Old dry wood in C&R stock cleaning Forum

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Old dry wood

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Bundook	Old dry wood	Lead	[-]
Posts: 655 Nov 5 12 2:15 PM Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None I am looking to possibly restoring the wood of an old Mauser K98. The wood is very, very dry with small cracks appearing along the grain and I cannot tell if there is any old finish remaining on the wood. What are some steps that I should take in order to restore the wood? Also, are there any things that I "must not do" so that I do not further ruin the wood? Thanks for any thoughts.
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Cabinetman		#1	[-]
Posts: 5566 Nov 9 12 9:34 AM Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Like a good cigar, if the stock is truely dry and there are no oils or moisture left in it so much so that there are stress cracks showing on the surface, chances are slim that you'll be able to do much with it. So, you've got nothing to lose by giving it a really good oil job. I would literally paint the oil on and let it drip back into a pan. Hang it and let it continue to drip for about 30 minutes. Then wipe it down and let it cure up overnight in a warm place (next to your furnace?) Make sure it's dry the next day and then put on a second coat the same way. Build your coats until you've got a good one going. Hopfully that will buy you some time with that stock. If you want to tell if it's usable, what you do is remove the action (you'd do that anyway to oil it) and then 'thump" it like a baseball bat. Don't whack it too hard but you know what a good baseball bat sounds like. The stock should sound the same or close to it. IF it's all dried out on the inside too, then you'll get a very weak thump note or none at all. You'll be able to tell the difference. Hope that helps a bit. Report back, if you would. I've worked on some pretty dry stocks ( one looked like a piece of potroast) and oiling it worked great. BTW you may also have to gently sand the surface to smooth some of the raised grain out. Rome A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.
Bundook		#2	[-]
Posts: 655 Nov 9 12 10:53 AM Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The wood is still sound. I just cleaned the old crude off the surface, I'll oil it after it drys. Thanks!
DB404	Old Dry Wood	#3	[-]
Posts: 18 Feb 9 13 2:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The CMP website reccomended using MinWax or Formby's Antique Furniture Restorer for milsurp stock cleaning, as they stripped off the crud but left original finish and added oil to the wood. Haven't tried it, but have a can waiting for above freezing outside temps.