AmericanLongRifles Forums

General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: Woodland on October 02, 2021, 05:54:47 PM

Title: Light colored rifles
Post by: Woodland on October 02, 2021, 05:54:47 PM: I absolutely love dark wood treatments, but I am getting the itch to build one with little or no color added to the wood. Has anyone built a lighter wood rifle like maple with only a clear or oiled finish? I know it wouldn’t be period correct, but I’m intrigued by this notion. If you could post pics, that would be awesome!

Jon
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: smylee grouch on October 02, 2021, 07:04:39 PM: I don't have one but years ago a friend built one and hated it after it was done. He had a hard time selling it.
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: bob in the woods on October 02, 2021, 07:14:00 PM: Take a look at some of Wallace Gusler's recent works. Given the amount od research he does, I think you would have a hard time arguing that the stain isn't historically correct :)
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: hanshi on October 02, 2021, 11:29:12 PM: You're likely talking about something lighter than this, I suppose?

(https://i.ibb.co/hKsQYc2/DSC00402.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hKsQYc2)
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: rich pierce on October 03, 2021, 02:21:29 AM: The original Marshall rifle is fairly light in color. That’s the first that comes to mind for me.
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: J. Talbert on October 03, 2021, 02:40:55 AM: I can’t recall ever seeing a light colored gun that I didn’t think would look better a little darker. ;)
Now a little judicious wear pattern lightening I can definitely appreciate.

But that’s just me

Jeff
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: Daryl on October 03, 2021, 04:58:52 AM: I can agree with that, Jeff. Handling and using wear is entirely different. That is the current state of my Beck longrifle.
it needs re-finishing, but actually I don't really mind it worn. Late friend Leatherbelly used it for a few years before Taylor
bought it back from him, then used it himself. Now I have it and it's just fine, slightly worn, but looking just fine.
Daryl
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: martin9 on October 03, 2021, 05:06:25 AM: There's a rifle in the "Plan and Perdy" thread that has no finish at all except a little linseed oil sealing on the end grain. That'd be a good example for you to check out, no finish on most of the gun then just linseed oil.

Myself, I always go pretty dark. Light colored guns remind me of the old spanish and italian production guns too much. The only fresh build I ever refinished was to make it darker.
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: blienemann on October 03, 2021, 05:26:55 AM: The wonderful Isaac Haines # 81 in Shumway's RCA Vol I is supposed to be a light color, and barrel and lock left in white. George described it as in pristine condition. Yes, the Ed Marshall rifle is fairly light, perhaps a light coat of nitric acid. Here's a rifle from Jack Brooks a few years back, finished in light color, which Eric K also likes to use from time to time. There are quite a few examples if you keep looking. Bob

(https://i.ibb.co/BrQcBNm/CS-schim-full-lock-email.jpg) (https://ibb.co/4YXKpdc)

(https://i.ibb.co/8jVv3tV/CS-schim-top-left-email.jpg) (https://ibb.co/mH7Zsg7)
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: Cory Joe Stewart on October 03, 2021, 06:11:51 PM: In Gussler's carving video he achieves a nice light color with tar and turpentine I believe.

Cory Joe
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: Woodland on October 03, 2021, 07:29:15 PM: Quote from: bob in the woods on October 02, 2021, 07:14:00 PM
Take a look at some of Wallace Gusler's recent works. Given the amount od research he does, I think you would have a hard time arguing that the stain isn't historically correct :)

I looked online but couldn’t find anything, does he have a website?
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: Mike Brooks on October 03, 2021, 08:12:48 PM: Blonde women are attractive. Blonde guns aren't.
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: okawbow on October 03, 2021, 10:02:47 PM: I’ve seen a couple light colored rifles with very curly maple wood that looked great.
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: Hungry Horse on October 03, 2021, 10:32:38 PM: I think that if you use well figured maple, its your duty to accentuate that figuring, and that is pretty hard to do without some additional coloring. I have seen maple stocks given a light treatment of aquafortis, or vinegaroon, and then rubbed back heavily with Scotchbrite that are light in color, but have contrasting curl. Those are the blonde stocks I feel address the issues best.

Hungry Horse
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: Eric Kettenburg on October 03, 2021, 11:05:37 PM: Wallace has a take on a lighter colored stain and finish all in one and I'm sure he's accurate as to what was done on some of this stuff when new. Certainly, on heavily carved pieces, that last thing anyone really wants to do is hit them with anything water based.

