Ron J

Congrats Tink. 2moa will take the game every time in the right hands.

I decided to try out another mix of things to make a stock finish. I would call it a utility type finish. Maybe not for a top of the line custom, but meets my demands. My goal was: 1) A finish that would not be sanded in. I think that mottles grain details. 2) Hand-rubbed oil satin look. 3) Fairly durable and moisture resistant. 4) Hopefully easy to repair and doesn't take 6 mos to do. I used 3 components. Minwax Antique Oil Finish (red flat can), Ace Hardware brand oil based gloss spar varnish and raw Tung oil. The spar varnish would be thinned a bit using the Minwax finish rather than mineral spirits. The Tung oil would help hand application, add looks and retard curing. The MAOF and the spar are both alkyd resin type and they mix together with the Tung and don't separate. I used 1/3 each. The first step is the Minwax straight out of the can after sanding to 320. Treated it like a sealer, brushing it in for quite a while, adding where it soaked in and wiping the excess off. Every day after I put a coat of the 3 part mixture on wet with my fingers. Just before it gets sticky, wipe off with cheap paper towels. Wipe pretty dry. Make sure it gets a coat a day. (The spar will cure in 24 hrs by itself.) I wanted each coat to bite into the previous without letting it dry and sanding, therefore all become one coat. The 7th coat was sanded, wet with the mixture, very lightly with 1000 grit. Only the top of the finish is sanded - as soon as the paper moves easy you're 95% done. Done this way there is no dulling. The remaining finish at that point is rubbed in with the palm of the hand. Add a few drops if its drying up. Rub hard enough to create heat. The next 2 coats were put on with the palm method and everything remained buttery smooth with a nice soft luster. Note: This does not fill pores and wasn't supposed to. That will be the next experiment blended into this finish. More pics of this are in the Firearm Restoration section, the cold bluing thread. I used this finish to redo that Remington .22.

Merry Christmas to all from us. Still the best thing the internet has to offer! Ron

Well sir, if this is to be her last Christmas, and hopefully not, be with her and make it as good as possible. Be the coolest head in the bunch - that will ease her best. Prayers during this tough time are with you. Ron

Well we wrapped it up the other night. I wish I had taken "before" pics. The gun stood in the corner of the breezeway on their farm for decades and was basically a farm tool. At some point it was dropped and a piece about 2-3 inches long broke off the toe. It broke right through the screw hole for the buttplate and the pc of the plate was missing also. The forend was split on the left side about 8 inches along the edge of the barrel channel. The metal was rusted beneath the bluing with some pits. The crown was dinged up pretty good. So we gave it the old college try. I stripped the stock and was able to get the forend glued together. The break at the toe was flattened, a pc of walnut glued back on and shaped to match. I dyed it best I could and got some grain to match, but after the oil finish, the colors changed again. Drove me nuts! My brother spun it in his lathe and polished the barrel to 600 then recrowned with a factory radius. I did the rest of the metal by hand to 1000 and 4-0 steel wool then cold blued with 3-4 coats of Van's brand as it worked good on the trigger guard. The guy took it from his dads farm without him knowing and he's giving it "back" to him for Christmas. It was his grandfathers who passed it on to his dad. This guy has a 10 yr old son, so it starts life over again with the 4th generation in the family. Kinda neat. The only thing we bought was a reproduction butt plate. The oil finish was a new concoction I tried.[ attachment=1071:needs_a_...olor_002.jpg][at t achment=1077:Neils_stock_004.jpg][attachmen t =1074:Neils_stock_001.jpg] Sorry I have no idea why I can't get the attachments in some kind of order.

You're dead right Karl. We all owe them. Two things come to my mind when I think of the people in our armed forces. 1-They are volunteers. 2-We are all safer here because they did.

Cute girl, great deer. Now you're goin horn hunting? I should be so lucky to kill a deer like that for meat. Also, 7 mag or not, it's way cool to me when someone hunts with a single shot.

Very nice work all the way around. Z's bolt handles are as nice as the neat little slot he cuts for them. Not like Winchester who leaves enough gap around it to store snacks while you're hunting!

