Remington 513-T Stock Repair - Wow!

[TEC]

A while back I picked up a Remington 513-T at a pretty good price. It had been dropped on it's muzzle and had a cracked forearm that had been repaired. The repair work was functional, but not that great. I have an online friend, Charlotte, who, in addition to being an expert at prone shooting, as it happens, is self-employed and repairs piano cabinets for a living. She offered to try her hand at re-doing the repair work on this stock for me, and ended up refinishing the entire stock on my 513-T. This was, I believe, Charlotte's first work on a rifle stock, but it is a sideline she is looking to take up to supplement her income. Her results were so good, I have to share them. The photos don't quite do justice to the actual finish. My autofocus seems to have trouble locking on to the glass-like finish in the close-ups. The finish by the way, is a "Lustre" finish -- the same one Charlotte uses on Steinway pianos.

Please look up "Charlotte" on Rimfirecentral.com, or PM me for her email, if you would like to get in touch, if you are looking for an "expert" repair job on any of your stocks. I would say her work is heirloom quality, without a doubt. I have already sent her another of mine to refinish.

Before pictures:




. . . and after (wow!):

 

[sniper5]

Wow!

 

[TEC]

I would be truly embarrassed to tell you how little I paid. But now, I think I have to have the action re-blued.

 

[Runningman]

I'm impressed. Looks good! What stain and color did she use?

 

[TEC]

As I say, it is the factory finish used on Steinway pianos, according to Charlotte. I believe it is a lacquer finish, but I can't tell you the particulars. I can tell you you couldn't find the crack with a magnifying glass, even if you know exactly where it was. I am also looking for a candelabra to put on my shooting bench when I "play" this one. Apparently, one of the skills Charlotte has mastered is "matching" an original factory finish, as it isn't practical to completely refinish the entire piano. She told me that she wanted to refinish the entire stock just to see what she could do with it, because the original repair didn't really look nice enough to suit her (well heck it wasn't really a high quality finish to begin with) but it sure as heck is now. She steamed out all of the dings and the finish is flawless. The feel of this piece is now quite something as well. Incredibly smooth to the touch. She also told me that having refinished the stock, it would be quite easy for her to make any future repairs if I got a ding or a scratch.

 

[NCsmitty]

That is a very professional refinishing job. Kudos to that Lady and her talent.



NCsmitty

 

[Tim the student]

Wow, that looks great!

 

[CharlotteH]

Thanks for all the nice compliments!
I used burnt umber wiping stain after steaming out dents and whiskering. The finish is pre catalyzed clear gloss lacquer. The crack/glue line was concealed with Mohawk Blendal powders, cherry and burnt umber.
My regular job is repairing new and used piano cabinets, mostly transit and delivery damage. Being a shooter, this was a particularly enjoyable project.
Normally, I probably would not have used the stain but I had to sand the glue line level and didn't want that area to look different and the stain evened out the color, so the color you see is actually the color of the wood.
Thanks for the great pictures Tommy, and I have another 513 stock coming to me. I'm really looking forward to doing the 52.

 

[TEC]

Hey lady!

That was exactly what I was going to tell runningman, but I wasn't 100% sure, so I am glad you chimed in! (LOL)

As it turns out, I have just finished putting the Win 52C stock in the box and will ship it out Monday AM before I take the big silver bird to the left coast for a couple of days. I dropped a check in the mail for you too. Thanks again Charlotte. Hope you get lots of business!

TEC