Bill Soverns stock refinishing

[FC]

Does anybody have Bill Soverns stock refinishing tips/method? If so, please post it. Also, I'm interested in any other archived stuff, or accurizing stuff, etc.

Here it is!

http://www.invisionplus.net/forums/index.p...c&showtopic=208

[z1r]

Stock finishing - by Bill Soverns.....

 

 

This is by no means an all inclusive procedure. This method works for me and by no means is the only way to finish a gunstock. A list of supplies is first followed by stepped procedures.

Supplies

Wet/dry 320 grit paper

Wet/dry 600 grit paper

Wet/dry 1200 grit paper

Wet/dry 1800 grit paper

1 pint of marine varnish(McCloskey’s)

1 quart of Daly’s BenMatte tung oil

Mineral spirits.

Rotten stone

Several hard felt pads

0000 steel wool

lots of clean rags or paper towels

Lets assume that the stock has been thoroughly block sanded from 100 grit up to 320 grit. Never sand a stock with out a hard backing surface! The next step is whiskering. Wet the stock thoroughly and use a hair dryer or other no flame heat source to quickly dry the wood. This will raise the fine whiskers on the stock. Rub the stock cross grain with the 0000 steel wool to cut the whiskers off. Repeat this process until no more whiskers will stand up. Usually takes about 6 times.

Sealing the wood

Get your can of marine varnish and mix equal portions of the varnish and mineral spirits in glass jar. Take a rag or brush and slop this mixture over the entire stock. This includes the inletting, barrel channel, under the grip cap, recoil pad. Let stand for an hour and wipe off the excess if there is any. Let is dry good and hard for about 4 or 5 days. Repeat the procedure and this time let dry for at least a week. The wood should be thoroughly sealed at this point.

 

Filling the pores

Get your mix of varnish and mineral spirits out again and pour some onto a plate. Get a piece of that hard felt and some 320 grit wet/dry paper. Dip the paper in the mixture and block sand the surface with the grain. This process creates a mixture of wood dust and finish. It should look like mud. Be sure to change your paper every so often so you are cutting well. Once the stock has been completely wet sanded take your clean paper towel and very gently wipe the surface cross grain. Wipe as though you were dusting a fine piece of porcelain. This will push the mud you created into the pores. Let dry a couple of days. Repeat this procedure until all the pores have been filled. Different stocks will take require more wet sandings than others. It will depend on how porous the wood is. The stocks I work with usually take 6 wet sandings to fill the pores. The final time you do this wipe off the stock completely with the grain. Leave no mud on the stock. Let dry for at least a week.

Building the finish

Grab that can of Daly’s Ben Matte tung oil, your hard felt pads, and your 320 grit paper. Pour some tung oil on a plate and wet sand the entire stock. Wipe completely off with the grain. Repeat process with 320. Continue wet sanding and wiping off completely with 600, 1200, 1800 grit paper. Do each stage twice.

The Rub Out

This part can be difficult and frustrating so take your time. Get your rotten stone, the tung oil, and your hard felt pad. Pour some tung oil on a plate and dip the hard felt pad in the finish…pick up some rotten stone with the wet pad. Rub with the grain VERY gently. Work a small area then move on to another. Keep dipping in the tung oil and then the rotten stone. The more stone you have on the pad the faster it cuts so watch it. This usually takes me a couple of hours so don’t rush it. When the stock has been completed rubbed out take a clean paper towel and soak it with the tung oil. Wipe the stock down with the rag to remove all the stone. Then take a dry paper towel and wipe the stock dry.

Let this sit around for 2 weeks.

 

The Final Finish

All of your hard work now comes down to this. This is the finish that everyone will see so take your time. Pour a little (like a teaspoon) of tung oil into a small dish( I use an ashtray). Pick up a single drop of tung oil with your finger and rub it in thoroughly. Work a small area and use only one drop at a time. You are applying very thin coats of finish here that will dry quickly and should not allow lint to collect on the surface. If your finish is very thin it should dry over night. Wait another day just to be sure. Apply another coat. You are done when the stock looks like you want it too. I usually do five hand rubbed coats but you may like the way it looks after just one or two. Its up to you. If you make a mistake, or have a run in the finish you can always rub the stock out again with your rotten stone and start the hand rubbed process over.

I usually let the stock hang around for about a month before I checker it or subject it to any kind of weather. Well I hope this has been informative. Good luck and you know where to find me if you need help.

 

[flaco]

Look-

 

z1r had the foresight to save this post.

 

It needs to go to the archives, with credit to Bill Soverns and Z sub credited.

 

Can we have a little competence here, Moderators?

 

Thanks,

 

flaco

 

And please delete my post--this one--when you move it. LOL.

 

Just title it "Stock Finishing By Bill Soverns", and subtitle it "Saved By z1r"

[notalbert]

Great stock finishing tips.....a wonderful article....and this will no doubt produce a truly beautiful stock, if done properly. However, I added all of the recommended curing/ drying times together, as well as estimating time for the actual work - and I calculate, from the beginning of the finishing process (after the sanding to 220 grit) - a MINIMUM of 94 days. This presumes that one will work on the stock on each succeeding day, between curing/ drying periods, with NO interuptions. Obvously, we all have other things to do, as well. So, the entire process could well actually take 4 months (120 days) to complete. And THEN, the checkering (if any), may be completed !

 

Absolutely NO criticism of the article or the methods employed...or in fact, the author, is intended - as I said above, I'm sure that this process WILL produce an exceptionally beautiful stock. I have NO doubts that Mr. Soverns knows what he is talking about, either. I fully understand that quality work requires time to complete. However, I do not think that I EVER have possessed such patience, to complete a project such as this. I suppose that this separates the "hacks" (like me)...from the true artists. If so, so be it. All I can say is WOW - what a marathon ! I'm not sure that I would feel it to be worth that much effort, after all of that. Of course, I am not everyone.

