Finished 1903

[SC Mike]

In my last post I asked for direction on where to get a repro walnut C stock w/ pre-war curves. The actual ones, that are probably WWII vintage, from Northridge were too pricey. The Minelli from Brownells has a bolt notch which means it both A3 and A4. I verified this w/ Brownells. It is also the same as the 20+ Sarco repro C Stock that it wore. So my last resort was to strip, re-shape and refinish the stock that I had which did not match my hand guard (walnut) very well.

Using web images that I downloaded from here and other forums of pre-war stocks as a guide, I re-shaped the stock. Also by way of my research I used Fiebing's Dark Brown leather dye on what i believe was Europeon Beech wood. Using primarily a 50/50 BLO/Turp/ Japan Dryer mix I refinished it and I am quite pleased. The color match between the HG and Stock is REAL close. The reddish tint almost reminds me of an old Winchester. Overall it is right where I was aiming. Comments and/or feedback are welcome.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/seca750/Photo%20Dump/1903Spfld.jpg

[Parashooter]

It could be just camera angle and lighting, but it appears to me that you've missed the mark on grip angle (as well as color) - at least if you were trying to approximate a pre-war Type C. Perhaps this image will help show what I mean.

http://i61.tinypic.com/2kle79.jpg

[Randy A]

Looks fine, but your bolt looks like a straight handle. If it's a C8, J5 or a select few of Rock Island ones it's ok, but I would change it otherwise.

[SC Mike]

Yeah, I probably could have gone w/ a sharper angle on the grip but I think that I got the top of the comb where it transitions into the top of the grip to appear good. As far as color goes, with walnut you just BLO but w/ others you just try to approximate. The dye reacts as red on both Birch and Beech (as I am told). It is a RIA and the bolt is original. This was a Turkish re-patriot from the early 90's. Either way this is my shooter. Definitely not trying to defraud.

[Southron]

Your rifle looks fine. The stock will darken up with age and handling.

[Darreld Walton]

I've had better luck using the Fiebing's "Medium" brown leather dye, and giving stocks at least two coats, letting the first dry overnight, then 'buffing' with 4-0 steel wool, and giving it a second and letting it dry overnight, and repeating lightly with the steel wool. After that, I applied BLO X2 coats, and 'buffed' heavily after application with a coarse rag, which removed a lot of the surplus stain without giving a 'splotchy' appearance. After that, I generally applied Tung oil, or one of the "oils" that have a drier added.
The Fiebing's medium brown seems to give a closer 'red tint' that approximates, at least to MY eye, the old pre-war logwood stain that SA and RIA used on GI stocks.
The grip angle on your stock looks a LOT like what I've seen on AB&B and Keystone stocks. Don't worry about it, it looks great! Enjoy!