Log In
May 26, 2018
Offline
I tried to do a search to bring up any threads and didn’t have much luck.
I have always wondered what the original finish on the stocks have been over the years. Are there cut off dates or were different finishes available? It seems that prior to and during WW2 BLO might have been the most prevalent, but that isn’t an educated opinion.
March 31, 2009
Offline
Depending on what you have wood could come oiled or varnished.
July 17, 2012
Online
Depending upon what rifle (like the .22 bolt action rifles) they would have come with a toned lacquer finish commencing as early as 1926 (and possibly earlier). The toned lacquer finish on the lower cost .22s continued up through 1963.
Lever guns had a different finish as mentioned above but since you didn’t specify the rifle(s) I thought I would add the .22’s to the answer since most here at WACA are focused only on the lever rifles or shotguns and sometimes forget about the lowly Winchester .22 line of rifles.
Regards,
WACA Life Member #6284 - Specializing in Pre-64 Winchester .22 Rimfire
May 26, 2018
Offline
Thanks both for your responses. Maybe they are an indication of what I don’t want to hear. I’d hoped that there was some simple guideline like, “all lever actions from the beginning until 19XX were finished with boiled linseed” and then such and such a treatment was used. Or, even that there was some complicated chart that had some series of criteria that was used for each type of rifle.
Specifically, I have in mind my latest acquisition a Mod 63 made in 1941. At the points where wood and metal come together there is a loss or more appropriately a gain but it is of oil that has darkened the finish.
I will be removing the wood for deep cleaning and also to adjust the tension slots to make the magazine tube more secure. (ref my posting on Rimfirecentral) I figured that I might be able to get some of the oil pulled out of the wood and replaced with something that looks closer to natural. I’m glad that this rifle was put up soaked in oil as far as the metal goes but it did dig a little in with the wood.
Thanks again.
June 26, 2013
Online
The Fall 2015 Winchester Collector magazine has a rather in-depth article by Mike Hunter on pages 46-50 regarding wood finishes. I’ve attached a link.
https://winchestercollector.org/magazines/201509/files/assets/basic-html/page-46.html
Don
1 Guest(s)
