Stock finishing...

[Tom Krein]

I recently got a couple stock from Mike Abernathy. They need to be finished. I was going to have Rob Hawkins finish them, but he is so busy with tunes he is not taking on any stock work.....

I thought about doing it, but I just don't have the time right now.

So.... is there anyone out there that finishes DIY stocks?

THANKS!

Tom

[-Bssc-]

The real time is the days it takes personally i like a soft matt finish no gloss allowed for my personal guns . I have done a few boiled linseed guns and must say finish can be surprisingly good for a such a simple method. I have even done one stock in lemon oil great hunting/ paintball finish., that finish took twelve days to do and may not even have that many hours into it.

this way my first linseed finish , sadly i had to sell this I so dearly would like it back

[Daniel Koster]

hand finishing a DIY stock is a pain!!

I have sympathy for all stock-builders.

And the more crazy the design, the harder it must be.


Take that stock with you on your next camping trip and work on it by hand while getting some R&R...


Just don't let your boys use it for firewood!!!



Dan

[dan_house]

Well......

I'd somewhat disagree with opinion that stock finishing is hard. I dont hink it is, but Ive done a few so maybe its just I understand it better than some one whose not done it.

Let me break it down some, maybe it'll explain it better

First, the stock itself must be sanded perfectly. This isnt hard, but like dan noted, the more curves and lines it has the long adn tuffer it'll be. And since most of it is fingertip work, you'll get blisters and it will take time.

After that, you have to apply the finish. Depending on the finish, you'll have to develop your own techniue to get it on completely, and evenly. Every type of finish will have its quirks, and IMO, none is easier than the next. Tru oil means you touch every inch of ths tock, and spraying any finish means you have to be careful to cover it all, and avoid runs, sags and drips.

Between coats or series of coats, you must sand it. again. See first note.

After applieing the necessary number of coats, final sand and buff it. See first note.

Patience is your firend here. Not only in the effort it takes, but in the time it takes. I shot one stock will $1.19 clear spray bombs from walmart. Turned out great, but it was cool in the workshop, and took 2 days for the clear to set up enough to snad. Took two weeks to get the dipped in glass effect I was after. You'll get good at sanding it (both as final prep and between coats); I'd take 10 minutes or so to sand it between coats, wipe it down adn 10 minutes to shoot more clear on. the two weeks really only had 3 or 4 hours of actual work, the rest was letting it dry. After it had set up for a couple of days from the last coat, I buffed it with automitve buffing compound, and auto polish. Again, all finger tip work. Worth it though, and the reaction of folks who see it for the first time is well worth the effort

Other tips? read, re read and read again the directions for your chosen finish. If you have some scrap of the same kind of wood the stock is made from, test apply it first. Dont use a new kind of finsih (read taht: one youvbe not worked with before) on your good stock.

Allow plenty of time. Both in the number of days it will take, and the time each appliction session will take.

Have antoher project to work on while this is in progress. Nothing worse than staring at it waiting for the finish to cure. Taht leads to impatience.

Keep the temps within the suggested range suggested by the directions.

Keep the area your applying finish in as dust free as you can

Ventialtion must be provided. your lungs and brain cells will thank you.

Expect to make mistakes. Carefull sanding can fix most of them. DOnt sweat it.

Patience is key. Its wroth repeating.

See? easy

[pelletpusher]

Originally Posted by Tom Krein

I recently got a couple stock from Mike Abernathy. They need to be finished. I was going to have Rob Hawkins finish them, but he is so busy with tunes he is not taking on any stock work.....

I thought about doing it, but I just don't have the time right now.

So.... is there anyone out there that finishes DIY stocks?

THANKS!

Tom

I could do it.