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The 16.25" 36G - The Stubby Gets A Facelift
Well, as I stated when I first introduced my freshly chopped 1965 Glenfield 36G, someone at some point in this gun's life refinished the stocks. It wasn't a bad job really but it wasn't to my liking either.
Here's how it looked when I got it:
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It's kind of hard to tell from those pics but the light spots in the wood were very light, almost pinkish. My wife actually called it "the giraffe gun." In fact, it was about three minutes after that comment that I was tearing it apart. ;D There was also very little top finish and some other minor issues I hoped to massage.
So, I first used Citri Strip to get off whatever finish was used and then another soak in it to try to help lighten the stain. Birch has what I call a feathery grain (always reminded me of a bird's breast) and where the stain sank in, it was very dark. I mixed up some stains until I got a hue that pleased me. I generally prefer a lighter hue on birch as I think it enhances the natural golden-reddish colors of the wood but this time I decided to go darker. One, I wanted it to look a little more aged to suit the year and current metal finish (worn) of the rifle. Two, I felt it was the best way to get more of a blended look.
This stock offered a few challenges for sure. For one, whoever did the previous refinish sanded the wood shy of the upper tang, especially on the right. I reckon it might have come from the factory that way but that side is also slightly squared off so I suspect it was the result of sanding. So that meant I could only do so much sanding of the wrist. For two, I usually go down to about 220 grit before staining but I feared I'd further seal up the pores of the lighter spots and not be able to get the stain to sink into them and work against my plan to smooth out the look somewhat. For three, the end of the butt stock must have been cut with one dull blade as there where very noticeable saw marks around the perimeter (and burns on the end) and you could see daylight through ridges between the wood and pad. And for four, the butt pad stood very proud of the wood all around and it was obvious the whoever did the refinish didn't sand it down to match the wood when they were done.
I sanded the end of the butt stock and when I mounted the butt pad to sand it to match the wood, I discovered that by taking off some wood, the pad no longer seated down tight. The easy fix would have been to just drill the holes a touch deeper so the screws could cinch it down but what fun is that? ;D My solution? I made a red spacer out of a plastic Folger's coffee can.
I'm still not sure how I feel about the spacer but it works for now.
This was also my first use of Min Wax Wipe-on Poly. I used the satin finish. I tell ya, that is one easy to use product and the results are pretty nice too. I still love Tru Oil but this stuff definitely has it's place and I can see me using it for future projects.
Anyway, enough of my rambling, here's how it sits today...
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Well, as I stated when I first introduced my freshly chopped 1965 Glenfield 36G, someone at some point in this gun's life refinished the stocks. It wasn't a bad job really but it wasn't to my liking either.
Here's how it looked when I got it:
It's kind of hard to tell from those pics but the light spots in the wood were very light, almost pinkish. My wife actually called it "the giraffe gun." In fact, it was about three minutes after that comment that I was tearing it apart. ;D There was also very little top finish and some other minor issues I hoped to massage.
So, I first used Citri Strip to get off whatever finish was used and then another soak in it to try to help lighten the stain. Birch has what I call a feathery grain (always reminded me of a bird's breast) and where the stain sank in, it was very dark. I mixed up some stains until I got a hue that pleased me. I generally prefer a lighter hue on birch as I think it enhances the natural golden-reddish colors of the wood but this time I decided to go darker. One, I wanted it to look a little more aged to suit the year and current metal finish (worn) of the rifle. Two, I felt it was the best way to get more of a blended look.
This stock offered a few challenges for sure. For one, whoever did the previous refinish sanded the wood shy of the upper tang, especially on the right. I reckon it might have come from the factory that way but that side is also slightly squared off so I suspect it was the result of sanding. So that meant I could only do so much sanding of the wrist. For two, I usually go down to about 220 grit before staining but I feared I'd further seal up the pores of the lighter spots and not be able to get the stain to sink into them and work against my plan to smooth out the look somewhat. For three, the end of the butt stock must have been cut with one dull blade as there where very noticeable saw marks around the perimeter (and burns on the end) and you could see daylight through ridges between the wood and pad. And for four, the butt pad stood very proud of the wood all around and it was obvious the whoever did the refinish didn't sand it down to match the wood when they were done.
I sanded the end of the butt stock and when I mounted the butt pad to sand it to match the wood, I discovered that by taking off some wood, the pad no longer seated down tight. The easy fix would have been to just drill the holes a touch deeper so the screws could cinch it down but what fun is that? ;D My solution? I made a red spacer out of a plastic Folger's coffee can.
I'm still not sure how I feel about the spacer but it works for now.
This was also my first use of Min Wax Wipe-on Poly. I used the satin finish. I tell ya, that is one easy to use product and the results are pretty nice too. I still love Tru Oil but this stuff definitely has it's place and I can see me using it for future projects.
Anyway, enough of my rambling, here's how it sits today...
