Wood matching & restoration help?

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DocRock

DocRock

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I have another thread about a Browning Double Automatic that I picked up for a song recently. The forend was really beat up on one side, so I ordered a replacement forend from Sarco. It arrived in fantastic condition. So, then I stripped down the buttstock, which is almost certainly from a later model as the models consistent with the steel receiver Double Autos were all Prince of Wales grip. Nice, straight grained Walnut.

The forend has a decidedly yellow/tan tint, so I wast expecting a BLO under some kind of hard varnish finish.

However, one coat of BLO on the buttstock yields two pieces of wood with very different colors.

Is it possible the new forend is Beech rather than Walnut?

Tagging @GunnyUSMC since he has been very helpful on previous wood restoration projects...

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I doubt beech. Beech does not have the "pores" in the pic. It is much more like maple or birch. Could be an import, I suppose. I'll look through my workshop and try to find something similar, for identification.
If it is beech, there is certainly nothing wrong with the piece you received.
 
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The grain is significantly different. Even if you match the color and the sheen they're still going to be noticeably different. I'd say, either make the most of it and accentuate the difference, or start with different furniture, all pieces the same.
 
Both are walnut. Yes, there if often great differences in color of walnut. I think you need to start looking for a butt stock. Finish that one and use it until you find what you need.
 
It would be a fairly daunting task to marry-up stock and forearm wood likeness at this late date. Originally, both were cut from the same tree (blank), so the only way you might have a chance at an amicable marriage, would be to strip both, and then try matching with a stain. Sad to write this, but EBONY stain would be the easiest one to guarantee a match. :(
 
SGW Gunsmith said:
It would be a fairly daunting task to marry-up stock and forearm wood likeness at this late date. Originally, both were cut from the same tree (blank), so the only way you might have a chance at an amicable marriage, would be to strip both, and then try matching with a stain. Sad to write this, but EBONY stain would be the easiest one to guarantee a match. :(
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Agreed. The buttstock is fairly dark. I will strip the forend and stain it at least a much closer color. Just finished BLO on the buttstock; it’s quite dark with the orange/red stain removed.
 
If matching color is the primary concern, I would get a buttstock from the same source as the fore end. That way you are more sure of the age and type of wood.
 
The fore-end is definitely walnut. In my experience, many, if not most, Double Auto factory stocks were relatively straight-grained, having a "yellowish" (there's got to be a better word than "yellow" describing the color) hue to them.
 
the forend is too yellow. believe it or not - you need a greenish tint to bring it into the same brown tone as the butt. you might consider pickup up a few bottles of trans tint die, it is a water based die, that you mix with water and apply it as a stain to the wood. you can add more or less, and just do multiple coats (apply and let dry, and when I mean multiple I mean like 30 very light tints and slowly build up to a match) and slowly add in color to bring the tone in to match. and eventually if you pay attention to the RGB CMY primary and complimentary color wheel, you can get it pretty good if you have a good eye. I say green because it is the complimentary color to yellow, so - if you want it to look less yellow, you have to add a tint with with green to darken the color and have to look brown.

of all the things I've done, matching wood tones, is about the hardest thing there is out there to figure out, and actually do it. a few times I've had good results, and well sometimes different results. never did a firearm, but - have done a bunch of furniture over the years. tables and desks and such.

oop - no I mean blue, you need blue ... easy mistake ... lol
 
Green is yellow plus blue, so you were half-way there to start. :D

J/K. You're certainly right about matching wood. It ain't like paint. ;)
 
wiscoaster said:
Green is yellow plus blue, so you were half-way there to start. :D

J/K. You're certainly right about matching wood. It ain't like paint. ;)
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I haven't done it in quite a few years now. The trans tint water based dies were the only thing I found that one could use to actually match wood tones reasonably well - and it is time consuming. Never found any other way to do it well at all.
 
film495 said:
I haven't done it in quite a few years now. The trans tint water based dies were the only thing I found that one could use to actually match wood tones reasonably well - and it is time consuming. Never found any other way to do it well at all.
Click to expand...
Could this be applied to a peice of wood that already has one coat of Tung oil, or would the Tung have to be removed somehow before?

Im trying to match two pieces of walnut at a joint- they looked pretty much identical after sanding and cleaning, but as soon as the first coat of oil went on, one peice got waaaaay darker.

Im also considering applying a coat of pre-tinted dark walnut Danish oil next. Since both are basically linseed derivatives, Id think they would be compatible.

Ahhhhh...just discovered they make a pre-tinted dark tung oil. I think Ill try this on the lighter wood and put the clear tung on the darker bits for each subsequent coat.
 
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