Just got my M1 Garand (Field Grade)

It looks pretty good to me for a 65+ year old rifle.... your call on refinishing... sometimes it's better just to keep the old one and buy a new one to work on.

have fun they are fun to shoot...

Its a Post War Stock , it wont really hurt anything if thats what you want to do with it
Sounds like you got a decent Field Grade

Most of those dents would easily steam out of that wood. Just keep your iron away from the cartouches and you'll end up with a fine looking, still collectable stock.

I would recommend against refinishing the stock. Rather take the nice old stock and set aside. Then buy either a CMP new walnut stock and handguard set or get one from Dupage trading. The Dupage stocks are stained beforehand so that when you apply your BLO everything matches. With the CMP stocks the handguards are cut with the grain running differently, so that after several coats of BLO the handguards don't quite match the stock. Usually one handguard will match the stock and the other will not. Take the old stock (and handguards) and put it in a black plastic bag and put it in a hot humid place like a car during the dog days of summer. Leave it there for a few hours. Some of the small dents will come out, the stock being heated to 140- 150 degrees. Then take some mineral spirits and a soft nyon brush and lightly scrub the whole stock and let dry. Then take some 0000 steel wool and rub the stock and handguards out with the grain (just the wood, no metal). Wipe it clear off to get rid of the fine dust the steel wool leaves behind. Then hand rub 3 coats of BLO on the stock/ guards, letting the wood dry for a few days between coats. When the wood has had enough BLO the coats will start to gloss up on the surface rather than soak in. When you have applied a coat that isn't soaking in wait till it thickens up on day two or three and rub it out ACROSS the grain with a soft lint free rag. Preserve that wood cause eventually ANY milsurp wood will be valuable.

I agree with mshootnit, preserve that stock, and if you want, you can get a second replacement stock to finish to your tastes. Plus, good GI stocks are going to get scarcer and scarcer over time, whether wartime or post-war (or is "post-war" actually Korean war ... hmmmm).

I'd clean it up some, maybe steam out what you can, but I wouldn't be sanding it at all.

Orlando can tell about the stock because of the markings on it. (Yours doesn't have a great cartouche, but it is "readable". They are called cartouches. If you dig around a bit, you can find out quite a bit about your rifle online. Check out the CMP forums.

Nice looking FG.

All that stock needs is a blo scrub. Keep it GI.

Read up on true Tung Oil, not the stuff with varnish in it but just good olde, pure Tung Oil. You may have to hunt around to find the pure stuff, but it'll be worth it.

Make sure you've cooked off all the old cosmo before applying *anything*. And take some time to read some internet articles on original M1 Garand finishes.

Old M1's were finished with pure Tung Oil; you don't need to do anything different to yours. Just clean up the stock with warm, soapy water; cook off the cosmo (in an old oven or using a heat lamp cooker out in the garage); and then apply 3 to 5 coats of Tung Oil over several days (allowing about a day or so between applications). Be patient, and it will pay off.

Linseed oil and Tung Oil were both used originally on Garands so either one would be correct. Cant tell the diofference between them when they are applied anyways. Just use whatever you have on hand or is eaier for you to find

Orlando said:

Linseed oil and Tung Oil were both used originally on Garands so either one would be correct. Cant tell the diofference between them when they are applied anyways. Just use whatever you have on hand or is eaier for you to find

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Hey Orlando, since we're talking about Garands...can you tell us about the SA Garand you're looking for? Looking for SA Garand Serial # 1382174 Why is that one special for you?

Winchester and Springfield had a range of duplicate serial numbers . I have the WRA and would like to find the duplicate Springfield
When duplicates would end up in the same location they would electric pencil a letter on the serial to help identify one from the other
Here is a pic on the WRA that I have with "A" etched in the serial

It would be like finding a "needle in the haystack " but you never know

I'd clean and lightly steam that old stock to get it back as close as possible to issue. No steam on the cartouches. Then I'd scrub it again until all the surface grime and grit was gone. I'd look for cracks and fix those just like they did in armory overhauls. Then I'd oil it evenly all over. Your choice - but I'd use Tung Oil.

Get a correct sling and be on my way to working out the metal issues. The action will need a good clean and correct lube too. You want to check the springs for free length and worn flats on the coils. If the springs check out, you are likely good to go. If not, get correct replacements - then off to the range

Do not use oven cleaner. Some people will tell you not to use the dishwasher too. If you don't want to, there are other methods.

I wouldn't sand anything if you care about the value. Steaming should be fine, and BLO should be fine for value - I think. It really isn't a particularly collectible stock, so if you hurt the value, it won't be much.

Honestly, you would be better off asking that question on other forums, such as the CMP forum.

If you want to clean it down to bare wood, a good soaking with either Purple Power or Dawn Power Dissolver and then a scrubbing with some brushes will get all the grease, oil and grime off. Be sure to soak down the internal areas to degrease them too. Do it in the bathtub for easy cleanup.

After the initial soaking/scrubbing, clean the goo off with hot soapy water, followed by a clear water rinsing. Towel dry and let it dry in the sun a few days. Then you can steam out any remaining dents, sand it lightly w/400 grit, and then start rubbing in coats of Pure Tung Oil. Works great!

I like to use Fairtrimmers Military oX, followed by a few coats of Tung Oil. Don't use Tung Oil Finish though, you want the pure oil. Or Pure Linseed Oil. Just avoid any "finish" products. If you wish, you can final coat it with Tom's 1/3 Military Stock Wax.

^^ I also like Fairtrimmers and Tom's. Good stuff.

Heres what I use

If I want to do a deep cleaning and refinish of the wood here is how I do it. Takes maybe 10 minutes for a completetly bare clean stock
I first take Purple Power degreaser and put it in a spray bottle.

I then spray down the stock with degreaser, immediataly you will see years of grease. oil and dirt start to roll off

I then take a soft nylon bristle brush and go over the stock.
Rinse "well " with hot water while rubbing with brush .
I will usually do procedure one more time except the last time wipe dry with cotton towel.
It probably only takes 10 minutes for the whole procedure
If stock is very oil soaked it may take another cleaning .
I then let set to dry out of direct heat source.
If it drys slowly you have a less chance of wood warping.

This is what the wood looks like after drying


I let the stock dry for a day or two before refinishing

Soooo... now that this thread has kinda moved on to a stock finish thread what would all of you do with a new birch stock from CMP? Tung oil or BLO, or? I would leave it as is but concerned about oil's from your hands handling it. Thanks. Have to go now will read your replys in a hour or so. Thanks again.

I'd do Fairtrimmers, followed by Tom's 1/3.

I would use any of these products with my prefernce in the following order
1- BLO
2-Tung Oil
3-Watco or Fairtrimmers

I do have the rest of a pint of TRUE tung oil I used on a K-31 last year. Still kind of hesitant to do it. Thanks again.

I'd finish a new CMP birch just like any other Garand stock -- Tung Oil, BLO, or RLO.

If you want a walnut stock, then go get a walnut stock. Don't mess around staining birch to make it look like walnut. Birch has a blonde (orange after time passes!) beauty all of it's own.