Original rifle II Where from?

[Dave B]

TCaster asked about this rifle I have shown in the group photo. It came out of Arkansas. I have not found any name on the barrel but it has a Riddle lock on it. Riddle made rifles and locks in Lancaster Co. PA.  I am not sure if the rifle was made by Riddle or not, but thats the only name on it. The rifle at the top of the four is the one we are looking at in the first photo. The one on the far left in the next photo and again at the top on the last photo.

[t.caster]

That's the one! Here's mine...




I got mine from my uncle who passed on, and he got it from his father's large collection out of Pa. Someone here proposed it to be by John White (in eastern Ohio), son of Peter White (Bedford Pa) . I notice your side plate is different, and my lock has the blurry name MARION I think.

[Dave B]

That is a beauty. Gorgeous tiger striped maple on the stock. They must be from a similar school they are very dang near cut from the same pattern. Mine has the patch box release  in the toe plate. Is yours also this arrangement? Thanks for sharing the photos.

[t.caster]

Yes, pb release is built into the toe plate as shown in this pic....

[TENdriver]

Tom,
I really like the color and figure on that rifle.  Have you ever tried to duplicate that shade/color on a build?

Kevin H

[caliber45]

TENdriver -- You can duplicate that look (as I did recently) by initially applying orange (yep, orange!) aniline (alcohol-based stain) after final sanding and whiskering, one or two applications, depending on the brilliance you want), followed by aqua fortis (again, one or two applications). Apply heat to brown up the a.f., use 0000 steel wool to get the contrast you want, apply as much oil as the wood will absorb, (I use Watco), then apply a mix of 50/50 beeswax/turpentine (melted). Apply heat gun to get it to soak in. Rub down with denim. Repeat if desired.) I'd post an image, but don't know how. If you want to see one done in this fashion, send an email address and I'll attach an image. Lovely stuff, that tiger stripe! - paulallen, Tucson AZ

[Dphariss]

Tom,
I really like the color and figure on that rifle.  Have you ever tried to duplicate that shade/color on a build?

Kevin H

Its pretty hard to force a certain color on a given piece of maple. A friend used to use a stain from the Wampler Chemical Company that did very close to this on some maple. But its a far greater PITA to use than AF. Must stain very dark then wash the stain back to get the color right.

I use AF and take what I get just like the old timers did.

Dan

[don getz]

Dan...the only thing I see in that picture is some good "eatin'".  We lost our ranch in Montana where we used to go every year.   You get a nice pile of venison out of a good sized Muley.......Don

[t.caster]

Kevin, I've only had this for about a year and haven't tried to match the colouration of it yet.  I agree it is a beautiful color, but I generally like a much darker overall stain. This rifle appears to have been sanded down & refinished many years ago, unfortunatly. I used to have a bottle of "9010" stain that would really darken the stripe while leaving the rest of the stock lighter brown.  A couple coats would almost blacken the stripe, then I would use Wahkon Bay stains to get a good color. They must of changed the formulation of 9010, because the current bottle I have just give the sme color all over. Very disapointing. Aqua Fortis is the best alternative I have found.
No, you can't force a color into a stock, as all pieces of maple are somewhat different. Here are two Beck's I built using the same staining methods with different results.

[TENdriver]

Tom, those are beautiful. 

[t.caster]

Why thanks! Mighty fine shooters too!!!