I've beefed up Sears sheet metal workbenches with 2x4 frames underneath and adding backs to the ones that don't have them. Stiffens things up alot. My reloading bench is an old school lunch room tabletop on a homemade 2x4 frame. 6' long - it weighs a ton. Add a bottom level for storage and instant - more weight. One thing I have learned is flourescent lights may be brighter and work well with my tired old eyes at the reloading bench. But incandescant is THE way to go for finishing stocks. The colors are more correct or at least more like sunlight to me. When warming up walnut with dyes, reds go greenish under flourescent tubes.

Neat stuff. But the second last picture broke me up. A Rat Fink in a hot rod. I thought I was the only goofball walkin that still remembers Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. I had a bunch of his shirts and built a few models of his customs. Rat Finks - oh my freekin God. Ron

I have felt like all of the above at one time or another. But most of the time I feel like this. 3-1/2 million members. Probably 8-10 times as many gun owners. Lets say half are legitimate gun lovers. All of them join for a couple years and I doubt many new gun laws would show up. Lobby is lobby and the NRA is a powerful one. Like the system or not, it's how the fight is fought. Now that assumes the money would go where it's needed. But I like that assumption more than the one that says it won't. They're both assumptions and I'd rather try and be wrong than say it won't work to save 35 dollars. Let's think of a different scenario. How long would any of us own any of this stuff without an NRA through 8 yrs of Clinton?

LC, I think you're correct on all counts. But I support by joining (3 yrs at a time) because they are our fight in DC. Their battle style may suck, but I think it's the way it needs to be seeing as who they're doin battle with. I agree wholeheartedly that they should be something else to the general population, but I feel they got where they are by learning the lawmakers ways. Just my take on it. They call here non-stop and I hate it...but who else is there for us?

I know about the crossbolt behind the receiver lug. I mean the oval shaped ones in the forend. In the picture of this rifle they are right above the guys head. I've not seen them on a milsurp. I'll try to find a better pic. This one is small. Thanks for answering, though.

I've seen these little metal ovals on the sides of the forends on old JP Sauer Mauser sporters. I've also seen them on Maurice Ottmar customs. Does anyone know what they are for? Do they go all the way through like crossbolts? What say the experts? Ron

Not to hijack, but hows your dad, Brenden?

R&R buddy. Heal it up right and you'll be letting that 8mm-300 mag beat it up in no time!!!

Even oil and water will mix if you heat it up enough! But those 2 things - never.

Where were all these fatalities taking place during the Clinton years? Are they all because of military action somewhere or do they include any cause of death? I'm not doubting the info, I'm just learning. It's interesting to say the least. Ron

The stuff I had here is called Van's Instant Gun Blue. The bottle came in a kit with a citrus cleaner, stock finish, the bluing and some oil. Had this kit for years and it worked well for spots. I figured I'd do the sights and trigger guard with this and get the Oxpho if the results were only fair. The sights are sand blasted for a better sight picture and the trigger guard was hand polished with paper and 4 ot steel wool. I did not use a buffer. I was told once that certain compunds can prevent the bluing from working good. These pcs were fairly well pitted so I started with 150 grit on through 800. The odd thing about this bluing is it neutralizes with oil rather than water. It should be petroleum based according to the bottle so I tossed everything in a can of 10W-30 Castrol GTX for a couple days. The owner likes it and asked if the barreled action can be done the same way. We'll find out.

2.2 @ 600 yds? Wow - very cool. I don't do bench rest, but I've shot twice at The 1,000 meter deal in PA with those guys. I think my best was 12" or so with a friends gun. I couldn't come close to affording that hobby, but I thought it was cool as hell and had a ball. Congrats and have fun.

Your version of their sight is much nicer than theirs. I like their flip type 2 bead, but the popular one is just that. It's a blue Camaro already. Very neat swivel mount, too. What happens with the bolt release when rear sights are mounted there?

Z-great overall look. Is that the way the recvr looked, the engraving I mean? Or did you do it? Also, who's front sight?

SS - good luck and by all means listen to LC. Hell you got a PT you can forum to in between sessions. My hand never came back for poop, but It wasn't the therapists. The nerve is crushed and they're waiting for it to regenerate. The PT girls were aces and tried hard. I wish the same for you. Brendan - prayers for your dad for sure. Tinker's right, at least they know it's there. Time to have faith in old saw bones and get to work. Ron

Happy b-day, bub. I think I know where you might get some good ice cream! Hows Christa been since the yellow jacket incident? I hope better.

1/2 moa with the first load? Methinks it needs a nice Minnesota buck in the crosshairs more than bedding! Nice goin.