SKS Yugo M59 owners? Original wood?

[Col. Plink]

Hey y'all,

Wondering if there are other Yugo M59 SKS (not 59/66) owners out there with pictures of the original wood stocks? Anyone with positive ID on the type of wood pictured?

I realize this may be a bit of a stretch, but I'm trying to ID the wood in the original stock I have. I've chosen just to sand and polyurethane it, in order to show up the woodgrain, dings, and carvings.

Since I've tried to recover the native look of the wood I'd like to be able to tell what it is. Thanks!

 

[dscottw88]

I'm not sure what kind of wood is on mine, But I'm pretty sure this is the original stock on mine, the serial number on the stock matches the receiver.

 

[Col. Plink]

Thanks! Yours looks like the same type and finish as mine, though mine seems to have more rings in the grain (or at least more pronounced). Your stock actually looks like a better restoration candidate than mine, which I believe got its hard use in service. The dings actually spot mine up pretty well, but I wanted to bring out the marks that were imprinted enough to survive sanding. Thanks again! Got any closeups?

Now trim those toenails!

 

[dscottw88]

I have a nack for letting my shoe or foot slip into the pictures.

Pic quality isn't anything to be proud of, but it's better than nothing. Here ya go buddy:



And the left side of the rifle which shows a little more use. Mine was issued, it had to have been. It's not nearly as nice as my brother's unissued.

 

[Col. Plink]

definitely the same look as mine. You can get a nice natural look at the grain and condition of the wood just by sanding and a coat of polyurethane. A good enough sanding job and you could get a one-coat-wonder using the spray stuff; I used a brush and have been doing extra coats after extricating errant bristles from the finish. Otherwise I might have chosen to leave it after its second sanding with just 220 grit.

 

[dscottw88]

So is it pretty easy? I've wondered about refinishing a rifle before but never really looked into it. Should I just grab some sandpaper (rougher, and a finer grit) and start sanding till I am satisfied? than go to home depot and pick up a small can of polyurethane and brush some on gently and let it hang dry?

Edit: I really would love to see a lighter blond color after finishing it up.

 

[Oro]

This is what they looked like new(ish), meaning w/o much handling or field use. This one was a late build unissued, so the wood/finish has just aged naturally but not from dirt/oils/handling.

I have finished a lot of pistol grips back to original condition. I have never been able to get anything resembling "original" without treating/soaking with a solvent (like Acetone or MEK) to dissolve the original, dried oils and synthetic finishes out of the wood. They penetrate far enough that it's impratical to sand down far enough to remove them. With pistol grips, this is easy, you put them in a shallow, narrow tupperware bowl, cover them with acetone, then seal it and let it sit for a day or two (or more depending upon age/finish).

With a rifle stock this is going to be much less practical as you'd need a container you could seal the stock within (else the volatile solvents evaporate away too quickly), and you'd need a few gallons of solvent (about $40 at today's prices). I think sanding, and then rubbing some solvent into the wood is about as good as you can get before applying the new finish.

 

[Col. Plink]

Looks like that one may be a beechwood stock, I think mine is the carpathian elm as it seems to have more of a teak look to it.

Luckily, my object was not to return it to original condition but simply to remove as much of the old finish and coloration via sanding (100 first, then 150, then 220). Then a single coat of polyurethane sprayed on (or brushed, though it's difficult not to get brushmarks) brings out what's there.

To remove what oils or cosmoline might be in the wood, after sanding, strips of cloth soaked in mineral spirits can be laid on the wood, and even a heat source can be used to help draw it to the surface in a separate step. Wipe with cloth or paper towels and apply finish.

This will tend to accent the character the stock has picked up along the way, as polyurethane doesn't stain or even out the colors that may be present. The more you work the intervening step with solvent/mineral spirits, the closer to original condition it will be. For my purposes, I just wanted as much of the original color AND the dings and boo boos to show through. I'll post a few pics when I'm done.

 

[Oro]

To remove what oils or cosmoline might be in the wood, after sanding, strips of cloth soaked in mineral spirits can be laid on the wood, and even a heat source can be used to help draw it to the surface in a separate step. Wipe with cloth or paper towels and apply finish.

That is good to know. I am going to refinish a 94 stock this summer and i will try that. I had not worked out my technique yet but that sounds practical.

Then a single coat of polyurethane sprayed on

I have had good success with putting on a pair of latex/vinyl gloves and rubbing by hand. It is time consuming and your fingers get a bit tired, but the results really shine. a 1000 grit sand down before the last coat will make a really nice final coat. I have done this with both Tung Oil and urethane finishes and it works well with both.