.375H&H Restoration and rebuilding project

[KK20]

amazing

[Gert Odendaal]

Thank you Corrie/KK20
A man must do what a man must do..ironing .experience gathered from army days in Oudshoorn...I will start with the finishing process on Friday...tomorrow I will have the privilege to see how a master is doing checkering...I hope to be able to take a lot of photos and ask even more questions...I think it will be possible to upload some of the photos..regarding the checkering process ....although it is not my own work ...some of us can still learn from ..for certain me to start with...

[Gert Odendaal]

As I indicated previously...I started with the finish on my 8x57JS Mauser stock-Imbuia stock...I started by applying a liberal amount of lemon juice all over the stock...about 2-3 lemons cut in half....(why the lemon ???? The person who used this recipe a Carpidemos person said a chemical engineer said it interact with the Linseed oil...this is according Koos Botha a few years back...I let the stock dry out some in the sun...then sanded down again with steel-wool...

Next step...I took 2 eggs, and separated the egg yellow from the yolk (the white) I use the egg white to rub in with my hands , the whole stock...until the stock was covered extensively...then I left it to dry...I will commence with this procedures on Monday ...

[Sweet]

Gert, with eggs and lemons, I thought that you were going to let us into a secret lemon meringue pie recipe! :)

[Gert Odendaal]

Sweet
You must remember...the shortest way to a stock finish is varnish...with its advantages and disadvantages...an oil finish consist of many different approaches...True-oil finish, Tung-oil , olive oil, lindseed oil, raw and boiled ...and london oil finish....they all has the same application method and required a lot of time..you can not hurry theses processes....this method is proven already by Koos Barnard a long time ago...he found it in the Gun Digest 2001...and applied it to his 7x57 stock..with except -able results....I need to test this method to find an except-able method to apply a finish on my .375H&H Magnum stock....I don`t want to apply a varnish finish...it is to shining and display scratches readily....I am currently experimenting with other oil finishes as well...let us see what type of finish this method gives us....

A few points to take in account are the following:
You need to create a very fine sanded surface on the stock....(the finer the surface the better the result)

Lemon juice facilitates the oxidation process when inter-acting with the linseed-oil...linseed -oil cure when inter-acting with oxygen
Alcohol solidifies wood grain, wood contains "albumin" ==the alcohol harden the wood...giving it an ivory appearance...


• Albumin is obtained from egg white, which are 85% water, 12% albumin 0.2% fat and other components. It belongs
to a group of proteins that have the property of coagulating under heat. When diluted, applied in a thin coat and exposed
to the light, it acquires insolubility properties under normal humidity conditions
(http://www.howardcore.com/Catalog/fp...700_system.pdf)

Important- you need to de-whisker the stock after every new step...to acquire a polished appearance of the stock....because the grain is sealed with this step.

The egg-white ( albumin) rubbed into the wood react with the alcohol . by congealing in the open pores and harden, creating solidity in the wood...
sanding the stock down with very fine sanding paper or steel-wool is important because sanding means polishing a stock....

Now the pores are sealed...and it is time to apply the final finish..pure artistic linseed-oil obtained from the art shop....very thin layers...about six to eight...rub in with palm of your hand...leave stock to dry over night ...repeat next day...

Buff the stock using burnishing compound..to create a shin in the wood...mix linseed oil, beeswax, and pure /distilled mineral turpentine apply the soluble mix and polish with a soft cloth to obtain a satin finish...that is the whole process...according to Koos Barnard as obtained from the Gun Digest..2001/ follow these steps as I progress...maybe we all will learn something from this...and be able to apply a acceptable finish to your stock....Sweet, have a little faith old friend....

[Gert Odendaal]

Net `n waarskuwing...as jy "Linseed oil" /Flasplant olie met `n lap aanwend...jy moet die lappe of begrawe of uitwas met seep en oop hang...die lap met die olie slaan aan die brand en jy kan jou huis of werkswinkel afbrand,,....


so be careful please disperse of the cloths you used when applied linseed oil..it will com-bust...and is highly flame -able ...do not leave it in a dustbin in your house or workshop...

[Johan Nel]

What about the chequering?........ I thought you were going to show as photos on the chequering, .......you promised photos of the chequering!!!

[Waynehans]

This is ome awesome post. Lying in bed reading it. I wish I had the skills to take on a project like this. Gert you are the MAN! Can't wait to see the end result. Good luck and thanx for the great post.....

[Gert Odendaal]

Wanehans
Thank you for the kind words.....
Johan
I have been to Safari Arms in Middelburg...the person who do the checkering is Lindie...she was very helpful...explain and answer all my questions , but there was not enough time to show me step -by -step every procedure needed for the checkering ...what I will do is ...use the material she gave me ,the instructions and start with the basic steps...on that basis I think it will some learning purpose for me and other "want -to -do-checkering enthusiasts...Maybe we can even open a new link...D.I.Y Checkering link?????

Hennie , the Safari Arms owner gave me an example of a target shooting chair..asking me if I would try to give it a better stabilizing set-up...add some features to improve it`s overall..properties so the shooter can get a more stable base to shoot from...it is light weight, portable ...and I need to make it better...this is some-one else who build it ...but maybe I can improve on his good work...so this is another D.I.Y project the members on this forum can give some practical input...

Maybe we can do this project as a D.I.Y member workshop...every body start together..discuss the pros and cons..and build together step by step...on the end of this session you will have your own target shooting chair...

[Gert Odendaal]

Inkigting rakende stap 1...as die suurlemoen oppervalakte klaar droog is..skuur met staalwol...en vee af met `n alkhol lap...voor jy met die eierwit se aansmeer begin....
Remember to clean the stock with alcohol after you sanded the lemon surface down..before commencing with the the application of the egg white...

Step :Application of the egg white:
Break open an egg... separate the egg white and egg yellow...take the egg white and apply it with your fingers... rub in extensively...let it dry...start sanding down with 1000gn sanding paper...a white substance will accumulate on the stock surface...do not wipe it off...wet a cloth with alkohol and wipe down the stock...the white substance will congeal to close the pores..if there are still pores open repeat this process until all pores are filled up....

A few photos to illustrate...the Magnum where I found this process in will be included with the photos...