Advice, opinion on stock finish and color

[Kline]

I am building a rifle for my nephew in the style of Andrew Kline. He really likes this color, likes the red tone. I have been reading the thread on the Lehigh red finish and am thinking of going that route.

This is a York County style rifle. and made with a red maple stock. I would like to stay traditional. Any thoughts or ideas?

                                                                                                             Thanks,
                                                                                                              Tom

[tallbear]

I stained this Bucks county rifle with aqua-fortis,sealed with seed lac and then finished with Jim Cambers oil finish(which is a red tone already).I mulled some red iron oxide into the Jim Chambers to get a little redder tint.

Mitch

[Acer Saccharum]

Beware of photos with bright red or green backgrounds. This entirely changes the tone of the gun. I suspect the gun in the first photo may be less red in person than it looks in the photo.

[JTR]

I'd think since you're building the gun for your nephew and he likes the red tone, you ought to build it with a red tone!
There's plenty of original guns with red tone finishes in all the various schools, so it'll be traditional,,, plus your nephew will like it!

John 

[Kline]

Tom, I also thought about the red background, here is a picture with a more neutral background.

John as you say it is his rifle and he should have what he likes, although I don't think it should be crazy red.



Also a picture of the nephew who causes me to ask these questions.

                                                                                                                         Tom

[Kline]

Mitch I really like your finish and am thinking of going that route, ie. aqua fortis and then maybe the french polish Tom aka Acer described in the Lehigh post, to get the red and besides my nephew likes the sound of dragons blood for the finish.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Kline, consider using a light coat of Danglers yellow stain under the Aqua Fortis, to get that golden glow under the red if you do everything else Mitch suggested.  It will give you a shot at getting the golden red look of the original.  Test pieces!!!!  Good luck and show us what you get!!

[James Rogers]

Kline, consider using a light coat of Danglers yellow stain under the Aqua Fortis, to get that golden glow under the red if you do everything else Mitch suggested.  It will give you a shot at getting the golden red look of the original.  Test pieces!!!!  Good luck and show us what you get!!

So Jim Kline did come out with a yellow dye?

[bgf]

LMF Maple stain gives a red finish for me on sugar maple; I only mention it because it looked much to me like the one your nephew liked.  I was using it as the base for a darker finish, but if I had simply "clearcoated" it, it would have been more than adequately red.  LMF cherry is even more red.  If the AF doesn't give you all the red you want, you could try staining over it with a diluted LMF stain a bit at a time to get the red you want.  The other ideas are all good as well.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Kline, consider using a light coat of Danglers yellow stain under the Aqua Fortis, to get that golden glow under the red if you do everything else Mitch suggested.  It will give you a shot at getting the golden red look of the original.  Test pieces!!!!  Good luck and show us what you get!!

So Jim Kline did come out with a yellow dye?

i have some in my garage.........

[pathfinder]

Homer and Jim are 2 different people. homer Danglers stain is awsome! i'ma life long profesional furniture re-finsiher/restorer and have used and made more stains and finishes over the years than I care to remember,and I LOVE Mr. Danglers stains. The binder he uses fixes the colors in a way that works without getting cloudy.

[James Rogers]

Yep, two different people, one product IIRC. It is my understanding Jim took over production some time ago.
 http://www.blackpowdermag.com/audio/james-klein-interview.php

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

James, that is the case. Jim Klein sells the Dangler stains and kits.

[Dphariss]

I am building a rifle for my nephew in the style of Andrew Kline. He really likes this color, likes the red tone. I have been reading the thread on the Lehigh red finish and am thinking of going that route.

This is a York County style rifle. and made with a red maple stock. I would like to stay traditional. Any thoughts or ideas?

                                                                                                             Thanks,
                                                                                                              Tom

Just be sure the stain you use is color fast. Some are not. I use Ferric Nitrate made from nitric acid and see no reason to buy some of the unstable dyes being sold as stock stain.  I don't stain a piece of maple to force it to some color. I stain it and take the color that comes. Has not failed me since I started using iron based stain which is 100% color fast as well.

Dan