Ash wood stock

[Robin]

This is a stock I am working on made from a piece of 'curly' ash. It still has scraper marks showing but I just wanted to show just one small thing among many that we are losing as a result of chi-com indifference to our sovereignty as a nation.
The vertical stripes are the 'curl', the horizontal are the drain, the color is not a stain, but is caused by applying a re-agent called Aqua-fortus, which is nitric acid with iron filings allowed to dissolve into it, wiped on the wood and then a fairly high heat is applied bringing out a beautiful tobacco brown color as it works on the tannic acid in the wood. A common method used by our native gun makers in the 1700-1800's.


Of course when finally scraped and sanded it will be more even and vibrant.
Robin

 

[cgrutt]

Nice piece of ash you've got yourself there!

 

[kev74]

I can't wait to see how that turns out!

Emerald ash borer, chestnut blight, stink bugs, phony lady bugs, zebra mussels, snake head fish and now kung flu. All from the magical orient.

 

[togmaster]

How long after cutting before you can work on the wood like that? Does it need to be certain moisture content?

 

[Robin]

Ash, red and or white, is kind of unique in that you can cut it and use it for fire wood the same day, its that dry already, but I always wait one year per one inch thickness of the rough cut wood no matter the variety.
Robin

 

[BDinPutnam]

Beauty. As always.

 

[repete]

Ash, red and or white, is kind of unique in that you can cut it and use it for fire wood the same day, its that dry already, but I always wait one year per one inch thickness of the rough cut wood no matter the variety.
Robin

Sounds like my kinda project, I'm good at putting things off!

 

[Acer-m14]

i had some old wood and did the vinegar / steel wool mix for a stain once .. wish i would have taken photos .. came out really nice ..

 

[ArmedCorgi]

Please tell me you are passing your knowledge on to another @Robin

 

[togmaster]

i had some old wood and did the vinegar / steel wool mix for a stain once .. wish i would have taken photos .. came out really nice ..

I had some old wood this morning. The wife knew what to do with it.

 

[MuttCat]

Robin, in the past I've used ash for deck furniture, very much like oak in that the grain can be rather open. For your gunstock do you have to do a bunch of filling either before or after staining?

 

[dwa12479]

You Sir, are are a true craftsman. I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[repete]

This is a stock I am working on made from a piece of 'curly' ash. It still has scraper marks showing but I just wanted to show just one small thing among many that we are losing as a result of chi-com indifference to our sovereignty as a nation.
The vertical stripes are the 'curl', the horizontal are the drain, the color is not a stain, but is caused by applying a re-agent called Aqua-fortus, which is nitric acid with iron filings allowed to dissolve into it, wiped on the wood and then a fairly high heat is applied bringing out a beautiful tobacco brown color as it works on the tannic acid in the wood. A common method used by our native gun makers in the 1700-1800's.
View attachment 69813
View attachment 69814
Of course when finally scraped and sanded it will be more even and vibrant.
Robin

I made a stock for a muzzle loader ONCE, when finished it looked a lot like the one above!

 

[Robin]

Muttcat, I usually boil down a linseed oil / turpentine mix till it is real thick and wipe it on real good, let it find its own level, let it hang in the sun foe an hour or so then wipe it down. That usually stops up the pores pretty good. From there I use an all natural tung oil spar varnish and hand rub it in, as many coats as it takes to get the surface on plane, a little bit of pore dimples showing here and there on ash, to me, adds to its' appeal. Now Walnut, another wood with lots of pores, I like to get an even finish through out.
Robin

 

[BDinPutnam]

I had some old wood this morning. The wife knew what to do with it.

Split it and stack it?

 

[MuttCat]

I have heard of heating BLO to thicken it for filling wood. Tung oil and spar varnish mixed? That must be your own recipe. One time tried some stuff from Formsby that was supposedly tung oil, but it turned out have varnish in it. It did make a nice finish, a bit glossy, but it wasn't a true oil finish.

 

[Robin]

Thelinseed oil mixture is boiled down till it is very thick. The Spar tung oil is a very high quality varnish I purchased.

How To Finish Truck Beds with Exterior Tung Oil and Marine Spar Varnish — Sutherland Welles Ltd.

www.sutherlandwelles.com

I have been using the same quart for ten years, just poke a screw driver through the crust, dip my finger into it and start rubbing. hanging it in the sun helps cure both the linseed oil and the tung oil, the UV's are almost a necessity,
Robin

 

[cgrutt]

What about using dewaxed shellac cut with BLO to fill pores? I've used this on curly maple and it came out really nice. Saturate wood with BLO until it cant absorb oil any more then rub in 50/50 mix dewaxed shellac and BLO to fill pores. Light sanding followed by another coat of straight BLO then wax? Not sure if this would be good for gun stock or not but certainly a "traditional" (early/mid-1800s) finish.

Also read you can fill pores with mix of mineral spirits and BLO to create a wet sanding slurry with fine sawdust but haven't tried that. Just wondering if it would work on gunstock.

 

[Robin]

I have never had luck with the sanding, sawdust slurry method, I have heard many swear by it but it doesn't work for me. The BLO and shellac is very much like a 'French Polish used in violin making, a beautiful finish!!!!! Shellac does make a superb sealer but needs to be top coated with something for outdoor use where it may become wet. The best linseed oil is that which comes from art supply stores. It is real boiled oil as opposed to the hardware stuff which goes through some kind of process that doesn't include the boiling, which polymerizes it. The hardware stuff will virtually never dry unless it is boiled down and dryers are added and even then it needs UV rays to cure (dry). I have made many varnishes in my experiments and this has been my experience. Tung oil is a very old finish from China and was most probably being used in the west during the time of my interest. I have been using it because its all natural and convenient for me, after all the work of home making a suitable varnish it does not keep well or for long.
Robin

 

[kev74]

What about using dewaxed shellac cut with BLO to fill pores? I've used this on curly maple and it came out really nice. Saturate wood with BLO until it cant absorb oil any more then rub in 50/50 mix dewaxed shellac and BLO to fill pores. Light sanding followed by another coat of straight BLO then wax? Not sure if this would be good for gun stock or not but certainly a "traditional" (early/mid-1800s) finish.

Also read you can fill pores with mix of mineral spirits and BLO to create a wet sanding slurry with fine sawdust but haven't tried that. Just wondering if it would work on gunstock.

I've used the tung oil wet sanding to fill pores. It comes out nice, but takes a LONG time.