This post originally appeared on The Surplus Rifle forum in 2009. It details how to obtain an even, uniform, dark stained finish on a hardwood rifle stock - Birch, Beech, and what is commonly referred to (incorrectly) as pallet wood (mystery hardwood). I did not write the original thread, and I also did not conceive this process. I have used this process with minor variations, and it works very well IMHO. The original poster was by a moderator at that forum who used the name candyman, and hailed from Denham Springs, LA (who I believe is a member here). To him goes the credit. Any additions that I made are in blue text.
The original thread begins:
This is a finish I came up with a few years ago while trying to get light color Birch stock to look more like Walnut. The problem with staining Birch is that it does not care for Oil base stains. You need to use a Water or Alcohol base stains. This post will show you how to combine the two stains into one good looking finish.
As always we need a victim and for this post we will be using a very ugly Savage 110 stock.
The stock is made of light color Birch and looks like it will have some nice grain in it.
First you will need a few things to work with.
Rubber gloves
Scrub brush
0000 steel wool
Fine sandpaper, 150 or 200 grit will work
A sanding block
Some old clean rags.
And here is what you will need to make the stock look good.
Wood stripper
RIT liquid dark brown #25 dye. (NOTE: It has been pointed out to me that RIT dyes contain salt, and may cause rusting of the rifle action and barrel when used in this manner. A dedicated wood dye/stain is recommended as a substitute)
Brown leather dye.
BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil).
And some good Tom's 1/3 Mix. (A mixture of 1/3 each real Turpentine, Beeswax, and BLO)
End Part One
The original thread begins:
This is a finish I came up with a few years ago while trying to get light color Birch stock to look more like Walnut. The problem with staining Birch is that it does not care for Oil base stains. You need to use a Water or Alcohol base stains. This post will show you how to combine the two stains into one good looking finish.
As always we need a victim and for this post we will be using a very ugly Savage 110 stock.
The stock is made of light color Birch and looks like it will have some nice grain in it.
First you will need a few things to work with.
Rubber gloves
Scrub brush
0000 steel wool
Fine sandpaper, 150 or 200 grit will work
A sanding block
Some old clean rags.
And here is what you will need to make the stock look good.
Wood stripper
RIT liquid dark brown #25 dye. (NOTE: It has been pointed out to me that RIT dyes contain salt, and may cause rusting of the rifle action and barrel when used in this manner. A dedicated wood dye/stain is recommended as a substitute)
Brown leather dye.
BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil).
And some good Tom's 1/3 Mix. (A mixture of 1/3 each real Turpentine, Beeswax, and BLO)
End Part One