MMA1991
Member
I purchased a used KY long rifle last winter as noted on my original post:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=692182
Pls note the photos at the end of the first post showing what the rifle used to look like. .
The stock was made from some unknown wood probably from Italy and frankly, I hated it. Despite sanding, stripping and staining, the color was not what I wanted.
In wood shop back in the early 80's, Mr. Parker taught us that you can darken a piece of wood by charring it with a propane torch. We did it in class and charred a decorative piece of wood and then used steel wool to clean off the carbon and what was left was a nice dark color.
I tried it on my KY rifle stock and the attached pic is the result. After charring and steel wooling, I treated the wood with Tung Oil. I am very pleased.
Sorry the pic is not the best quality but you can clearly see the difference between the before and after.
The only thing I noticed is that the torch opened up some of the cheques in the grain. The secret is to char not burn. I used a small HOT flame and constantly kept blowing the fire out and ensured an even char throughout.
Thanks Mr. Parker. Just thought I would share.
R/
MMA1991
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=692182
Pls note the photos at the end of the first post showing what the rifle used to look like. .
The stock was made from some unknown wood probably from Italy and frankly, I hated it. Despite sanding, stripping and staining, the color was not what I wanted.
In wood shop back in the early 80's, Mr. Parker taught us that you can darken a piece of wood by charring it with a propane torch. We did it in class and charred a decorative piece of wood and then used steel wool to clean off the carbon and what was left was a nice dark color.
I tried it on my KY rifle stock and the attached pic is the result. After charring and steel wooling, I treated the wood with Tung Oil. I am very pleased.
Sorry the pic is not the best quality but you can clearly see the difference between the before and after.
The only thing I noticed is that the torch opened up some of the cheques in the grain. The secret is to char not burn. I used a small HOT flame and constantly kept blowing the fire out and ensured an even char throughout.
Thanks Mr. Parker. Just thought I would share.
R/
MMA1991