Tiger striping

[Gary Rad]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to do tiger striping. I am going to replace a stock on a tc hawkin and was going to buy a cheaper grade of maple. I would like to try to stripe it. Any info would be great
Thanks, Gary Rad

[Mark Elliott]

I only know how to do it as part of making faux painted frames.    If I had to do it on a stock,  I would use a light brown (slightly darker than that underlying wood  as stained)  acrylic glaze and paint on the the stripes with a slightly dry brush.   You would then put the final finish on top. 

You might also try painting the stripes with a solution of tannic acid prior to applying ferric nitrate (aqua fortis).   

In any case,  I would do a test piece, or two,  first.

I should say that I have only ever seen an original that was completely faux painted.   It was very convincing.   

[RichG]

jack brooks has a short tutorial on his web site. also, search on this site. someone not to long ago had a stock that was artificially stripped and was very nice.

[Mauser06]

I've never done fake stripes.  But after reading Marks thoughts on how to possibly achieve it, I'd pay the extra $50 or so for the curly maple if I wanted stripes.  I don't know that there's going to be a ln easy way to do it and make it look nice. 


Or, If I'm saving money, I'd stain a plain piece real dark and rub it out and brighten up some typical wear areas.  Jim Kibler did one of his Southern Mountain Rifles like that and I absolutely love it.   


You're looking at a good $100+ for a TC stock...Plus lots of hours fighting the butt plate fit and final fitting of everything else...I'd definitely practice a bunch before I ruined that $100+ piece of wood. I've seen guys try it and it often looks cheesy..I seen one recently that was extremely well done. But, I can bet it wasn't fast or easy...

[Mark Elliott]

Mauser has a point.   It is going to cost more in time to do a good job of faux finishing than it would cost to just buy a more expensive stock blank.

[Mauser06]

I do fully understand some people HAVE time. I've just seen some poor attempts at people trying to embellish what isn't there.


I read Jack Brooks section on the subject and it sounds like his method was fairly easy using aqua Fortis for stain and then leather dye for the stripes. I just don't know how they turn out.  By reading his section it sounds DS like original Lemans were often done and looked similar to what he achieved via his method.



To each his own...And the beauty is in the eye of the beholder with stuff like this. 


If I want a stripped stock, I am getting a piece of curly maple. But that's just me.

[WadePatton]

Just want to add that the reason historically-oriented replicator folks would take the trouble to do faux striping is because some guns call for it as that is how they were made BITD.

Not because we're trying to cheap out on wood.

I know most of us know that, just putting it down for those who do not.  And yes I get that the OP isn't about a historically plausible gun, but learn all you can fooling with it.  Everybody starts somewhere. 

[grabenkater]

I used a combination of ink, leather dye and Homer Dangler stain.

[Eric Krewson]

The worst striping I ever saw was when a guy striped his stock with 2" wide stripes like a barber pole or a striped ramrod. It surely caught your eye but not in a good way.

I asked him why he would do such a thing, he said because he liked it.   

This is about the best striping job I have see so far, don't remember where I picked up the picture from.

[Hungry Horse]

I use Lincoln's shoe dye in a dark, or medium brown, color for the stripes. Feibing's leather dye sun fades so badly using it is a waste of time. Homer Dangler stain in a red, or orange, over the top make it pretty convincing. I noticed on a friends original Leman rifle that the artificial stripes were very uniform from the forend to about the wrist, and less so, from the wrist to the butt. I suspect the forward stripes were made with a gang brush, that applied several stripes at once. I made one from one of those four inch wide disposable brushes from Harbor Freight, by cutting out some bristles to give it the stripe pattern. I think if I were to do it again I would use the handle from this disposable brush and glue in some shortened finer point cheap artists brushes for the striping.
 The old Leman's stripes started up near the barrel and tapered to the midline, where they either through wear, or intention got finer, and less pronounced. They do not match side to side, but then you can't see both sides of the rifle at the same time anyway. By all means practice on something before jumping onto your stock.
 Most guns with artificial striping had a shellac, or varnish finish, that protected the striping. I used tru-oil, but didn't hand rub it in, I brushed it on and just rubbed it enough to level it out.

