Referbishing Mosin M38 stock.

[juststarting]

I bought a Mosin M38 carbine, just because. Unlike my 91/30, I hold no emotional/historic sentiment for it. It's an awesome fun blaster, original stock, matching numbers, blah, blah, blah, even some shotgun nutters will admit to this. Anyway, it looked like sh*t, so I decided to refurbish the stock.

This is work in progress. I will post final pics in better lighting conditions when I get around to it. I apologise in advance for exposure, I play with my funs at night when I get a moment to my self and everyone is in bed and I am left alone to my own devices... Better lights in the garage are on their way.

@Squiddy, this is roughly what you are going for. Though, I suspect wood on K98 would be more banged up.
@No1Mk3 stop reading now, I know you will be disgusted with this sacrilege.


(gallery http://imgur.com/a/RADmd/all)

Original state of the M38












Washing and scrubbing begins, after it was wiped with acetone to remove all shellac and marinated in CitriStrip for an hour (I found a new use for our baby bath that was going to the tip, before this repurposing rescue for my other-other-baby).



Washed... This is as clean as I could get it.[/img]







Not much to see here. Second coat of stain before oiling.


First coat of Tru Oil


Sanding with 000 steel wool. Then...
I believe perhaps 4th coat of oil here


More steel wool (between each coat).
5th coat of oil

[Heckler303]

It just goes to show, with enough work and patience you can make any lump of timber look like a French dining table.


Very nicely done, tru oil is great stuff. I apply mine with a non-static rag as it's sticky as molasses lol

[Title_II]

It just goes to show, with enough work and patience you can make any lump of timber look like a French dining table.

A French stock would have marks from being dropped

[Squiddy]

Nice!

If I had matching numbers on the Mauser I wouldn't touch it, but as its a Russian and not and American capture I've decided to go ahead with the restoration job.

Did the acetone or any of the stripping products affect the metal button that holds the stock together? I've been warned not to get any on any of the metal parts but the Mauser has the same type of button in the butt end of the stock that cant be removed.

[Heckler303]

It just goes to show, with enough work and patience you can make any lump of timber look like a French dining table.

A French stock would have marks from being dropped

absolutely rekt

[CactusElite]

How about it we take it easy on the French guys. We're not all convicts here.

[juststarting]

tru oil is great stuff. I apply mine with a non-static rag as it's sticky as molasses lol

Applied it with some cotton rags (old T-shirt) and couple of coats with my fingers. Benefit of hindsight - in recon finger is the way to go.

[juststarting]

Did the acetone or any of the stripping products affect the metal button that holds the stock together?.

Buttons, not that I can tell, but they didn't have any bluing or anything on them, so not an accurate feedback. However, the metal spring latches that hold the rings in place (holds top and bottom part of the stock around the barrel) are blued or at least have some coating on them and they were perfectly fine. I wiped them with acetone too, because they had shellac on them. No issues that I can see. I did apply stripping agent that may have diluted acetone within 20 minutes - so who knows, given longer exposure, maybe, but none that I've noticed. I did cover the metal parts later, when I started staining.

[Title_II]

How about it we take it easy on the French guys. We're not all convicts here.

The French invented modern chemistry, art, food, and they saved our Yank assess against the Limeys.

But times change. And times have changed indeed.

[Xerox]

Great turn around