Incised carving question

[Psycho Mike]

Hello everyone,

I have a good question for you. I'm looking at doing a Kibler Woods Runner kit and am thinking of going the carved route. I want a lighter finish overall, but I still want to bring up the figure.

My question is, in using a dark dye to bring up the figure (with sanding after each coat), will the incised carving retain the dye and be darker than the surrounding wood (adding some colored relief)? If not, I assume that coming along after finishing with an acrylic paint (painting in, wiping off) would be my best bet?

Thanks for any pointers

 

[PathfinderNC]

Hello everyone,

I have a good question for you. I'm looking at doing a Kibler Woods Runner kit and am thinking of going the carved route. I want a lighter finish overall, but I still want to bring up the figure.

My question is, in using a dark dye to bring up the figure (with sanding after each coat), will the incised carving retain the dye and be darker than the surrounding wood (adding some colored relief)? If not, I assume that coming along after finishing with an acrylic paint (painting in, wiping off) would be my best bet?

Thanks for any pointers

Hi Psycho Mike, yes the stain in the carved lines will remain untouched while the surface wood will be lightened from sanding.
There are other methods to darken the carved areas as well. (But I would not go with the added paint idea)
Practice on a spare piece of similar wood first, so you get an idea of what happens. Good luck!

 

[EC121]

For an example, here is one that I did. AlI I did was stain the stock and sand a little. Nothing done to the carving.

 

[Psycho Mike]

In my case, I'm looking at going with a walnut (warm, but dark brown) dye to bring up the figure and a honey oak or fruitwood stain....I'm aiming for a fairly light honey colored stock (but trying not to go yellow) with noticeable figure and greyed steel hardware for a "fresh from the maker" look rather than replicating the originals after 200+ years of oxidizing darker.

I'm hoping to get a pretty dark / distinctive color to the incising like what you have PathfinderNC....after all, if you're going to have a carved stock, you may as well show it off, right? Painting after sealing was my "I don't really want to go there" option, so I thought I'd ask those with a bit more experience.

Hey Pathfinder...how do you find having the inlet star "right there" at the cheek? I am tempted to try an inlet of my own at that location as well.

As for the advice about testing on spare wood....definitely. The effect I want is not something typically done these days, so I don't have an easy "copy and paste" to make mine look the same as one that someone else has previously done. If I do a little carving with an exacto knife, I should be able to check on how that dye will handle the incising too.

 

[Pete G]

Dye will soak into end grain of incised carving. Whether it is noticeable depends on the wood. Testing is your friend.

 

[rich pierce]

For an example, here is one that I did. AlI I did was stain the stock and sand a little. Nothing done to the carving.



View attachment 273475

View attachment 273477

Waay above average design and execution. Really tasteful, interesting, and well-executed.

 

[EC121]

Waay above average design and execution. Really tasteful, interesting, and well-executed.

I didn't do it. That is Kibler's machine carving. Wish I could carve like that.

 

[Psycho Mike]

Has anyone ever tried a brass filing / CA glue fill for their incised carving on a Kibler?

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Has anyone ever tried a brass filing / CA glue fill for their incised carving on a Kibler?

NO! You'd have to be Psycho to do that.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Has anyone ever tried a brass filing / CA glue fill for their incised carving on a Kibler?

Are you wanting a longrifle or a low rider?

 

[Psycho Mike]

NO! You'd have to be Psycho to do that.

Well, I would qualify with the nickname I use as my user name

 

[Psycho Mike]

Are you wanting a longrifle or a low rider?

Nothing that outlandish...but I don't have the skill to engrave and wire inlet a stock anywhere near to that sort of level of detail.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Don’t over think the dye, use the suggested above and you will have a distinctive rifle with out being to gaudy. Good luck!

 

[Psycho Mike]

Don’t over think the dye, use the suggested above and you will have a distinctive rifle with out being to gaudy. Good luck!

Yeah, I'm not looking to add spinner wheel insets or hydraulic kickers anywhere

I may just go with my planned dye/sand plan to bring up the figure, with extra attention to make sure I work the darker dyes into the incised carving. Then, I'll give it the overall dye for the color I'm after. Next will be to see how it looks overall once it has a coat of oil finish or two on it. If the dye to bring up the curl has stayed in the lows of the incised work, it'll probably stand out more than enough for my liking. The brass idea was more of a Plan R or Plan S (somewhere waaay down the list), just in case....and having the admittedly psycho thought that it could (if done right) look distinct, but less stark, on a lighter finished stock.

 

[rich pierce]

If it’s going to be your rifle for life, do whatever floats your boat. If you’ll probably sell the gun someday, remember there will be a lot of them out there already finished and many more available for whatever the kit is selling for. Anything you do that’s not traditional and outstanding will diminish resale value.

 

[Psycho Mike]

In case folks were wondering what exactly I had crossed my mind for "Plan R", here's something I lifted from ALR... but rather than wire inlay, I was thinking of maybe filling the incised work that the Kibler CNC does.

It was a thought that struck me as I contemplated my plans for a lighter coloured stock.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I built that gun. You aren't going to get that effect with incised carving and brass filings.

 

[billraby]

Nothing that outlandish...but I don't have the skill to engrave and wire inlet a stock anywhere near to that sort of level of detail.

And you never will if you never give it a try.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
The only way Jim Kibler's machine incised carving will hold wire ribbon is if the cuts are parallel sided and the wood mostly just pushed out of the way as they would be if stabbed in. Otherwise the wood will not close in when stained and finished to capture the wire and hold it fast. His cutters remove wood, so there is little chance the incised designs will hold wire.

dave

 

[Psycho Mike]

Hi,
The only way Jim Kibler's machine incised carving will hold wire ribbon is if the cuts are parallel sided and the wood mostly just pushed out of the way as they would be if stabbed in. Otherwise the wood will not close in when stained and finished to capture the wire and hold it fast. His cutters remove wood, so there is little chance the incised designs will hold wire.

dave

Hi Dave,

Yup. That's why I wasn't thinking of trying to wire inlet the carving, but rather considering brass powder and CA glue. I'll have to see how the wood responds to my planned dye routine to get the figure to pop and maybe I'll do a couple lines on the test block to see how the brass looks. I'm already planning on a "different than normal" by going with a lighter finish overall...we'll see.