My Shockwave brace thread

[Sixbennetts]

Yup, Ed's correct

It's still over 26", (ATF says that's the magic length making it not concealable).

It's still never had a stock attached.

The length of pull is below 13½", (ATF's opinion of over that being a stock, not a brace).

4. You can buy them this way right from the manufacturer now.

 

[Sixbennetts]

Ok, the finish.

The theme of this Shockwave build is, 'tough love'. We all have that one gun. Grampa's old model 70 with the deer blood on the butt, or the old side-by-side double that you bought in high school. Maybe the .38 special your dad carried in that patent leather service holster.
It's got some bluing left, the shine is gone off the wood, it's been rubbed and oiled so much, or has so much heavy holster wear, that it's shiny on the metal edges. It's got knicks, dents, cracks, and dings, but none of that matters. It's old faithful, and you'd never sell or trade it.

As a young teen, I had a Thompson Center Hawken percussion in 50 CAL that I carried everywhere in the woods, until it was stolen out of my brother's car at work. We finished it with Minwax Antique Oil Finish, and it was loved. I almost tried to recreate that on these two pieces of wood, but because they're so different, I needed flexibility in the staining process. I settled on the Birchwood Casey Stock Refinishing Kit.



It has stain, Tru-Oil, stock conditioner, sandpaper, small staining clothes, and 000 steel wool. That's a LOT for $25 or so, and if you are careful, you have enough to completely refinish 2 or 3 full stock long guns, or like 20 handguns.
Their stains are water-based, and allow you to dilute them for lighter shades, and also to add subsequent coats to darken gradually. This was exactly what I had to do, match two pieces of diffent colored walnut.



The forend was darker than the grip, and also redder. So...

A. One was heartwood, and one was sapwood.

B. One was black walnut, the other was regular walnut.

Either way, I needed to play with both how dark and how red. So I also bought a bottle of their Rusty Walnut Stain, to go along with the regular Walnut Stain that comes with the refinishing kit.



By mixing, diluting, and applying multiple coats, I was able to get them very close.




Tru-Oil.

This stuff is magic. If you follow the instructions carefully, you are rewarded with a wonderful, old, quality finish. It's easy to do, but requires patience. It smells great, so the Mrs allowed me to do all of the staining and finishing right at the dining room table! It's similar to Hoppes #9, (which smells so great that some of you have worn it as cologne when the Old Spice ran out. Admit it). A very pleasant smell, but not as strong as #9.

It uses multiple coats to work up to the desired finish. 3 or 4 coats gets you covered, but not glass-smooth. 10 coats or more can look like it's been dipped in heavy, clear polyurethane or fiberglass resin. Each coat gets a touch darker and richer, adding more golden brown honey over the stain. After the first couple coats, you can wet-sand the next few coats which fills minor cracks and acts as a fine filler. You wait 12 hours between coats, then scuff with fine steel wool before laying the next coat on.

I did 7 coats, with no wet sanding. I want the cracks! I want the minor imperfections! I wanted it to look like a once great finish that has aged lovingly. But, it's too shiny still. Next, you have a choice with Tru-Oil.

A. Leave it high gloss and just wax it. Nah...

B. Use their Stock Sheen & Conditioner that comes in the kit. This includes a fine pumice and wax that you cloth on and buff off, leaving a semi-gloss finish. Hmm...

C. Rely on 0000 steel wool or extremely fine sandpaper to knock the gloss down to semi-gloss. Yup

D. Just leave it as is. Nope.
I opted for C, and here's why. I don't want gloss, and I don't want wax. Wax is funny stuff, especially if you throw in some silicone. Forget trying to remove it to touch up or refinish. Your only choice is chemical stripping or mechanical removal of all the finish, (and some of the wood). Since MY style of gun cleaning is Hoppes #9, followed by 3-in-1 oiling of parts and a wipe down with the oily rag, I'm leaving it with just the Tru-Oil on the outer coat. That way, if I have to touch-up after the inevitable brain fart gun drop, or door-bang ding, or tree-scrub scar, or pants-zipper scratch, (yeah, I did that once, don't ask), I'll only have to deal with removing the oil from wipe downs. The #9 will do that just fine.








This is as far as I've gotten. I have to get some 0000 wool to knock the shine down after it cures a week to really harden.

Coming up:

1. Knocking the shine off the Tru-Oil.
2. Knocking the flat blue finish off the corners/edges of the metal. (This will be extremely subtle, and might not show up on the pics but is necessary to create the in-person illusion of a well used and loved weapon).
3. Using a homemade beeswax/turpentine waterproof mixture I made to darken & seal the sling leather. I *might attempt to use the BC walnut stain to darken the shell holder to get it closer to the sling color.

