stock finishing

[Jgun]

following up on the lead posted by member axe murderer, I picked up a rough Nigerian type stock (just wood, no metal) from ebay. I was able to get some parts from Greg at Satandard (still looking for a Beretta grip in good shape). Anyway, this is what I've managed to piece together. The stock was very rough when I received it, pretty much no sanding done to it, but it turned out to have some nice grain. I'm not experienced at working on wooden stocks, so I find myself out of my element. I'd like to finish it with linseed oil, but when I started to sand it to get a smooth surface to stain, a void in the grain appeared on the stock. I know this may seem nit picky but I thought that I'd like to try to fill the hole with something that might make it less noticable once I've applied a couple coats of oil and sanded it down. Can any members with stock finishing experience give me any advice on how best to fill the hole in the stock to make it less noticable? 1432143214331433

[M1orNone]

If you have a scrap piece of walnut (I'm assuming that's what your stock is made of), take the scrap piece, and a sander, and make some dust. Once you have a decent amount of walnut dust, find a small, shallow can or cup, dump some of the dust in, and mix in enough Tru-Oil to make a thick paste (thick like the store-bought wood fillers in a can). Viola, homemade "plastic wood". You can fill the void in in one pass, but it will take several days to harden (a week or more if it's really deep). I prefer to put it on thin, so the layers dry faster, and build it up a little proud, so you can blend it back down level with the stock. It probably won't be a perfect match, but it won't be nearly as noticeable as it was, and if you're anything like me, it'll keep you from digging at it with your thumbnail constantly ;).

[Jgun]

Thanks for the advice, I didn't think anyone was going to bother to offer any suggestions. Do you think there might be any advantages to trying to make a plug and gluing it in and sanding it down, or have you found that the filler method works better?

[M1orNone]

Thanks for the advice, I didn't think anyone was going to bother to offer any suggestions. Do you think there might be any advantages to trying to make a plug and gluing it in and sanding it down, or have you found that the filler method works better?


That's an excellent option, and better than my suggestion. Plugging it would be a lot easier, less time consuming, and blend in a lot better too. Looking at the pics, it does look pretty deep, so that would probably be the best way to go. Acraglas would work great with the plug.

[Jgun]

I think I'll try that. Maybe if the fit of the plug isn't as close as I'd like after sanding, I'll finish off with the filler method you suggested. Thanks for your input.

[timshufflin]

I like that hole myself but I'm with m1 or none, you can easily fill it with his method.

[axemurderer]

The world must be coming to an end, when some one credits me I get very scared!

Mike

[seaninmich]

Is that stock from the guy in Michigan (I think Traverse City) that sold a few a month or so back? I tried to pick one up, but they sure did fetch a pretty price

[Jgun]

I think that the seller was in Traverse City. The
one I bought was $100 buy it now price, but that was without any
stock metal. I think my investment is around $180-$190, of course that doesn't include my labor, the thing was pretty rough, and as mentioned it had that flaw when I started sanding it. I will also have the cost of the linseed oil when I'm finished, but I find that I shoot better with a pistol grip, so, in the end I think it was money well spent. Of course whenever you buy something from Ebay you never know what you'll get. I've got a laminate stock that i modified
into a thumb hole pistol grip, and I actually like the way that one feels better (since I fitted that to my desired LOP and grip location.

[seaninmich]

You got lucky. He did a few auction style and they went for a few hundred each. I think one went over $400

[Jgun]

I didn't know that. Maybe the rough condition and the knot hole in the side of the butt was why it was so cheap. I decided to take a chance, but I don't think I'd have been willing to pay two hundred for ahe stock when I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to make it work. with these stocks bought online you never know if there's going to be enough material so that you can fit your action, or if it will be a loose fit and require that you have to bed the action to make it fit, meaning more labor, and money, to get a usable stock.