Since the Marshall rifle was mentioned, I will chime in and say that I don't see it as being particularly light but it does have a great golden-amber-light brown color. It's been photographed multiple times and it seems to look different depending upon the lighting, and it looks different in person too. It's also heavily worn as it was heavily used. My *speculation* is that originally, it probably was given a light wash of something - be it aquafortis or something else - to darken the white wood a bit, and then it was finished with a darker oil varnish probably tinted somewhere in the red-brown spectrum. #42 was done this way, I think one or two of the Oerter's at least were done this way. They seem to have remnants of an oil finish that has a dark red in it. 42 certainly has something dark red added in the thin finish, not the underlying stain. I would suspect that the Marshall gun probably had a darker colored varnish on it at one time but it's all been scrubbed away at this point, and now the gun looks considerably lighter because the wood was not stained dark to begin with.

You can see this approach all over NH county, some of the earliest Moll rifles particularly which utilize overall various colors of oil varnishes (mostly reds and yellow-amber) over otherwise light colored wood staining/coloring. This was all done with resins or precipitated iron oxides, or both.

Just some thoughts. I don't personally like lighter colored maple until it's been used and aged a bit and has darkened somewhat.

The Jack Brooks rifle Bob illustrated is a great color.
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: hanshi on October 04, 2021, 11:46:54 PM: I like darker rifles much better than lighter ones. The one I have would look better refinished darker; we all makes mistakes on occasion. The wood is well figured but it will take a darker stain to really make that grain pop out. I now know to stay away from really light and really dark stains.
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: Mark Elliott on October 04, 2021, 11:53:30 PM: I do like lighter colored rifles. The original of this rifle was a lighter brown color. I am familiar with Wallace Gusler's pine tar and turpentine finish, but that is a little light for me. I applied two very dilute aqua fortis solutions to this rifle and them put many coats of Tried and True over that.

(https://i.ibb.co/Zzqwd9w/ALRRifle19-5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/5hbzTZz)
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: Woodland on October 05, 2021, 01:25:04 AM: That is a very handsome rifle Mark! Thanks for sharing it. For what it is worth everyone, I am a fan of the darker wood for sure. I simply want to mix things up and try out something lighter. I can always refinish it.
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: okawbow on October 05, 2021, 03:51:51 AM: Couple of examples I’ve seen.

(https://i.ibb.co/yq0PNzc/B67-B3-F7-F-4-AC4-4049-82-A4-E09-DC6-FDC1-B5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/L1SR0TX)

(https://i.ibb.co/YdHwjNV/CB7-B604-C-8550-463-F-885-C-2-B5-D9-E69-CA0-A.jpg) (https://ibb.co/z2qDfmt)
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: recurve on October 05, 2021, 04:24:25 AM: (https://i.ibb.co/hyhyCV1/DSC02740-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/JK0KCHF)

(https://i.ibb.co/F6D2WK5/DSC02957.jpg) (https://ibb.co/gyRN73S)

(https://i.ibb.co/CKPjF4D/DSC02959.jpg) (https://ibb.co/s9WTrcz)

(https://i.ibb.co/DYVC8dB/DSC02744.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jz6MWtC)
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: Eric Kettenburg on October 05, 2021, 04:36:09 AM: John Moll. All of the color in this is in the varnish, which is kind of a honey amber that has darkened a bit with age.

(https://i.ibb.co/0BBY79q/Moll3-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZHHcjgd)
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: J. Talbert on October 05, 2021, 06:35:43 PM: The Edward Marshall rifle, Mark’s rifle above and the Jack Brooks rifle above are all just about as light as I’d want.
Nothing lighter than those for me. ;)

Jeff
Title: Re: Light colored rifles
Post by: Cory Joe Stewart on October 06, 2021, 06:49:35 PM: Quote from: Woodland on October 03, 2021, 07:29:15 PM
Quote from: bob in the woods on October 02, 2021, 07:14:00 PM
Take a look at some of Wallace Gusler's recent works. Given the amount od research he does, I think you would have a hard time arguing that the stain isn't historically correct :)

I looked online but couldn’t find anything, does he have a website?

Look up Pioneer America Videos