Need some wood tips

Big Tool · 01-27-2008, 01:21 AM

Hey guys i need some tips on refinishing a stock. My plan is to get another swiss K-31 "preferably one with tiger stripping" and refinish it scope it and use it for a deer rifle.

Today i went to my local surplus dealer and picked up some 7.5 swiss ammo and i noticed he had a bucket full of old stocks and i got one that looks like it was a k-98 maybe that had been shortened. Actually a really nice piece of wood and actually has tiger stripping "5Bucks" I'm going to use it for practicing my skillz.

I've already refinished my romanian ak stock and it turned out pretty good, but it was ok to start with with very few gouges and ding marks. The k31's are known for having alot of handling marks, so what is the best way to get the wood smoothed out.

On my practice stock so far i'm stripped it with formby's stripper, and have sanded it a good. What else can i do to smooth the wood up???

Big Dog · 01-27-2008, 05:40 AM

"Steaming" the wood dings will raise many of them out. You might ask the Spousal Unit for the use of her steam iron. Place a towel under it, and go over the stock.
This works on 'crushed' wood, but not gouges where the wood is actually torn away.
Good hardware stores sell stuf called 'whiting' which is used to draw oils out of wood - I find often that the wrist area has deeply imbedded oils that are hard to get out, and finish has a hard time sticking there. Use the whiting to relieve this.
For military rifles, I favor a good hand-rubbed oil finish - but if you modify/cutdown the stock and make it a 'hunting rifle', then other finishes are okay.

SwedeSteve · 01-27-2008, 07:53 AM

Sound advice by Big Dog. I also use a soldering iron and damp rag to lift small dents.

01-27-2008, 01:21 AM	#1
Big Tool Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: MS Posts: 601	Need some wood tips Hey guys i need some tips on refinishing a stock. My plan is to get another swiss K-31 "preferably one with tiger stripping" and refinish it scope it and use it for a deer rifle. Today i went to my local surplus dealer and picked up some 7.5 swiss ammo and i noticed he had a bucket full of old stocks and i got one that looks like it was a k-98 maybe that had been shortened. Actually a really nice piece of wood and actually has tiger stripping "5Bucks" I'm going to use it for practicing my skillz. I've already refinished my romanian ak stock and it turned out pretty good, but it was ok to start with with very few gouges and ding marks. The k31's are known for having alot of handling marks, so what is the best way to get the wood smoothed out. On my practice stock so far i'm stripped it with formby's stripper, and have sanded it a good. What else can i do to smooth the wood up???

01-27-2008, 05:40 AM	#2
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,205	"Steaming" the wood dings will raise many of them out. You might ask the Spousal Unit for the use of her steam iron. Place a towel under it, and go over the stock. This works on 'crushed' wood, but not gouges where the wood is actually torn away. Good hardware stores sell stuf called 'whiting' which is used to draw oils out of wood - I find often that the wrist area has deeply imbedded oils that are hard to get out, and finish has a hard time sticking there. Use the whiting to relieve this. For military rifles, I favor a good hand-rubbed oil finish - but if you modify/cutdown the stock and make it a 'hunting rifle', then other finishes are okay. __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

01-27-2008, 07:53 AM	#3
SwedeSteve Bullet Maintenance !! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: The anchor point, Alaska Posts: 10,261 Images: 1	Sound advice by Big Dog. I also use a soldering iron and damp rag to lift small dents. __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers