stock help

[johnnyross]

i want to refinish a stock but someone burnt their name in it. was wondering if anyone had some ideas to help get rid of it. thanks

[John Traveler]

Sorry for the bad news, but your only choice is to cover up or remove the burnt portion.

Covering up means paint, epoxy resin, or "scabbing" a piece of wood over the damaged, burned part.  You can also inlet the stock for something decorative (engraved metal plate, large coins or medals, or two-dimensional animal figurines.

Assuming you want the natural beauty of wood, that means removing the burned-in part by sanding it off or scraping it off.

You can do this carefully and make the stock contours look natural.  Try not to alter the shape of the stock.

HTH
John

[John Traveler]

Or, you can simply leave it alone!  SURPRISE!!!

I have an 1880's .43 Spanish Remington Rolling Block rifle.  Apparently completley original, including the initials AR carved into the buttstock.  The AR initials are sorta stylistic, and joined together.  Well, guess what?  Alfonso Reyes (King Alfonso of Spain) was monarch during that period, and his royal cypher AR is stamped into the rifle receivers.  I decided to clean and oil the stock, and LEFT IT ALONE for authenticity.

After all, who am I to deface something a loyal foot soldier carved into his rifle more than 100 years ago to show affection for his king?

John

[johnnyross]

thanks for your input. i would leave it there if it was worth something but its just an older eastern arms single shot, that looks really bad with "CHUCK" burnt into it

[gunnut69]

Johnyross--  where was this artistic effort applied to the stock.  Where it is will dictate how we may begin the repair process.  I bought a Weatherby Mk-V not long ago with someone's initials in the stock.  On the side opposite the cheek piece..  They were applied with a vibrating pencil and I simply sanded them away, taking pains to not create a flat spot on the stock..  It is in refinish now and soon it's suffering will be over...  Let's start with where the name was applied and the depth to shich it was struck.  Remember the heat will have burned the would a bit deeper than the actual depth of the scar.  If you really want we can probably remove the name...

[johnnyross]

gunnut69--the name is on the side opposite the cheek piece to, near the bottom and its about 1"tall and 4"long and looks like it was done with a soldering iron.
thanks

[gunnut69]

Here's the problem..  The burned in writing creates a scorched area even deeper than the relief caused by the soldering iron.  How deep are the marks left by the soldering iron?  Is it possible to sand a wide enough area to remove the marks without leaving a flat spot?  Both sides need to be kept in relative balance but they needn't be exact.  A bit of difference from side to side won't be noticed.  The marks should be sanded as much as possible and the surface brought to level.  if scorch marks remain we can attempt to bleach them out.  Any woodworkers supply store will have wood bleach.  It is a blend of chemicals designed to remove cigaret burns and scorch marks from fine woodwork.  If there are still marks present we can try camoflaging the damage.  Stain can be used to blend the marks.  It can even be used with a brush to create mineralization stains (or streaks) which if you buy high grade walnut are very expensive.  There is even a technique called 'suguey'(sp!!!) in which the wood is literally burned or scorched in lines or patterns to add character or color streaks to the the walnut.  this latter can be done with a torch or a hot iron and used creatively can produce so very interesting patterns.  If all else fails a stock replacement may still be in order.  It very much depends on how much time you want to put into this weapon..  After all the simplest repair may be just re-stocking although it is usually possible to remove enough stain that the remainder can be covered up using stain and or some of the other techniques I've spoken of...  Sand first then try the wood bleach.  I'd seriously consider bleaching the entire stock some extent as this stuff leave a 'spot' if applied exclusively to the burn.  Try the burned area first then the remainder of the stock to blend in.  You will be needing stain to bring the color back after this process.  Hope I've been of help..if you have more questions just ask and keep us apprised of your progress.