   Hungry Horse

[WadePatton]

...This is about the best striping job I have see so far, don't remember where I picked up the picture from.

Brilliant Faux! 

thanks for sharing.

[ron w]

google "faux tiger strip".  it is done by wrapping the stock with string soaked in a dye, or staining the stock , then wrapping it with string to absorb some of the stain sitting on the stock.  somewhat popular on modern high power rifles in the 30's to 50's, (there about). difficult to make look real (real artistic skill needed for this), but it can be done to look fairly nice, as Eric Krewson displays...

[greybeard]

PHONY BALONEY!!   Bob

[Dmcmullen]

   Faux striping isnt for everyone BUT before everyone starts asking why bother on a cheap gun stock???    I would ask why not?    Its not about increasing the value, its about improving the looks period...Oh and as stated before, there "IS" historical precedent for it.
H.E Lehman rifles were factory faux striped plain wood stocks.   
I would ask, how many of you have an old Harley or any old motorcycle at the house?    How many of you have spent alot of money on the chrome and leather bling bling for that bike?     How many of you have spent money on a paint job for an old beater car or truck, or recovered that comfortable old chair you just hate to get rid of.    Did the value increase with all the money you put out on those things?   Probably not enough to justify the original expense.    Did all that bling make the bike or car run better?     No, so why did you do it?    To improve the looks of what you have to your liking. 

[Dmcmullen]

Ive posted some of these pictures before on another thread but it seems to match this thread topic as well.    A friend of mine had a cheap CVA Kentucky rifle, plain beech stock.      I faux striped it to learn how to do it.
my method was:
LMF Nut Brown Stain applied as base color.
Feibings Medium Brown leather dye applied stripes one at a time with an artist brush.



here are a few of the finished stock with three coats of Birchwood Casey True oil



I like the way it turned out but if I were to do it again, I would start with a lighter stain base coat.     The medium brown stripes are not seen really well with the oil finish applied.   But overall a success, I made it look much better to my eyes than the factory profile and finish ever did.

Dave

[Hungry Horse]

Very nice job Dave. I often pondered whether anybody else used cheap kit guns as test mules for new building techniques. I did one CVA Kentucky much the same way you did yours. I wrapped the forearm with rawhide to hide the splice though. I also inletted my first capbox in that gun. I also practiced aging the wood, and metal on that gun. I used it for a burglar alarm in my house, by hanging it prominently in the entry of the house. I knew anybody breaking in would mistake it for an original and steal it, giving me a heads up the minute I opened the front door and saw it missing. I did a couple of cheap pistols as well, so I would not worry about thrashing them on survival walks.
 Real baloney is a workhorse rifle, or trade gun, stocked  in presentation grade curly maple, instead of hand striped plain wood. IMO anyway.

 Hungry Horse

[ron w]

Mauser has a point.   It is going to cost more in time to do a good job of faux finishing than it would cost to just buy a more expensive stock blank.

   there a few on here that time would be a consideration, but for the most part, I think most of us on here have way more time than money.

[Paddlefoot]

Some guns would not be correct without the faux stripes. My old friend Ray Taylor had an original Leman that had the faux stripes. The stripes were very dark and narrow, spaced close and some overlapping. Rays' opinion was that the stripes were painted on prior to the final varnish type finish.

[Eric Kettenburg]

Didn't Jack Brooks - I think it was Jack - write an article detailing the process he deduced was used on guns like Lemans?  It would have been in MB, sometime in the 1990s.  I recall he made up a wider, like 3 or 4" brush, with short bristles and random spacing between bristles.  I think he used either ink or aqua fortis.  Don;t remember which.

Sometimes you see it on funky eastern Berks and later Lehigh pieces; these seem to have been done with a single brush, randomly, under a varnish coat (often red tinted).  I've seen it alternately done with ink or AF and have done it myself with both.

