why did they do that

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Hobbyman2
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why did they do that

Post by Hobbyman2 »

I was going to post this in the general section but thought this would be better here since it may not concern every one.
On a recent antique rifle restoration I purchased ready made gun stock for a 1906 rifle .22 cal gallery gun, I was going to make one but by the time I bought the needed bits , the but plate, the screws {sold separately} , and the hrs to do it , well buying a replica stock with the plate and screws sounded good, I mean why not share in some one else having a part in the restoration of such a historical heirloom ,this is a brotherhood just as wood working ,, the sales add said minor tuning needed , no big deal right? when it arrived it didn't really look right ,the grain was too perfect or something was off ,, it looked like the grain on the stock in the add,,nice and straight ,, however it almost looked fake ,,, after the tuning and fitting I noticed where I had to sand and made the modifications there was a large color difference , so I sanded the entire stock , I was amazed at the gran pattern under the stain , color , what ever they had used to cover the grain pattern? why would any one cover such a great piece ? its like putting make up on the Mona Lisa ?
Its all sanded and the tong oil is drying ,it looks more like it would have back in the early 1900''s .
I love restoring these old things , if you can imagine how many people enjoyed these at shooting galleries all across the country , how much fun they had , how many giant teddy bears were won , how many hearts were bonded together , if these things could talk the stories they cold tell !!
I hope everyone in the future can find a way to enjoy these things like people have done in the past .they are what we make of them .JMO

JMO
Last edited by Hobbyman2 on Fri Sep 13, 2019 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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garys
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Re: why did they do that

Post by garys »

If you are around people just a little while you find out that many of them think everything should be covered with paint, stain varnish, or anything else they can smear on it.

I always say that people who can't do anything else will paint. You found one of those people.
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BuckeyeDennis
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Re: why did they do that

Post by BuckeyeDennis »

Hobbyman2 wrote:I was going to post this in the general section but thought this would be better here since it may not concern every one.
On a recent antique rifle restoration I purchased ready made gun stock for a 1906 rifle .22 cal gallery gun, I was going to make one but by the time I bought the needed bits , the but plate, the screws {sold separately} , and the hrs to do it , well buying a replica stock with the plate and screws sounded good, I mean why not share in some one else having a part in the restoration of such a historical heirloom ,this is a brotherhood just as wood working ,, the sales add said minor tuning needed , no big deal right? when it arrived it didn't really look right ,the grain was too perfect or something was off ,, it looked like the grain on the stock in the add,,nice and straight ,, however it almost looked fake ,,, after the tuning and fitting I noticed where I had to sand and made he modifications there was a large color difference , so I sanded the entire stock , I was amazed at the gran pattern under the stain , color , what ever they had used to cover the grain pattern? why would any one cover such a great piece ? its like putting make up on the Mona Lisa ?
Its all sanded and the tong oil is drying ,it looks more like it would have back in the early 1900''s .
I love restoring these old things , if you can imagine how many people enjoyed these at shooting galleries all across the country , how much fun they had , how many giant teddy bears were won , how many hearts were bonded together , if these things could talk the stories they cold tell !!
I hope everyone in the future can find a way to enjoy these things like people have done in the past .they are what we make of them .JMO

JMO
Got any pics?
Hobbyman2
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Re: why did they do that

Post by Hobbyman2 »

20190910_140604.jpg
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Hobbyman2
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Re: why did they do that

Post by Hobbyman2 »

the last coat on the stock was finished using 2500 grit wet sand paper with one coat of danish oil and three coats tong oil than it was 00 steel wool and 2 coats of paste wax applied lightly with 00 steel wool . the front edge was fit using the SS disc sander , the table tilt allowed for a perfect fit .
Hobbyman2 Favorite Quote: "If a man does his best, what else is there?"
- General George S. Patton (1885-1945)
Hobbyman2
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Re: why did they do that

Post by Hobbyman2 »

20190912_134801.jpg
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This was the picture in the add as you can see it looks very good, as is , once sanded it took on a completely new look ,
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BuckeyeDennis
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Re: why did they do that

Post by BuckeyeDennis »

I'm with you HobbyMan -- it's much prettier with the real grain showing. It reminds me of a .22 stock that I refinished as a teenager. Stripping off the old varnish revealed some surprisingly pretty grain on that one also.

As for why they did it, I have a few theories:
1) the manufacturer wanted the stock appearances to be as uniform as possible, and/or
2) they wanted people to think it was made of straight-grained walnut, and/or
3) they want to be able to make stocks from different hardwoods, based on price and availability.

Can you tell what the actual wood type is?
Hobbyman2
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Re: why did they do that

Post by Hobbyman2 »

It had the walnut smell when I sanded it so I have to assume it is real walnut . for nostalgic purposes the authentic winchester stocks were made strictly of gum wood , from what I read most folks replaced them with walnut aftermarket stocks that were sold separately so this is still considered period correct . I wouldn't even know where to find sweet gum with out cutting one down lol

My only guess was for some reason they wanted all the stocks they make to look alike ? why I have no idea ,it would seem to be a added expense .
These old gallery guns are amazing and full of history,,you never know who used it from some one famous to some one's grandmother . I didnt want to turn this into a gun thread or a famous person thread but nostalgically speaking its hard not to do .
Hobbyman2 Favorite Quote: "If a man does his best, what else is there?"
- General George S. Patton (1885-1945)
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BuckeyeDennis
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Re: why did they do that

Post by BuckeyeDennis »

As a boy, I was a pretty darned good shot with my own single-shot bolt-action .22. It had a bead sight, but I set it up for blade sighting instead, because the bead completely obscured birds at longer ranges that I could still reliably hit.

But at the county fair, I never won a teddy bear, or anything else. To this day, I still think the carney’s made sure those guns weren’t sighted in properly. And I never had enough dough to figure out the needed sighting correction. :mad:
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jsburger
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Re: why did they do that

Post by jsburger »

When I was in high school ( I graduated in 1965) I belonged to the rifle team. We competed in target shooting all over Pennsylvania.. We actually had a .22 shooting range in the basement of the school. (GASP) Stroud Union HS in Stroudsburg, PA.The school had target rifles to use. The instructor had a heavy barrel Springfield target rifle the he would let us shoot. It was all free hand prone shooting with a padded shooting jacket and padded glove.
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