Any "natural" maple stocks on original rifles?

[okawbow]

Were there any original flintlock rifles made with unstained maple? When I was young, I remember seeing a blond colored long rifle. The man who had it, said some originals were not stained, but finished with linseed oil or varnish on natural maple. He said many guns acquired their color through age and environment.

I'm making a maple stocked Tennessee late flintlock. Every time I get near time to finish; my wife says it would be a shame to stain the wood dark, and hide that beautiful blond colored wood. This rifle will be hers anyway, and I'm thinking of a light yellow or even no stain at all.

Any pictures of original or modern long rifles with no stain?

[sqrldog]

The rifle finished by Wallace Gusler in the Jim Wright carving video is a veryight color. I think Gusler used.a pine tar based finish that left the rifle a very light color.This may be a way to get the stock color the way you want it. Tim

[Dennis Glazener]

Wallace also did a tea stained rifle, lots of wirework on it, that was very light colored.

Dennis

[Stophel]

The only original guns I have seen that apparently were never stained are the "Golden Lion" Beck rifle (and I'm just assuming with that one), and some Lehigh and Berks county guns that would have a red or brown varnish applied over top.  If there are any others, I would LOVE to find out.

[JoeG]

If you use a straight 10% solution of Nitric acid and then apply heat ,it will give you a yellow base color,and still bring out the figure in the wood.

[okawbow]

I have a book somewhere called "The Great Guns", that I think shows an unstained Bedford Co. Rifle. However; it could just be a stripped and refinished gun.

Most of the pictures I've seen of Tennessee rifles show very dark, almost black finish. I'm wondering if there are any exceptions to that.

[Hungry Horse]

 Many old guns are dark, for the same reason modern guns used in combat, are camouflaged. In the dark timber of early America, a light rifle would shine like a dime. I have long suspected this thinking accounts for the amber tones on many old powder horns as well.
 You have to also remember that many of the staining, and finishing processes, from that time period, continued to darken with time, so some guns may have been quite a bit lighter in their early lives.

               Hungry Horse

[Mike R]

I have not been there in years, but in the 70s-80s the Davis gun museum in Claremore OK had numerous southern mountain type rifles with blond stocks--could not tell you if they were original finish or stripped. I don't think this was typical of early rifles, but perhaps some late makers did not darken the stock wood...?

[rich pierce]

Back in the late 70s or early 80s I attended a gunshow in Pennsylvania and someone had an original JP Beck they had stripped and refinished blonde.  Looked garish to me.  I don't think the guy knew he'd lost at least 3/4 of the value of the gun by the refinishing.

[JTR]

I've never seen an originally finished gun like that. I have seen a few that look like they were stripped, but that's not a good look, at least to me.

But,,,, if your wife wants it's blond,,, well,,, I'd make it blond! 

John

[Breadhead]

Wallace also did a tea stained rifle, lots of wirework on it, that was very light colored.

Dennis

Here are some pics of the rifle mentioned above.

[Willbarq]

Looks good to me. I'd try it..

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I saw a picture near the front of a book, of a rifle by Eric Kettinberg (sorry if I butchered your name Eric!).  the rifle was quite pale, almost blond.  At the time I was taken aback, but I kept going back to look at it, and it surely grew on me.  I would not be adverse to finishing a longrifle au naturel.

[Willbarq]

Wallace also did a tea stained rifle, lots of wirework on it, that was very light colored.

Dennis

Here are some pics of the rifle mentioned above.

To me TEA stained wood makes sense, since Colonists did have access, afterall former Brit colony..

[Tony Clark]

I like a light stain if there is a lot of figure in the wood particularly. This gun is stained with true nitric acid, but conservatively. I made it about 15 years ago and haven't seen it since but undoubtedly it is much darker already just from time.  I make them dark if the gun is to be aged or light if it is to look new with polished mounts or charcoal blue.

I wouldn't not put any stain on as even a light stain can bring out the figure and curl that is the idea. 

[Joe S.]

Time,handling and the environment will darken it up.In my opinion your wood needs to have lots of character,grain to pull it off.A plain piece of maple to me would look boring finished to light.Herb posted some pics here of a group of his hawken rifles and one of them,a flint longstock that had a light finish with some nice curl that looked good to me.To each his own,build it your way.

[David R. Pennington]

I wonder if spending a lot of winters in a smokey cabin heated with a fire would tend to darken a finish on a longrifle?

[Joe S.]

Sure would along with the oils put in the air from cooking,oil lamps,candles ect.

[Mick C]

I like a light stain if there is a lot of figure in the wood particularly. This gun is stained with true nitric acid, but conservatively. I made it about 15 years ago and haven't seen it since but undoubtedly it is much darker already just from time.  I make them dark if the gun is to be aged or light if it is to look new with polished mounts or charcoal blue.

I've never seen a longrifle as light as that one Tony Clark posted, and darned if it ain't pretty.   IMHO, I say do what the wife wants since it will be her gun.  Ya know, happy wife...happy life.   

[frogwalking]

Tony, 

That is a great job of matching the grain of the patchbox lid to the stock!  (You knew that.  I enjoyed seeing it.)

[smallpatch]

Remember the relics that we find that are almost black, are quite often that dark because of oxidation of lead dryers in the oil varnish used in the original finish.
250+ years will make a big difference on how a finish Looks.

[Turtle]

   was surprised how much darker just linseed oil made my cherry stocked fowler. I use a thin coat of linseed over stain before finishing my maple rifles. I wonder what just linseed would look like on maple? have to try it on a scrap.
                                                   Turtle

[Hungry Horse]

 The one thing not mentioned as an environmental contributor to stock darkening is tobacco smoke. I helped a friends widow liquidate his muzzleloader collection, a few years ago. One of the guns he had was an over and under Beretta replica. He had been very proud of it and had it hanging on the wall in his living room. He, and his wife, both smoked like chimneys. When I got the gun it was quite dark. A lot darker than others I'd seen, and the finish seem a tiny bit tacky to the touch. I decide to take it apart and give it a good cleaning. When I slid the barrel band forward, I found the original finish was about four shades lighter. I wasn't worried, because I had dealt with the bullet proof sealer the Italian manufactures use before, and was sure cigarette smoke wouldn't penetrate that stuff. How wrong I was, a good cleaning only removed the stickiness not the darker color.
 The only light colored antique stock I ever saw, that appeared to be original, was on a maple stocked barn gun. It appeared to have an old coat of shellac, or varnish, on it that was lightly tinted( or just darkened with age) or maybe it was tobacco smoke who knows.

 Hungry Horse

[rich pierce]

The Marshall rifle is very light in color.