I sanded the entire stock down to 320 grit and now it's ready to go to the gunsmith to have some metal work done and reblued. I took it outside to try to get some better lighting. These will be the last pictures until I get it back from the 'smith.

Looks great! All you need know is a recoil pad, a few coats of oil and some checkering. Will you be leaving the wood natural or using some dye to darken/red it a little?

Looking good, that is a really nice piece of wood I cant wait to see it finished!

Nice rifle and cool thread! It is motivating me to get off my butt and start my project.

quote:

Originally posted by Sevens:
Looks great! All you need know is a recoil pad, a few coats of oil and some checkering. Will you be leaving the wood natural or using some dye to darken/red it a little?

Yep, it's heading out to get reblued and I'll also have the 'smith install the recoil pad. I don't have a disk sander so he can do a lot better job than me on that.

I'll use epoxy with oil over that for the finish. I've done that before and like how it turns out.

It's been awhile since the last post, but I got the Whitworth back from Tip Burns on Tuesday.

I had him shorten the barrel by 1" and install a NECG front site, along with a Talley Barrel band sling stud:



And a Dakota M70 style safety:



And reblue the entire thing in a high polish finish to match the original finish:



I was extremely happy with all the metal work and the turnaround was about 9 weeks.

Mr Burns also installed a Pachmyr Old English 1" recoil pad and a Talley crossbolt on the stock. I already had the pad taped off and crossbolt screws removed when I took the pics.

I gave the stock one more light sanding with 220 grit paper:



Then wiped it down with a damp rag to "whisker" the wood. The gives a good indication of what the color and figure will be when it's finished (I hope)



Once that was dry, I gave another light sanding with 320 grit, and it's now ready for the first coat of epoxy. That requires some planning and plenty of time, so I may wait until Saturday to do that.

I use 48 hour 2 part epoxy as the first (and usually second) coat of finish. For the wood to absorb as much of the epoxy as possible, it needs to be warm...I shoot for 110 degrees. I wrapped the stock in a black plastic trash bag and set in the sun for a couple of hours to get it heated up, then had my FIL hold a hair dryer on it while I applied the epoxy to keep it warm.

Heating up:


Mixing epoxy...this was about 10 times more than I needed, but rather have too much than have to mix more in the middle of the process.


I hung it from a wire and rubbed the epoxy on as sparingly as possible, letting the wood soak it up and adding more where it got "dry." This is after the first coat was partially cured:

I finished this last week. I've been waiting for a day with good light to take pictures but haven't had one yet, so I went ahead and took some. The lighting does not really bring out the beauty of the wood like I had hoped.

Anyways, here's some shots of the finished product.

More pictures from above

Profile from the right side

And from the bottom

Nice job. Cecil does have some nice wood out there.

Super nice work. I prefer more drop at heel, but that's just me.

Bravo!

I'm doing the same thing currently on a Mauser in 9.3x62. Sure hope mine turns out as well as your!

quote:

Originally posted by fla3006:
Super nice work. I prefer more drop at heel, but that's just me.

I'm actually the opposite, which is why I ultimately built a new stock. I can't shoot rifles with much drop well at all. I made this one where it's almost perfect with both open sites and scope. It seems to really reduce felt recoil also (at least for me...I "feel" recoil in my face more than my shoulder).

Great looking rifle, very well executed.

That's just lovely. Lovely.

You should be proud of that.

That turned out pretty darned nicely. Great job. Beautiful piece of wood too. Makes me want to take on a full re-stock project myself. Always wanted to make a stock right from a blank but have never been presented with the right opportunity.

I just hope Frank didn't see this...

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I just hope Frank didn't see this...

You mean because I chopped up a Whitworth? I did some research and don't think it has much collector's interest.

What a great thread. Thank you, and congratulations on a very fine project.
Best.......TWL

I wanted to wrap this up with some pictures of the rifle (after) completing it's intended purpose.

Well done! How deep were the bosses on that buff?


You need some checkering on that rifle, but it still looks fantastic.

Where did you purchase the G1 epoxy. I have been to Lee Valley and they only offer the G2. I have been looking for G1 for a while now.

Adam

quote:

Originally posted by Sevens:
Well done! How deep were the bosses on that buff?


You need some checkering on that rifle, but it still looks fantastic.

I think the PH said 14" after it was skinned out.

I really think I prefer no checkering.

quote:

Originally posted by ab_bentley:
Where did you purchase the G1 epoxy. I have been to Lee Valley and they only offer the G2. I have been looking for G1 for a while now.

Adam

I got it from Lee Valley. I just checked their website and it said G1 was not avlailable any longer.