 

 

 

[z1r]

It takes me three months minimum to finish a stock. It takes much longer to actually shape and inlet one, then finish it. In the end however I think it is well worth it as it is nearly impervious to water. You can't get a more weatherproof wood stock. The key is to really let the finish soak into the wood. My first application is a very long affair. I apply coats all day long until the wood won't absorb any more. It's easy to see why good stockmakers can charge so much.

 

Maybe this is why I have six or seven completed projects (metal work) but no finished rifles, lol.

[724wd]

what is a rotten stone? i have heard this term a few times, but not seen an explaination.

[Clemson]

Brownells sells Rottenstone. It's an abrasive. http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/Pro...IES&s=4053#4053

 

Clemson

[z1r]

I should add that I don't really follow Bill's directions. I'd been using a modified version long before I got his instructions but his were so well written out, I had to save them.

 

I dispense with Rottenstone, which you can get at Rocklers. Instead, I only sand up to 600 grit. If I sanded to 1500 It would take me two years per stock, lol.

[724wd]

so z1r, is it only the rottenstone portion of this "recipe" that you avoid? (other than not finishing to 1800)

 

i am refinishing a pre-64 model 70 stock in the near future, and dont want to just spray some acrylic on it...

[z1r]

The Ben matte finish is a great one but what I use is equal parts Spar Varnish, Mineral Spirits and Marine sealer (Ben Matte will work). I slop it on until it won't absorb any more. Tis can take hours. Then I let it dry for a month and then scrape back the finish to the wood. This is where I start to wet sand with my finish using 320 building up some mud which I force into the pores. Let dry a week and repeat sanding down to the wood and forcing any mud into the pores. Dry again for a week then sand back down to the wood with 320. Repeat until the pores are filled. It is otherwise practically the same as Bill's. Stop when you get the level of shine you want. I will sometimes go to 800 but mostly, for me, 600 is enough.

 

Notice I don't whisker the wood. With all the Wetsanding and pore filling I haven't found it to be needed. Unlike the with the one day finishes.

[swamp_thing]

Up until now i have refrained from posting on this subject because I do not consider myself to be anywhere close to an expert on stock finishing. More like fumbling amature would be my choice of description. I have turned out fine looking stocks using almost this same technique however. Like z1r stated in his post, I do not go any finer than 600 grit. Also, I don't use the rottenstone and my finish is mineral spirits with formby's tung oil. I dilute the first few coats of tung oil about 50/50 with the mineral spirits to get better penetration. Then I wet sand it into the wood to fill the pores as stated. After which I continue to add coats, sanding between each coat as above. The One Thing that I have learned the hard way is to not get impatient on drying time. On my first one I did this and after about five or six coats, prematurely applied the whole thing became a gummy mess. After it finally dried I had to resand and basically start from scratch. This was a valuable lesson which I won't soon forget. Patience is a virtue when finishing a stock and should be strictly adhered to. Hope this saves someone else a lot of heartache and grief. swamp_thing

[notalbert]

Partly because of (thinking about) this thread....and partly because I have been kicking around the idea for awhile, I decided the other day, to strip and refinish an old walnut stock I have. I had applied, gulp (I hate to admit it now) a Minwax water-based poly product. Well, over time and through normal handling, a few places were peeling (small areas, at the edge of the inletting). So, I decided that this must go - in favor of a "tung oil finish". Suprisingly, removing the old poly was not too tough - a knife blade as a scraper, carefully applied, did very well. The surface was already quite smooth - so I simply re-sanded from 220 grit....up to 600. No wet-sanding, though. I chose to use Behr Scandinavian Tung Oil Finish, because I have heard very good things about it - not the least of which is that it is easy (and rather quick) to use. Well, I have applied three coats now, over the last several days... two "flood coats", to seal the wood....and one thin coat, wiped on and buffed in with a soft cloth. I was surprised at the absorption of the wood, but, I made sure that the flood coats were sufficient to allow the wood to absorb all the finish it would. I am giving the stock a couple of days to fully cure, after which I will apply several more coats, thin ones - buffed in with a 0000 scotch-brite pad. Each of these coats I intend to give at least 24 to 36 hours to cure (the Behr product is supposed to cure fully in 16 - 24 hours). I will probably apply 4 or 5 more coats, then set the stock aside for at least a week.

 

I am probably violating every rule in the book with my "method" (if one could call it that).... so I hope it works out. So far, I like what I see....and I haven't made a sticky mess of the thing. So, we shall see.

[FC]

I have used rottenstone many times in woodworking. It looks like gray talcum powder. It is a very fine abrasive. I use it to knock the sheen off of a urethane finish. It takes some trial to learn how much to rub it so it is not over or under-done. I use it with oil and make a slurry.

[Mauser98]

After all the sanding, grain raising, etc, I seal the stock by soaking it in a mixture of Interlux Original Marine Spar Varnish, Deft Marine Teak Oil and paint thinner(1/3 each) for 10-12 hours.

 

I let dry for 30 days or so.

 

I then fill the stock by wet sanding with the mixture and 320 paper. I don't wipe the mud off. Let dry for at least a week. I then wet sand with 320 again but this time I wipe lightly with paper towel. I repeat this step with 400 wet and 600 wet, letting dry for a week between sandings.

 

Usually I will wet sand with 600 a couple of times. After the last time, I will scrub the stock with paper towel while it's still wet.

 

I'm done and the stock is waterproof.

 

Here's a picture of a stock soaking - literally.