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So the experiments have started. I've got one scrap piece wrapped in an undershirt in the back of my closet avoiding as much light as possible as a control piece. (Maybe that's a little nuts but hey....) I've got one piece on the dashboard of my truck catching UV for the foreseeable future.

I tested one piece this morning using some Minwax stain I had on hand. One side is Red Chestnut and the other is Sedona Red. I like them both as a stain for cherry but neither are what I'm looking for in a gunstock. Red Chestnut just looks like walnut and the Sedona just isn't right, either. Anyway, I have no intention of staining this rifle with Minwax of any kind.

The bottom picture is with oven cleaner I bought this morning. It's also very nice but again, not what I'm looking for. My eyes at 57 aren't what they were but it has an orange tinge to me. (My wife sees this as well.)

I'm going to let these dry for a day and apply some Tried and True finish and see what happens.

IMG_4499.jpg
IMG_4500.jpg
 
A couple mores experiments this afternoon.

Top board is oven cleaner left for 5 minutes. This looks awful. Clearly, no good.

Bottom board is oven cleaner sprayed on and immediately wiped off and then wiped down with a vinegar soaked paper towel. Not as dark as my first oven cleaner test this morning but still has that orange tinge. I don't dislike it but I wouldn't care to have a rifle stock this color.

Still have plenty of cherry scraps to work on so the testing will continue. I've ordered some Laurel Mountain Forge Cherry stain as I want to give that a try.

Test 3.jpg
 
The right color stock makes all the difference in the world. I also obsess over the stock finish. The hard part is getting the color of the stock just the way you want it.
 
You are learning why so few originals were stocked in cherry.

As you say, I think I'm learning something. It seems cherry has been used widely many hundreds of years for furniture but hardly at all for gun stocks.

As much as I enjoy the experimentation I think I may end up with a Tried and True finish over natural wood. There's a lot to be said about letting the wood find its own tone.
 
The testing continues. The cherry block on the dash of my truck is becoming noticeably darker. I'm very optimistic.

Today I spread a couple of fingertips of the Tried and True Traditional linseed oil and beeswax on another piece. Thin coat. THIN coat.

This is going on the dashboard as well to see how it does with coloration.

IMG_4529.jpg
 
You might try potassium dichromate it's supposed to work well on cherry. I bought some on ebay. I've never used it cherry, but it does darken other woods different shades depending on species. If you try it mix varying strengths to test. To my way of thinking a way to rapidly darken cherry by light is to take it to a tanning salon and let the strong UV do the work.
 
So the experiments have started. I've got one scrap piece wrapped in an undershirt in the back of my closet avoiding as much light as possible as a control piece. (Maybe that's a little nuts but hey....) I've got one piece on the dashboard of my truck catching UV for the foreseeable future.

I tested one piece this morning using some Minwax stain I had on hand. One side is Red Chestnut and the other is Sedona Red. I like them both as a stain for cherry but neither are what I'm looking for in a gunstock. Red Chestnut just looks like walnut and the Sedona just isn't right, either. Anyway, I have no intention of staining this rifle with Minwax of any kind.

The bottom picture is with oven cleaner I bought this morning. It's also very nice but again, not what I'm looking for. My eyes at 57 aren't what they were but it has an orange tinge to me. (My wife sees this as well.)

I'm going to let these dry for a day and apply some Tried and True finish and see what happens.

View attachment 139582View attachment 139583
Winter, the piece you did with the oven cleaner, what brand was that and how long did you leave it on? I like it! I have a kit on order with a cherry stock and wouldn't mind that at all. Thanks, Rich
 
I used Easy Off I got at the grocery store. I didn't spray it on directly but sprayed it on a cloth rag and painted it evenly on each piece.

Top picture was probably 60 seconds and then wiped off.

Top board in the bottom picture was left on for 5 measured minutes. Not good.

The bottom board was painted on and rubbed off almost immediately and then wiped down with a vinegar soaked paper towel.

I like top and bottom but they both have an orange tinge that doesn't show up well in these photos.

Easy Off 1.jpg
Easy Off 2.jpg
 

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