Wilds... those were the nastiest looking firearms i ever laid eyes on, you must now sell your whole collection for 1/4 thier worth to me immediatly!! i liked the ebon end cap most due to the unconventional "design" of the undercap, its not just slapped to the end.. and sorry but the checkering has always looked better to me when it is freeflowing non templated out of the owners head like that!!! ballpark how long did that take you to go from bare blank to now?

It took about two bottles of Jack D. Green Lable...give or take.

Mighta had a few shots of Crown along the way, but I really can't remember....memory is foggy.

I learned from the best, startin' about '84, if I recall correctly....that grumpy ol' SOB's ashes were scattered from his tree stand a few years back.........

The middle one in the pic above was my .270 at the time the image was took, and now is my 30-06....new premium barrel, turreted Leupy VX-I and a Fit 4 Duty Sniper Gray Cerekote job makes it my go to Black Bear Rifle.

I'll dig up a pic of that one in the present, as that stock is my own work as well, albeit it from back in the beginning........

The end cap on the Ruger Inline was made from a solid chunk of ebony I got from a pool cue maker and was inletted straight down from the top side with 3 degree angles on all sides/surfaces and a 100 percent fit....it was intense. Must admit I stole the idea from the Sharps guys as they pour pewter ones of like fashion....but me being a dumb drunk I couldn't figure out how to melt ebony and pour it into place.

Should add per the checkering....

I work exclusively less a checkering cradle though I do own one, and at the moment all my tools/cutters are dull from too many jobs. I'll try to get this one done and one more for a customer before I buy new..............

Here's the '06 post Cerekote....pre Leupold.

Yes, I made the knife too, D2 + brass + walnut...

As stated the stock was built on the learning curve, circa '85ish, and hasn't been touched since except by some rough use in the "woods"..........

Even though it now sports a turreted Leupy and Talley LW's it did shoot pretty fair last season with the Nikon...............grin.

Nice work wildswalker. Actualy, I use raw linseed oil with rotten stone to finish a stock. Been doing it sense my Dad taught me back in the 60's.
Forgot to tell you that I have a few years under my belt doing what you do.
I think that a lot of us around here have.
Sorry to ruffle your feathers with the attitude, but I figured that I would give you back some of the attitude that you gave to the Swampfox, along with my opinion still, that I like his way of finishing. There is more than one way to do things, and not everybody has the same taste.
Will be sure to tread much more lightly on you tender feelings from now on.
Beautiful work thought wildman, and keep on doing a fine job.
My offer still stands for the toilet finishing of a stock for you, and I might give you a little discount.

Eric

Here's a close up or two of that Flinter above.....

Not much into carving picture scenes into stocks or fancy inlays, but I did this one just to say I could.......ebony, fiddleback maple, hickory.





Wonderin' if this grain is filled or not........

Raw Linseed won't set.........but I'm sure you know that.

Tender feelings?

Didn't feel a thing................

Morax....

For reference only, here's a diagram of how I inletted the forend tip on the Ruger....

Got wrapped up in the work and didn't take any pics until it was over....had to explain this to someone else with this drawing.

Maybe you get the idea.......it was pretty complex as the stock profile shaping wasn't done until it was completely inletted and epoxied in place. Therefore I had to maintain a 100% fit so the long curved lines came out clean, couldn't afford any gaps showing as that would ruin it.

Raw linseed oil was used by one of the finest stock makers that most people around here have seen.
When you see a rubbed finished stock that has hours and hours of hand rubbing with raw linseed oil and rotten stone, the looks and feel, take you back to the guns of the 30's and 40's.
I still do this with my stocks, but it takes days of rubbing to get the final look and finish. Before the rubbing, it takes a lot of time wetting the wood and resanding, until no more grain come up also.
Rain water will roll off of a good rubbed finish as if it were waxed.

Eric

with the limited woodworking refinishing or finishing if you will that i have, i accually understood how you did that, beatiful work on it though... i primarily id pistol grips and knife handles for awhile then did a few rifle stocks, last one i did i went the lazy way bought a 99% done stock and just flavored to my likeing.. it still turned out nice enough, used a hand rubbed tung oil finish semi gloss, i think it got 22 coats, i lost count, but a coat of mothers on it and it gives a real nice dull shine..and just a little piece of info i gleened from a different site because i was too lazy to type out what i knew...

"Linseed oil has been used for centuries on wood to polish and preserve it but raw linseed oil should never be used in a stock finish as it contains some slow drying vegetable fats which makes for a dull, greasy finish that never really hardens. Boiled linseed oil only should be used, when a linseed oil finish is desired. Boiled oil has never been boiled, though - it is raw oil treated with sulphuric acid or caustic soda which reacts upon the impurities in the oil and allows them to be removed from the oil, which is then heated a little and mixed with a bit of drier. Pure bleached linseed oil has this done and also has most of the natural color removed by activated charcoal. … Watch out for synthetic linseed oil which is not so good for stocks,.."

oh and as per the inlayed pieces, i never thought to do it on a gun stock, have done wooden box tops, and a "striped" knife handle with inlays.. interesting concept for me to thieve heheheheh

Raw linseed oil with ROTTEN STONE!!!
Un-stinkin-believable---It's like talking to my kids.
Nothing personal Morax, but I have a Model 71 .348 Winchester that my Dad redid back in the early sixties, that hasn't dripped vegetable oil, or anything else in the 47yrs, and decades of hard hunting in the Northwoods.
The stock is an example of fine old craftsmanship.
I'm sure glad that Pop didn't read the textbooks before he started doing guns in the 40's.
His isn't the only fine hand rubbed stocks that I have owned, and did myself.
Like you, I have done a lot of inlays. No special secret to doing them, I am a journeyman woodworker, and on many jobs have done them.
I have never done it on stocks because I like simple, plain, finishes on them instead.


Eric

I definately can't shift my brain into a low enough gear to converse at your level.........so I won't bother.

The cultural gap that must exist between the world and Minnysootee would generally excuse the language barrier that translates the word "Raw" into what the rest of us know as "unboiled". Most around here know that unboiled or "raw" linseed will NOT dry completely and leaves a tacky mess thats main function is to draw as much dirt and lint as possible. Hardly feasable for a working gun.....

Even the old timer's old timers knew they had to boil it to get it to harden...........

Personally, I'd not trade my crummy for a horse drawed wagon as I do prefer a few things modern. Tru Oil is nothing new by a long shot but still modern by comparrison and it's attributes far outweigh simple boiled linseed. Since linseed is one of the main ingredients, any argument against it in favor of plain linseed is pretty much mute.....

Do feel free at any point to hang images of your work.....

We're, to a point, interested......give or take.

nothing personal taken cause i didnt see nothin personal there... i am also a purveyor of fine wood grain, and refuse to paint wood!! but sometimes the wood just needs a extra little umph to set it off...

No problem Morax.
I'll have to get back to hassling Bushy, and Vince.
They're a lot more fun to play with.
No mud or anything. Take life in stride. If you know what I mean.


Eric