1883 trapdoor stock finish

[13Echo]

For most purposes just hardware store "boiled oil" suffices. I've also use artist stand oil and it works well but is expensive..

Jerry Liles

[ridgerunner]

13Echo is correct, and gives very good advice. Raw linseed oil, I tried once when I was very young, and I will never use it again. Boiled linseed oil, takes a while and is a lot of work, but if the stock is prepped right and you spend the time rubbing it in and letting it harden, and put enough coats on it, you can have a drop dead gorgeous finish. ( Don't get in a hurry. )

[pelago]

Boiled linseed oil nothing more just plain old boiled linseed oil any hardware store has it one quart can will last 200 years
My grand dad who passed in 1963 gave me his springfield rifle, the one he shot camp perry with in 1938, he told me all he did was keep it rifle inspection clean, well oiled and rubbed stock with linseed oil,
starting with raw wood this is a time consuming project and if you want a sheen on it you have to be so so patient a drop of linseed oil in your palm and just rub it in, my grand dad gave me a bottle that he had and i still use it, i did add some more oil to it fifty years ago but still the same oil a drop at a time

[Lee T.]

Gents, all good comments above, as long as you're mainly concerned with looks as opposed to the way the wood holds up. Appearance, feel, pride of a beautiful finish - all valid in today's world. But I think it's worthwhile to remember a couple things about the environment the older wood stocks were to be used in - nasty wet weather, dirt, sand, sun, heat of rapid firing, etc. etc. -- a lot different than being stored in a modern day gun safe that's mostly used in fair weather.
So what's my point?
Hardwoods like walnut, oak, alder are open-grained, and whereas hardwoods like birch, beech and maple are closed-grain. Ever see a butcher block made from oak? Probably not, and there's a reason for that. Raw linseed will soak into open grained woods, never seeming to dry, but is able to take additional coats again and again. The dull sheen and slightly sticky feel would seem to be an advantage in the field. Finishes that have drying agents (like boiled LO) will coat the surface but creates a barrier to additional coats once it's dry. That's a problem if you want weather protection.

I don't know whether boiled LO was even around in the early 1900's, but in the world before plastics and resins, it made sense to finish military gunstocks (mostly walnut for U.S.) with raw LO because it made for weatherproofing not found in other finishes. More work for sure but I think more authentic.
Hope this adds a little to the conversation.....