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Kibler Woodsrunner kit
- Thread starter troy2000
- Start date
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troy2000
45 Cal.
Went looking for my finishing materials; everything's a mess since I moved back. I found my iron nitrate and linseed oil for the stock, along with my heat gun, but couldn't find the brass aging solution for blackening the barrel. Went online and ordered more from Amazon. It's a lot cheaper than Jim's, seems to work just as well, and since I have Amazon Prime the shipping is free.
- Joined
- May 28, 2022
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- Location
- Louisiana & My camp in Mississippi
It’s looking good Troy. You might consider using a bit of wax on the patch box and stock mating surface. Renaissance or Min wax would work.
troy2000
45 Cal.
Tks for the suggestion, and I agree; I'm a wax fanatic. I finish wood to protect it. Then I add a coat or two of wax to protect the finish, so it can keep doing its job. I also keep my sawblades, chisels, power tool tabletops, etc., waxed. Makes life a lot easier... Plain old Johnson Paste Wax seems to work well for me.
I think part of the problem with the lid locking up so solidly from the humidity was due to the fact the stock and lid were still in the rough, and hadn't been smoothed down at all.
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- Joined
- May 28, 2022
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- 9,043
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- Location
- Louisiana & My camp in Mississippi
Yep, Johnson Paste wax is good, I use it too.
troy2000
45 Cal.
Temporarily reinstalled the buttplate, trigger plate, ramrod tailpipe ( I think Jim calls it the entry pipe) and trigger guard, to make sure everything was a good fit. Good thing I did; all of them were sunk below the wood just a tad. No big deal, but it needed addressing.
And when I was installing the buttplate I fumble-fingered it, and it bounced off my vise twice before hitting the floor. That put two tiny nicks in the edge. You wouldn't believe how long it took to disappear them, while blending the removal into the rest of the stock.
Anyway, hopefully the wood is ready for some iron nitrate tomorrow. I'll try to post before pics, what it looks like after application, and the results after hitting it with a heat gun.
I might go ahead and use a linseed oil finish, like I did on my southern mountain rifle. Yes, I know it isn't particularly waterproof. But I live in southern California, and hang out in the desert. The odds of me ever being outside with a rifle in my hands while water's falling out of the sky are somewhere between slim and none - and leaning towards none.
And when I was installing the buttplate I fumble-fingered it, and it bounced off my vise twice before hitting the floor. That put two tiny nicks in the edge. You wouldn't believe how long it took to disappear them, while blending the removal into the rest of the stock.
Anyway, hopefully the wood is ready for some iron nitrate tomorrow. I'll try to post before pics, what it looks like after application, and the results after hitting it with a heat gun.
I might go ahead and use a linseed oil finish, like I did on my southern mountain rifle. Yes, I know it isn't particularly waterproof. But I live in southern California, and hang out in the desert. The odds of me ever being outside with a rifle in my hands while water's falling out of the sky are somewhere between slim and none - and leaning towards none.
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troy2000
45 Cal.
Applied iron nitrate to the wood today, and it showed me an ugly fact... After I temporarily reinstalled the hardware and flushed the wood with it, I skimped on sanding and thought I had gotten away with it; it felt smooth to my fingers. But the iron nitrate showed I hadn't disappeared all the scratches from the 150 grit and the file. Near the buttplate, it looked like my bantam chickens had been scratching for bugs...
Embarrassing, but hardly fatal. I sanded down the bad spots again with 150 grit paper until the color in the scratches disappeared, being careful to blend into the rest of the stock. Raised the grain, hit it with 220, raised the grain again, and finished off with Scotch-brite. Crossed my fingers and reapplied iron nitrate over the whole stock, making sure to keep coming back to the parts I had sanded. Didn't have any unpleasant surprises this time around, and by the time I finished the sanded areas had disappeared.
I let everything dry for several hours, before digging out the heat gun. In one of Jim's videos he says he's using his heat gun on 'low,' but his gun must be a powerhouse. Mine has two blower settings and five temperature settings. I set the blower on 1, and the iron nitrate sat there and laughed at me until I raised the temp setting to 4.
I called it a day, and left the rifle in the shop. I'm thinking I better get back to it really early in the morning, though. If it's still raining, my little bantams will be taking over the shop again - and I do NOT want them deciding the gun looks like a cool roost.
Embarrassing, but hardly fatal. I sanded down the bad spots again with 150 grit paper until the color in the scratches disappeared, being careful to blend into the rest of the stock. Raised the grain, hit it with 220, raised the grain again, and finished off with Scotch-brite. Crossed my fingers and reapplied iron nitrate over the whole stock, making sure to keep coming back to the parts I had sanded. Didn't have any unpleasant surprises this time around, and by the time I finished the sanded areas had disappeared.
I let everything dry for several hours, before digging out the heat gun. In one of Jim's videos he says he's using his heat gun on 'low,' but his gun must be a powerhouse. Mine has two blower settings and five temperature settings. I set the blower on 1, and the iron nitrate sat there and laughed at me until I raised the temp setting to 4.
I called it a day, and left the rifle in the shop. I'm thinking I better get back to it really early in the morning, though. If it's still raining, my little bantams will be taking over the shop again - and I do NOT want them deciding the gun looks like a cool roost.
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troy2000
45 Cal.
On my way to bed, but I was just thinking: Jim includes a piece of flat brass stock with this kit, for folks who are ambitious enough to try adding brass to the end of the patchbox lid - even though he recommends against it, saying it rarely turns out well. But while staring into my bourbon and water over ice a couple of minutes ago, I saw a vision. Can that piece of brass be turned into a toe plate? Gonna have to consider the possibility tomorrow, in the light of day...
Had to order a new patch box lid when I built my colonial. I tried to put the brass end piece on and screwed it up.
I am an old guy and have plenty of time, figured I could make it work, but it kept getting shorter every time I cut it to fit.....
Don
I am an old guy and have plenty of time, figured I could make it work, but it kept getting shorter every time I cut it to fit.....
Don
troy2000
45 Cal.
I seriously thought about trying it myself. But a man's got to know his limitations... Maybe later I'll order a spare patchbox lid to play with.Had to order a new patch box lid when I built my colonial. I tried to put the brass end piece on and screwed it up.
I am an old guy and have plenty of time, figured I could make it work, but it kept getting shorter every time I cut it to fit.....
Don
troy2000
45 Cal.
What the wood is looking like after rubbing in one thinned coat of BLO. As wet as the weather is, I'll probably let it set for a couple of days before adding another coat.
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