you. So I do whisker and stain without any parts in the gun. I was wondering if I needed to have them ready to install after the first oiling of the wood?

 

[Mgbruch]

If you're finished fitting parts, and sanding, then yes... whisker now. All of the parts come off the stock for whiskering and finishing. I will usually put the butt plate and toe plate on after the first coat of oil. But all of the other parts stay off until the final coat of finish has cured for several days. Yes, often the stains and oils will cause the wood to swell in some areas, creating a pretty tight fit with some parts. If that happens, carefully scrape the affected area until you get a better fit.

 

[Phil Coffins]

The only parts I leave on a stock are the ones that are permanently attached, like a nose cap or pinned inlays. When the finish is cured some tight inlets will need finish lightly scraped away so the part will fit back in with out undue pressure.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I finish my guns with out any parts on them. You should have wiskered the stock before you browned the barrel.

This is not a smart as_ answer, but seriously I don't see the relevance? What does browning have to do with wiskering? 78 years old and still learning.
Larry

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I don't know how to sand a stock with out the sandpaper touching the barrel.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I don't know how to sand a stock with out the sandpaper touching the barrel.

Makes sense, but I have no issues final sanding/whiskering with the barrel out. Thanks for clarifying.
Larry

 

[büchsenmacher64]

T

The only parts I leave on a stock are the ones that are permanently attached, like a nose cap or pinned inlays. When the finish is cured some tight inlets will need finish lightly scraped away so the part will fit back in with out undue pressure.

Thanks Phil, I should’ve just asked you directly.

 

[büchsenmacher64]

The only parts I leave on a stock are the ones that are permanently attached, like a nose cap or pinned inlays. When the finish is cured some tight inlets will need finish lightly scraped away so the part will fit back in with out undue pressure.

If you're finished fitting parts, and sanding, then yes... whisker now. All of the parts come off the stock for whiskering and finishing. I will usually put the butt plate and toe plate on after the first coat of oil. But all of the other parts stay off until the final coat of finish has cured for several days. Yes, often the stains and oils will cause the wood to swell in some areas, creating a pretty tight fit with some parts. If that happens, carefully scrape the affected area until you get a better fit.

Thank you.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I leave the barrel in while sanding and scraping because the stock is awfully thin and fragile.

 

[Mgbruch]

I don't sand, but I scrape and burnish. I'll scrape the tang area and top of the forearm without the barrel in. Then I put the barrel in for the rest of it. A lot less chance of bad joo-joo with the barrel in. A proper forestock is pretty fragile.

 

[büchsenmacher64]

I don't sand, but I scrape and burnish. I'll scrape the tang area and top of the forearm without the barrel in. Then I put the barrel in for the rest of it. A lot less chance of bad joo-joo with the barrel in. A proper forestock is pretty fragile.

Thank you, I do as well. I just really wanted to know how much it would swell and you answered that. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I always have trouble with patch box inlet bottoms swelling so the PB's never fit as flush as they did before finishing. Yes, I usually have to scrape out the edges to get them back in there again, (but this can be mitigated during the finishing process somewhat by scraping finish out of there before it gets a chance to get hard). This seems to apply to the finials more so than the lids, which fit somewhat looser anyway.

When I inlet PB's, (on the bare wood during the build) to start with I get them really close to perfectly flush with the chiseling, but the final "flushing" I do with the file and sand paper, which involves taking just a little bit of metal away. (Note; horror of horrors, I sometimes use a random orbital sander for this too.) Once that's done I take them off for engraving and leave it off for finishing. After the wood is finished and done, it's reinstalled, but the edges (of the metal) are always somewhat proud to the wood.

With permanent inlays, (like estrucheons, cheek stars, muzzle caps, thumb pieces etc.) I leave them on the gun for both engraving and finishing. Because of seasonal wood movement, it seems there is never another time they are ever perfectly flush again. Either the wood is proud, or the metal is. Just the nature of the beast.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I always sand and finish with patch boxes in. I can never get them to lay back down properly one the gun is finished.

 

[büchsenmacher64]

I always have trouble with patch box inlets swelling so the PB's never fit as flush as they did before finishing. Yes, I usually have to scrape out the edges to get them back in there again, (but this can be mitigated during the finishing process somewhat by scraping finish out of there before it gets a chance to get hard). This seems to apply to the finials more so than the lids, which fit somewhat looser anyway.

When I inlet PB's to start with (on the bare wood during the build), I get them really close to perfectly flush with the chiseling, but the final "flushing" I so with the file and sand paper, which involves taking just a little bit of metal away. Once that's done I take them off for engraving and leave it off for finishing. After the wood is finished and done, it's reinstalled, but the edges (of the metal) are always somewhat proud to the wood.

With permanent inlays, (like estrucheons, cheek stars, muzzle caps, thumb pieces etc.) I leave them on the gun for both engraving and finishing. Because of seasonal wood movement, it seems there is never a time they are ever perfectly flush again. Either the wood is proud, or the metal is. Just the nature of the beast.

Thanks Col

 

[Col. Batguano]

I always sand and finish with patch boxes in. I can never get them to lay back down properly one the gun is finished.

So in a case like that you wouldn't have any finish under the finial, correct? Do you worry about that raw wood being less stable than the rest of the stock? Or, do you somehow seal the wood under there before final "flushing up"?

Maybe using something like acri-glass under it with mould release on the finial would be an option to do pre-flushing? It's not a high stress area, (like the breech and tang are), nor is the PB likely to ever be removed after final assembly, but the closer you can get it to perfect, the more perfect it is. Otherwise, it is just "one of those things" that will bug you, as the builder, but nobody else will ever notice.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I have had many original rifles apart. There is never any finish under any parts, barrel channels and lock mortices included. It just wasn't a thing.