[Paddlefoot]

I never saw Mr. Brooks article. I would imagine it could be done a number of ways. This might be an area where we might find good info from the  architectural carpentry world. There was plenty of use of faux finishes to simulate exotic woods, marble and other stone at various locations in homes of the early 1800s. The doors at Andrew Jackson's Hermitage have panels that are faux finished to resemble book matched crotch mahogany. Feathers were popular tools to simulate the swirls in marble. I recall holding that leman and seeing that the edges of the stripes were not shaded or feathered. More like they were laid on with a medium bodied paint and a brush. There was some speculation that the entire stock was wrapped unevenly with cord or string and the paint applied to the open areas. It would require some experimentation to duplicate the effect.

[JCKelly]

Dmcmullen - what did your friend do about that brass-lined joint in the middle of the forestock?

I have in mind to make a Leman out of a Traditions Kentucky rifle kit from MidwayUSA. Don't have kit yet, did order appropriate capbox from Track, am about ready to get some deer rawhide to hide the joint & gotta figure out how to paint those wonderful stripes like Mr. Henry L. did.

This thread is at a perfect time for me, thank y'all

[Paddlefoot]

If I were going to try to duplicate what I saw on that original Leman I would find an art or sign painters outlet or possibly an automotive supply that had pin striping brushes. Dick Blick might be good or even Eastwoods. I would get a round lettering brush and a small can of Signpainters One Shot paint. It's an enamel that is made to cover in one pass and flows out smoothly but even at that there are additives that will thin it slightly and make it flow even more. One Shot is available in a bunch of colors so you have lots to choose from and can blend them if you want something different. I recall the Leman stripes being very close together and some going almost all the way from the top to the bottom of the buttstock. I would think that going from either top or bottom toward the center would be OK too if you overlapped, ran together and generally made the stripes look random. I lean more toward the painted stripes because that is what I recall from the old original I saw. One gun, one guys perception of it. The stripes were pretty opaque as I recall, not like the darker stain over lighter base stain. I wouldn't say that doesn't look good, it just doesn't look like what I remember. My impression of the stripes back then was that they were very dark. Almost black but maybe just a shade of very dark brown. No grain showing through and with the varnish over it, the stripes were glossy smooth.  I guess what you decide to do depends on whether you are trying to duplicate a natural curl or trying to duplicate a Leman gun.

[Hungry Horse]

 I heartily encourage any of you to play with some of these techniques for not only adding faux tiger stripes to a plain stock, but period repairs as well. The little CVA Kentucky I used as a canvas for all these learning experiences turned out quite good. The rawhide was a dog chew from Dollar Tree, and once stitched up, and properly aged, looked very authentic. The patchbox was a rough cast brass unit from a Dixie clearance sale, that I filed, polished,and assembled, then inletted into the already finished stock(not an easy task).
 This little gun was used by my gun club in a canoe event for several years. So it saw the bottom of Scott's Creek more than once. We added brass tacks ( another learning experience)so it would be easier to find under water.
 The stock was cracked through the upper lock bolt into the wrist in one of the canoe events. So, this provided an opportunity to try the inletted steel brace repair technique, which worked very well.
 I was liquidating an old friends modern muzzleloaders for his widow, when the potential buyer remarked that the gun he really wanted was the one hanging on the wall. I told him it wasn't old, and had seen some hard use. He didn't care, and offered me way more than it was worth, so I sold it. It hangs high on a wall in his office today. I'm sure many clients think it an original.

 Hungry Horse

[deepcreekdale]

Here is a link to Jacks website, he has a good discussion of Leman style tiger striping in his "The Classroom" section. There is lots of other good stuff there as well. http://www.jsbrookslongrifles.com/theclassroom.htm

[Hungry Horse]

I very much agree that a pinstiping brush from an auto paint store, or body shop supply, will make the striping easier and more realistic, but put the pill under your tongue before you reach for your wallet, they aren't cheap. Also every insect on the planet will eat the bristles off right down to the handle.

  Hungry Horse