Hi,
Well, I am back at it. I final filed, scraped, and sanded the stock in one work day. I used coarse and fine files.
I then scraped the stock with a carpet scraper blade and used 60, then 120 grit paper to clean up tight areas. I was now ready for stain.
The stock is American black walnut and a rather dodgy piece at that. To make it look "old new stock", I made a dilute stain of black aniline dye and water. I stained the whole stock black and then scraped and sanded off the black. The dye showed any scratches but also embeds in the grain. After scraping and sanding the black still colors the grain and will make the stock look like the originals even when new. I think British ordnance valued speed and economy so cleaning the stocks up before finish and clean varnish probably were not priorities.
I then stained the stock with pure yellow aniline dye. That kills the cold purple-brown tone of black walnut and warms it up to look much more like English walnut.
Then I stained the stock again with alkanet root infused in mineral spirits. This imparts a deep red tone making the stock more orangey brown. After this stain, I rubbed the stock lightly with a maroon Scotch Bright pad and burnished it with a polished deer antler tip. That smoothes the finish and gives it an old, mellow look as well as creates a sheen on the wood. The stock will require fewer coats to fill the walnut grain.
post imageTomorrow I will put sealer coats of thinned Sutherland-Welles polymerized tung oil mixed with some alkanet root stain to add a little more red color. Once sealed, I'll just used unthinned tung oil to build up a fairly thick varnish-like final finish. While that is drying, I'll polish the rest of the brass, make the ramrod, and start work on a Brown Bess lock.
dave
