Finish on rifle

[himesr]

I was given a Kentucky Long Rifle kit and I have two questions about building this kit.
First what was the historical finish on the stock, Maple or Walnut?
Second should the gun barrel have a smooth finish or show tooling marks, and was the finish blued or plum brown?

[Dphariss]

After sanding and raising the grain 3-5 times and final sanding with 400 grit or finer.

Typical wood finish for maple is stained with ferric nitrate or "aqua fortis" stain.
Then real boiled linseed oil or a boiled linseed oil varnish.
But lumberyard boiled linseed oil is not recommended its not a stock finish as it comes from the can.
Probably Jim Chambers Flintlocks oil finish would be a good choice for folks not set up to make there own. I have not tried it but reports are good.
You can order ferric nitrate crystals from internet chemical suppliers. It better for the beginner than stains with an acid content as most "aqua fortis" stains bought over the counter have.
Mix with distilled water, apply to wood scrap. Allow to dry heat to develop the. Radiant heat no flame. I use a paint stripper gun, carefully. If color is OK apply to the gunstock. If not mix a little more crystals and try again. Or recoat the scrap.
May look pretty orange etc. but when oiled with a dark oil it will mellow out very nicely in a day or two especially if exposed to direct sunlight.
This stock looked pretty bad after I heated it but once oiled it came out very nice.

I would mix the oil with about 20% REAL turpentine that had been allowed to "air" in a shallow dish for 2-3 days before mixing.  Mix well with the oil then apply all the stock will take. Set it in the sun for 10-15 minutes then wipe off any excess with a soft cloth. CAUTION the cloth will catch fire if it contains any significant amount of  finish and wadded up. Put any such cloth/rags etc OUTSIDE away from any thing flammable and spread it out flat.
If a Walnut stock just oil with the mix it after sanding to 400 grit.
Follow up coats need not contain Turp some only mix a small batch.

Dan

[frogwalking]

Original rifles used mostly maple as Dan said, but some were walnut, some cherry, some ash, who knows what else.  If you are new at this, you may rather just buy one of the premixed stains available, if your stock is maple or other light colored wood.  I just ordered some of the stock finish Dan mentioned. Plumb brown will be fine on the metal.  There are half a dozen other similar chemicals that actually speed up the rust process.  An old gunsmith/blacksmith used to tell us "do it any way  you want, there wern't no two of 'em alike no how."  Enjoy your kit.  Worry about historical accuracy later if you get hooked. 

[Dphariss]

Original rifles used mostly maple as Dan said, but some were walnut, some cherry, some ash, who knows what else.  If you are new at this, you may rather just buy one of the premixed stains available, if your stock is maple or other light colored wood.  I just ordered some of the stock finish Dan mentioned. Plumb brown will be fine on the metal.  There are half a dozen other similar chemicals that actually speed up the rust process.  An old gunsmith/blacksmith used to tell us "do it any way  you want, there wern't no two of 'em alike no how."  Enjoy your kit.  Worry about historical accuracy later if you get hooked. 

But I don't like showing a gun to a master and having him say. "I've seen worse".
There was a lot of ugly stuff made back in the day but I see not reason to recreate it.

Dan

[jerrywh]

Dan.
   That is what I call a beautiful finish.  We have to get together some time.

[Ky-Flinter]

Hello Himesr.  Welcome to ALR!

I was given a Kentucky Long Rifle kit and I have two questions about building this kit.
First what was the historical finish on the stock, Maple or Walnut?
Second should the gun barrel have a smooth finish or show tooling marks, and was the finish blued or plum brown?

What kind of wood is the stock in your kit?  How and what to stain it with (or whether to stain at all) will depend on the type of wood and your personal preference.  As for finish, I like Jim Chambers' oil.

On the tooling marks, personally I draw file them out.  But be cautious, since you have a kit, I assume the barrel channel is already cut into the stock and if you do a lot of filing you may open up gaps between the barrel and stock.  You can safely clean up at least the top and side flats that show.  Go with the rust brown on your steel parts.  I prefer the cold browning solution.  I think it's easier to get a uniform color with it.

Good luck.

-Ron

[Dphariss]

Dan.
   That is what I call a beautiful finish.  We have to get together some time.

Its 2 coats as I recall.
If you ever drive thru Montana on I-90 you can drive to my house with virtually no increase in mileage. The loop is actually shorter than the 1-90 route around town.

Dan