steaming a stock
I've heard that dents can be steamed out of a stock but I've never tried it. Can someone who has done this before givve me some pointers please? The stock is walnut. Thanks in advance.
Doug
Doug
0
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take a wet rag put it over the dent, take iron, place over rag,
dont leave it on to long.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Kimbercolt
take a wet rag put it over the dent, take iron, place over rag,
dont leave it on to long.
Yup.
Which is why all my walnut stocks have oil and beeswax finishes. You can repair small blemishes without re-finishing the whole stock.0 -
Yea just like the Col. said. If the dent is too deep or the wood fiber is broken, it wont come out 100%. 0 -
Take a q-tip and soak/apply the water directly to the dent. Allow it to soak in. Do it until you feel it's taken on some water. Then place a damp cloth over the stock and try to apply the iron/heat directly to the dent. This way will the dent will rise without too much of the rest of the stocks grain rising too.
Ben0 -
quote:Originally posted by Colonel Plink
quote:Originally posted by Kimbercolt
take a wet rag put it over the dent, take iron, place over rag,
dont leave it on to long.
Yup.
Which is why all my walnut stocks have oil and beeswax finishes. You can repair small blemishes without re-finishing the whole stock.
What kind of oil do you use on your stocks, Colonel? Could you explain your oil and wax procedure for me?0 -
Could you maybe use a soldering iron to get it on a small area ??
Doug0 -
quote:Originally posted by Doug Wilson
Could you maybe use a soldering iron to get it on a small area ??
Doug
Doug, I'm not sure it would generate the volume of heat need to make enough steam to raise the dent. Brownells sells one specifically for this purpose for pretty cheap. Between that and a regular household iron, i've never needed to try anything else.
You can get the tip of a household iron into some pretty small dents.
Ben0 -
Thanx, Ben.
Doug0 -
quote:Originally posted by Doug Wilson
Could you maybe use a soldering iron to get it on a small area ??
Doug
I know a pretty adept guy who puts a drop of water into the dent and uses the soldering iron. He's happy with the result. (And his work looks pretty good to me).
May I suggest that whatever you try, you try it on something less valuable than your stock first?
Iron and soldering iron both sound like good ideas, but test them on a piece of scrap, first. Do this both to test the method and to learn the process.0 -
quote:Originally posted by kimi
quote:Originally posted by Colonel Plink
quote:Originally posted by Kimbercolt
take a wet rag put it over the dent, take iron, place over rag,
dont leave it on to long.
Yup.
Which is why all my walnut stocks have oil and beeswax finishes. You can repair small blemishes without re-finishing the whole stock.
What kind of oil do you use on your stocks, Colonel? Could you explain your oil and wax procedure for me?
Sure thang.
Here's the recipe I got from my beloved Dad.
I use plain, ol, boiled linseed oil and beeswax. Heat the beeswax and add just enough linseed oil so that when the wax cools, it's soft. Like cream cheese soft. Or whipped butter, still cold from the fridge.
Man, I'm getting hungry.
There is some trial and error involved here.
And it's fairly inexact, however, if you're working with harder woods like white oak and maple, you can add a tablespoon or two of turpentine per pound of wax for better penetration.
The application of the wax is the labor-intensive part.
I use alcohol to raise the grain between buffings of 0000 steel wool until the wood is slick, then heat the wood and rub in generous amounts of wax-and-oil with your bare hand. Rub like a madman, because the heat generated by the friction will allow the wax to fill the grain. I've used this on everything from gunstocks to furniture to the crucifix that hangs at Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Sterling, Colorado.
Obviously, the more applications of this process, the nicer the outcome.
If you want, you can use progressively harder oil-and wax suspensions to get shinier finishes.
Remember, this is a hundreds-of-years-old process, so tackle the project with an old-world mindset and don't be in any big hurry.0 -
quote:Originally posted by cartod
Yea just like the Col. said. If the dent is too deep or the wood fiber is broken, it wont come out 100%.
Good point. And remember, the longer you steam the wood, the longer you should let it dry before re-finishing.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Colonel Plink
quote:Originally posted by kimi
quote:Originally posted by Colonel Plink
quote:Originally posted by Kimbercolt
take a wet rag put it over the dent, take iron, place over rag,
dont leave it on to long.
Yup.
Which is why all my walnut stocks have oil and beeswax finishes. You can repair small blemishes without re-finishing the whole stock.
What kind of oil do you use on your stocks, Colonel? