Psycho Mike
13.7 mm
Hey gang,
So, for those who read my intro post, you know I had one of the Lyman Plains Rifles "way back when." It wasn't the Great Plains, but rather more like one of the "off the rack" Hawken style MLs you see these days. The big difference was this one was finished quite light (think honey colored stock that nearly blended with the brass hardware). It had a big, dark knot in the comb and turned a lot of heads...I let that one get away from me and I kinda regret it now.
My question for the group is this: would trying to get a similar finish on a Kibler Woods Runner be tantamount to sacrilege? Most full stock long guns I see are deep brown or red finishes that really highlight the curl (tiger striped) with matching dark finished barrels and locks.
I was thinking of something more along the lines of a carved maple stock, a few passes of aniline fruitwood or pecan (sanded between...to bring up the curl, but not go overly dark...maybe a little torch highlighting of the carving too) and then go to BLO, followed by sealing it all with a wax, or cut spar urethane as a sealer / protector. For the barrel and lock, I was thinking maybe a little mustard treatment and Scotchbright pad work....or cold blue and backing it off with steel wool or fine emery paper...something to get a little protection and color, but not a lot. The brass work would be kept fairly bright (though not high polish...if I want to use this as a hunting rifle too, I don't want to be flashing the critters too much
).
It would certainly be a different look than the current "typical" long rifle... I'm just wondering if it might be too atypical. I dropped a picture of a Plains Rifle (not the one I had) in as my avatar, in case that helps to visualize things better.
Thoughts?
So, for those who read my intro post, you know I had one of the Lyman Plains Rifles "way back when." It wasn't the Great Plains, but rather more like one of the "off the rack" Hawken style MLs you see these days. The big difference was this one was finished quite light (think honey colored stock that nearly blended with the brass hardware). It had a big, dark knot in the comb and turned a lot of heads...I let that one get away from me and I kinda regret it now.
My question for the group is this: would trying to get a similar finish on a Kibler Woods Runner be tantamount to sacrilege? Most full stock long guns I see are deep brown or red finishes that really highlight the curl (tiger striped) with matching dark finished barrels and locks.
I was thinking of something more along the lines of a carved maple stock, a few passes of aniline fruitwood or pecan (sanded between...to bring up the curl, but not go overly dark...maybe a little torch highlighting of the carving too) and then go to BLO, followed by sealing it all with a wax, or cut spar urethane as a sealer / protector. For the barrel and lock, I was thinking maybe a little mustard treatment and Scotchbright pad work....or cold blue and backing it off with steel wool or fine emery paper...something to get a little protection and color, but not a lot. The brass work would be kept fairly bright (though not high polish...if I want to use this as a hunting rifle too, I don't want to be flashing the critters too much
).It would certainly be a different look than the current "typical" long rifle... I'm just wondering if it might be too atypical. I dropped a picture of a Plains Rifle (not the one I had) in as my avatar, in case that helps to visualize things better.
Thoughts?
