Looking for opinions

[patch knife]

Okay , I know , I'm asking for it now :haha: but go ahead and give me your two cents , the more the merrier ! I am building a Chambers Kentucky pistol kit and I can't decide on wether to brown the barrel or leave it white . The stock is cherry wood and WILL NOT be stained and I plan to leave the lock the way it came , since I like the way it looks (dull gray finish) . I will be grateful for any and all opinions :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[gmww]

Is it complete yet? Like to see it in the white first then decide. :blah:

 

[Swampman]

In the white or blued would be correct. Browned would be ok if you are building a 19th c. gun.

 

[Birddog6]

Personally I would polish the lock also & then blue them lock & barrel & then rubb the snot out of them & rrub them all out except at the edges of things so it looks used.
As for the wood you could leave it set sanded & ready & unfinished (and untouched) for about a year so it will darken naturally (Cherry will do this) and then put the gun together and it will have the Real cherry look. If you seal the finish it it will take 100 years to darken & get the old cherry look unless you use a oil that is non sealing.

 

[Swampman]

Cherry is a very boring wood. I'd stain it dark. With Dangler's Dark Brown.

 

[more powder]

patchknife I did a pistol that a copy of the Chambers kit and did what birddog6 said except left the lock polished looks pretty cool.

 

[patch knife]

I must admit , birddog's idea sounds good . I have browned 3 barrels in the past with BC plum browm but I've never blued a barrel . Charcoal blueing is not an option , as I live in an apartment and I am also afraid of warping the barrel if I heat it too much . I think cold blueing might be my only option , if I blue it .

 

[gmww]

Read on another thread that if you boil the browning from Laurel Mountain Forge, it will become bluing? Never tried that but maybe someone else can explain that.

 

[Zonie]

If you want the barrel blued and are not interested in a high gloss blue, you could use Laurel Mountain browning and brown the barrel.
After it has built up a nice brown finish and before you oil it , drop it in a pan of boiling water.
It will form the black color that most of us call "blueing".

As for the Cherry, if you like the existing color when you wet the wood with water, then go ahead and start the oiling process.
If you really want the look of aged Cherry, then before you apply any oil at all to the wood, I would suggest you treat the surface with lye water.
Lye water brings out the tannon in the wood (the same tannon that after 100 years will turn the surface brown)and should result in a rich redish brown Cherry color.

If you choose to use this process, don't use natural hair brushes, don't let any of the solution get on you and neutrilize the surface with vinegar after it has dried.

 

[patch knife]

Read on another thread that if you boil the browning from Laurel Mountain Forge, it will become bluing? Never tried that but maybe someone else can explain that.

That would be good if it does , as I have a bottle of LMF browning I bought with the kit .

 

[Zonie]

Boiling turns the ferrous-oxide (brown) into ferro-ferric oxide (black).

Don't ask me about the reasons for all of this because I'm not a chemist but it does work.

 

[more powder]

I did boil my barrel after applying LMF. DO NOT BREATH THE STEAM IT WILL MAKE YOUR LUNGS HURT. :nono:

 

[gmww]

By chance could you post what it looks like.....The barrel that is, not your lungs. :blah:

 

[more powder]

gmww I don't know how

 

[gmww]

If your interested in learning PM me and I can walk you through it. You'll need a digital camera 1st.

 

[recycle33952]

I think they look cool and rustic in the white after the bling bling wears off. I used mustard on one of my barrels didnt really do anything but draw ants ( maybe I was supposed to use grey poupon) :blah:

 

[more powder]

GMWW I took a couple pictures of pistol what does pm mean? :hmm:

 

[gmww]

It means Private message. I'll send you one. Look up in the left hand corner at MY HOME and click that tab. You'll see how many messages you get.

 

[more powder]

gmww Well lets see if this works here is one picture[url] http://www.hunt101.com/img/346667.jpj[/url]

 

[gmww]

That's one way to do it. Try this.

Sent you another PM with instructions on how to do this.