I picked up an old BDL stock off ebay one day, just have had it sitting in the closet thinking of what to do with it. I've wanted to start on a project to do over the summer, so here I go.
I haven’t been happy with my 280’s christensen stock, but I like the colors, so I got to researching about ways to turn wood black. In that reseach I came across ebonizing, which is an umbrella term for turning any wood black. There are multiple ways to do this, such as: staining, india ink, charring, and iron acetate. I'm choosing to do the iron acetate.
How it works:
Dissolving OOOO steel wool in vinegar yields what is essentially liquid rust (or iron acetate). You wipe it on wood and it creates a reaction with the natural wood tannins that turns the wood black. Since walnut has such a high tannin content (apparently), it'll turn pretty dark with just one coat.
What I'm doing:
I'm going to remove all finish off of the stock, then I'm going to remove the grip cap, forend tip, and butt plate (all white spacers included). From there I'm going to install a red Pachmayr, a real ebony forend tip, and an ebony grip cap. I may lightly recontour the forend to be slimmer, but we'll see. I then will coat all of the wood in super-concentrated black tea (more tannins). When that dries to the touch, I will then apply coats of iron acetate, sanding with 220 grit in between coats. After that, I'll apply tru oil and buff out the shine.
Here's the test specimen:
I have already began by inletting the barreled action. I worked slowly with a dowel and 80 grit sandpaper. For the barrel shank I used a sanding wheel on my dremel.
The old Weaver is just a stand in. It was my great grandpa’s at one point.
I haven’t been happy with my 280’s christensen stock, but I like the colors, so I got to researching about ways to turn wood black. In that reseach I came across ebonizing, which is an umbrella term for turning any wood black. There are multiple ways to do this, such as: staining, india ink, charring, and iron acetate. I'm choosing to do the iron acetate.
How it works:
Dissolving OOOO steel wool in vinegar yields what is essentially liquid rust (or iron acetate). You wipe it on wood and it creates a reaction with the natural wood tannins that turns the wood black. Since walnut has such a high tannin content (apparently), it'll turn pretty dark with just one coat.
What I'm doing:
I'm going to remove all finish off of the stock, then I'm going to remove the grip cap, forend tip, and butt plate (all white spacers included). From there I'm going to install a red Pachmayr, a real ebony forend tip, and an ebony grip cap. I may lightly recontour the forend to be slimmer, but we'll see. I then will coat all of the wood in super-concentrated black tea (more tannins). When that dries to the touch, I will then apply coats of iron acetate, sanding with 220 grit in between coats. After that, I'll apply tru oil and buff out the shine.
Here's the test specimen:
I have already began by inletting the barreled action. I worked slowly with a dowel and 80 grit sandpaper. For the barrel shank I used a sanding wheel on my dremel.
The old Weaver is just a stand in. It was my great grandpa’s at one point.
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