Stay tuned, kids! Bozo will be back in a couple days!

 

[Edwardteach72]

Looks so good

 

[Sixbennetts]

Thanks, Ed. Trying to turn a negative weakness, (Mossberg's delicate flat blue finish), into a positive. Or at least camouflage it!

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

Those mini shells work ok?

 

[Curmudgeon]

Wood furniture looks awesome.

 

[BDinPutnam]

Wow.



Awesome work.

 

[garyv350]

Those mini shells work ok?

With one of these, yes

OPSol® Mini-Clip 2.0 Flex

 

[Sixbennetts]

Thanks, guys. Means a lot to me.

 

[Sixbennetts]

With one of these, yes

OPSol® Mini-Clip 2.0 Flex

Yup, Gary's right. I love the minishells, and the Opsol clip works perfectly. Haven't had a failure yet, and I get 10 rounds in the tube!

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

Yup, Gary's right. I love the minishells, and the Opsol clip works perfectly. Haven't had a failure yet, and I get 10 rounds in the tube!

Good. I've seen those adapters before but was just wondering if it worked (well) without an adapter.

 

[Sixbennetts]

I haven't had a single problem with it with any length shell I've tried, but it's a Mossberg, so...

 

[Sixbennetts]

Here's my next project. A reshaped raptor grip with an end cap that resembles an elingated pistol grip stock mod. Instead of screwing the grip onto the back, I'm gonna try blind bolting it from the inside so there's no huge gaping hole in the back.
Gotta keep the 26" length, but it should be sweet.



Or maybe a Thompson style grip.

 

[Sixbennetts]

A little more eye candy before the distressing begins.



And this last pic I made to show how this particular pistol brace handles recoil so well, even shooting hot slugs.

Holding it a little higher on your shoulder does two things, allows the brace to flex, and also aligns your eye along the top of the receiver.


And here's the ATF letter, explaining why it's ok to shoulder a brace, (for anyone interested).

 

[Sixbennetts]

Some 0000 steel wool + elbow grease = heavy use.

This is just oiled to shine it up for the pics. It's actually much duller in person. I'm considering some kind of wax for the flat blue finish. Took the high gloss off the wood, too.

 

[fnfalguy]

Wow, that looks fantastic. I really love the look of that Other.

Just for the record, it’s not just the shockwave, I too am much duller in person.

Some 0000 steel wool + elbow grease = heavy use.

This is just oiled to shine it up for the pics. It's actually much duller in person. I'm considering some kind of wax for the flat blue finish. Took the high gloss off the wood, too.

 

[Sixbennetts]

Thanks. It's making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, I know. But I was so disappointed in Mossberg's delicate flat blue finish, I wanted to be able to actually USE the damn thing without worrying about it.

It's not done yet, but here's a few more pics.



And these were some of the images that inspired me.

 

[Sixbennetts]

Few more...

 

[Paxal]

Good. I've seen those adapters before but was just wondering if it worked (well) without an adapter.

My 500 chokes on MiniShells, without the adapter. Not happy. Minis would be perfect in a shockwave I’d guess.

Are the adapters any good?

 

[Sixbennetts]

My 500 chokes on MiniShells, without the adapter. Not happy. Minis would be perfect in a shockwave I’d guess.

Are the adapters any good?

Yup, nice little piece of equipment. Snug to get into place, but after 100 rounds it hasn't budged at all.

 

[Sixbennetts]

Added a jeweled bolt and shell lifter!

 

[Sixbennetts]

Few more pics...

 

[Defilade]

Fantastic job, Looks like it was a lot of fun. I think the "Walking Dead" series is going to call. They want to rent it from ya! lol

 

[Sixbennetts]

Prolly make a damn good zombie removal tool!

 

[Sixbennetts]

Playing around with replacing the standard AR steel buffer tube with a walnut dowel finished to match.

Ignore the diagonal grain, it's a pic of a table leg pic I found online. I'd use a straight walnut dowel with tight, straight grain. (The brace is a Tailhook).

Thoughts?

 

[ECU Pirates]

Looks great. What’s the overall length with the brace?

 

[Sixbennetts]

Thanks! Haven't measured it, but it's obviously over the 26" of the standard Shockwave. Length of pull will be under 13½" when I'm done, too.

 

[ECU Pirates]

Thanks! Haven't measured it, but it's obviously over the 26" of the standard Shockwave. Length of pull will be under 13½" when I'm done, too.

View attachment 45740

If you get a chance can you please measure? I’m looking into case options. thanks!

 

[Sixbennetts]

On it. Back in a few...

 

[Sixbennetts]

Looks like 33⅓" at the barrel, 33⅔" at the light! Looks like I'll have some 3's in my next Powerball ticket!