Desert Weather on Wood

[Phaethon]

I've heard a lot of argument going back and forth between whether polymer or polyurethaned-wood stocks are suitable for crazy-wet-cold-then-hot-then-cold-again-high-altitude weather conditions, but I wonder;

Would a heavy tung oil finish be suitable for desert conditions? Such as, say, New Mexico and Arizona, or even South Africa? What effect would the heat and extremely dry conditions have on the wood, if any, assuming that you're going to be stalking around for days on end hunting god-knows-what?

 

[BCRider]

It's a wood finishers axiom that whatever you put onto wood will not STOP the exchange of moisture. At best it slows it down. But some can slow it down a lot compared to other finishes.

Definetly a polyurethane "deep plastic" finish will slow the exchange down the most. And a two part catylized factory job likely would do better than Flecto Varathane from a can.

Oil finishes tend to be more pourous and will degrade with time. This is why an oil finish is never actually finished. The old rule of thumb was a coat a week for a month, a coat a month for a year and a coat a year for the rest of it's life. Modern oil finishes may be better to some extent than the old world finishes but I've found with oil finishes used on my wood turnings that they did indeed "brighten up" a lot when a light coat of the original tung oil was used on two year old projects and then buffed off while still wet. So rifle stocks that see harsh conditions would certainly be in the same situation.

I've done a couple of custom kitchen knives that obviously see a lot of water. For those the wood handles were sealed with two coats of epoxy laminating resin that was "thinned" by heating the epoxy with a hair dryer. This made it take on a water like consistency and soak into the end grain really well. A second coating of epoxy was added after the first was sanded smooth. This gave a nice oiled look but it's done in a plastic. I don't wash them in the dishwasher but they ARE kitchen knives so they see a lot of water. It's been a lot of years and so far they look as good as the day they were finished. If I were doing a stock for one of my guns that would see outdoor use a lot I'd be likely to go with such a finishing technique. But until I'd tried it and tested it I would never do it on someone's stock that I was selling.

With any of these it's not the one day here or a week there that'll be hard on the wood. It's where it lives when it's not being used that matters. A rifle stock made in the north east during the late part of a humid summer will see the wood take on a lot of moisture even in "dry" storage. If that stock is finished and sent to the desert of Arizona to live with the new owner it's unavoidable that the wood will shrink a little and the ideal fit between wood and metal will develop tight spots and a little step if it's a butt joint such as found on a Winchester stock to receiver or a Ruger #1 stock to receiver joint. Depending on what finish was used it may take a couple of months to a couple of years. But it WILL happen. The only way to avoid it would be to keep the humidity level of the storage cabinet up to somewhere similar to the conditions where the wood was shaped.

Hence a high level craftsman would not make a stock for an Arizona customer in summer if they lived in the North east. He'd wait for the later part of winter where the central heating of the shop or house had allowed the moisture content of the wood to drop to somewhere similar to what it would be when in it's intended home.

Now on the other hand laminated wood stocks are essentially plywood. The cross graining of all the veneers and the glue that soaks those veneers will stabilize the wood. Laminated stocks can be expected to be almost or equally as stable for temperature and humidity changes as the glass fiber filled plastics used in molded stocks.

 

[Phaethon]

Let's assume then that the stock is crafted and shaped in the same area where it's being employed by a good craftsman; I suppose my question is, are desert conditions considered "harsh" on wooden stocks? They're obviously rough on human beings, but whenever discussing a stock's weather-proofedness it seems as though only cold wet and warm areas are considered.

 

[jmr40]

Wood stocks do fairly well in most any environment. As long as they stay in that environment. If you live in an area where there are wide swings in temperature, humidity and altitude you will have many more problems with wood than synthetics.

Or if you travel. You could live in Texas, or Alaska and have few problems with wood. but take those rilfles on a road trip, in either direction and there is no telling where the rifle will shoot once you reach your destination.

Synthetics have issues in extreme cold and hot weather too. Especially the cheap ones on that are on 99.9% of the rifles. In extreme hot weather the tupperware stocks can get so soft they will flex very easily. Swivel studs have been known to just pull out.

If you are going synthetic stay away from the cheap plastic stocks and buy a QUALITY fiberglass or Kevlar stock.

 

[Art Eatman]

Many of my rifles have lived in 15% relative humidity for 28 years without any problems. Various factory finishes.

jmr40 swung a good hammer on that nail: "Wood stocks do fairly well in most any environment. As long as they stay in that environment. If you live in an area where there are wide swings in temperature, humidity and altitude you will have many more problems with wood than synthetics."

 

[madcratebuilder]

Would a heavy tung oil finish be suitable for desert conditions?

Tung oil would be fine, properly applied it penetrates and stabilizes the surface of the wood. Tung oil dries to a hard durable finish. Boiled Linseed oil never completely dries like Tung oil, BLO penetrates and protects but needs yearly applications for the best results.

 

[Slamfire]

If I were to carry wood in a variety of weather conditions, what I would have is a laminated stock. A laminated stock is extremely stable.

I took the tupperware stock off this M700, pillar bedded the action in this laminated stock. The stock was heavier and less flexible than the Hogue that came on the rifle.