Would you stain this?

[Kentuckywindage]

I added a waterbased stain just to keep the wood covered while i worked on the rifle and to find depp scratches easier. Tonight i was doing some work and ended up with one side of the stock down to bare wood. i noticed when i would wet the wood it had a reddish color.

My original plan was to use Cherry stain to get the reddish brown, but after adding Boiled linseed oil to bare wood, i got the color i was looking for.

What do you think? Should i go ahead and buy the cherry stain or just go with bare wood with a finish on it?

 

[BrownBear]

It's all a matter of taste, but that's just right for my taste.

 

[DBox]

I like it!

 

[mazo kid]

That looks great to me....what kind of wood is it and do you have scrap pieces to apply stain on? If that is what it will look like, I would go ahead and put the final finish on.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Walnut. Its a .54 lyman great plains rifle. I really like the color of the bare wood with the oil on it so once i get the stock shaped im going to see how it looks when its all put together. I could always test the cherry stain in the barrel channel and see if it suits me better.

 

[BrownBear]

It's probably worth a shot. My hunting pard used something called "Model 70 Red" on his GPR stock, and I've gotta say it turned out really well. It was a great piece of wood to start with, but the thing just glows now. Memory fades at my age, but if I recall his stuff may have been a combo filler/stain you apply first. In any case, the little bit of red made his walnut stock look like high grade claro walnut. And that's good in my book.

 

[Tkendrick]

I'm still working on my first gun, but have built a lot of other stuff over the years. Unless a wood is really boring or white, like cheap pine, I usually prefer the natural colors.

I definately would not put stain on that piece of wood.

 

[Parzifal]

Thats nice.
But maybe if you added a couple teaspoons of the cherry stain to the oil finish you use, you could get the best of both worlds??

Rob

 

[Robbo]

To my eye, that stock left as is looks mostly like an IKEA table leg. The grain is ordinary and has few redeeming features. I would definitely stain it.

The lustre of a good oil finish off a stained base will always look better than lacklustre grain. IMHO

Robbo

 

[Capt. Jas.]

I would use some LMF Nut Brown on it. It will give you that reddish hue in the background.

 

[Birddog6]

but after adding Boiled linseed oil to bare wood, i got the color i was looking for.

Since ya say you have the color you want, You are all that matters. Also it may be an issue getting it to stain evenly, once ya put the linseed oil on it.

Definately an unusualy stock with the grain like it is. Good thing it has a toe plate or you would be glueing on a toe shortly after loading.

 

[MSW]

i'll run with the consensus that it looks great 'as is,' and that you ought not to mess with it.

good luck with your project!

msw

 

[50cal.cliff]

Kentucky, like it's been said it's a personel taste issue. For my personel taste I 'd think about just finishing it as is! Unless yu got a taste for Redheads! :rotf: :rotf: Looking good though.

 

[Mountainman56]

If you like it the way it is, leave it the way it is. Personally I always finish walnut with tung oil alone and no stain. Well there was one exception with a very strange pale coloured european walnut stock on a Brno 602 that looked like it had been checkered by a one armed blind man with parkinsons. Once I got the checkering and the finish coat sanded off I did apply a darker stain with some red tint to it.

 

[RetiredMedic]

The only question I have is ,,

Do you like it??

That's the person that has to be satisfied..

 

[Old40Rod]

The BLO will darken a bit over time. Here is my GPR with BLO/spar varnish mix about 4 years old (no stain)

It turned a nice reddish golden brown. The photo doesn't do it justice..

 

[Zonie]

I like it as it is.
This is IMO, a fine example of why folks who are working with Walnut should take my advice.

Before even thinking about staining Walnut, first take it outside and wet it with some plain water.
The color and grain you see is exactly what you will end up with if you do not stain it and simply apply some linseed oil to it.
Usually, the wet wood will be dark enough to satisfy the builder/owner so this needs to be discovered before the builder applies a bunch (or even just one coat) of stain.

IMO, staining Walnut is a sure fire way to cover up the nice grain/burl so that no one will ever know it's there.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

After doing some work with sand paper on the cheek piece area, there is a huuuge area that runs along the wrist and back to the toe plate that i swear just looks like swirled marble.

I agree zonie, i think the stain would hide my grain that this stock has on it. Once its smooth and ready for finish, im going to go with boiled linseed oil. Lots of coats.
:shake: i hate it due to the time it takes but i really like my other BLSO finished stock, so...

 

[Frank/Pa]

Looks good as is.

 

[rusty]

I used a alcohol walnut stain on my walnut stocked trade gun.The result is a crappy looking trade gun and I should have known better because I used a BLO spar varnish combo on my GPR and it looks beautiful.Some things I just have to learn the hard way.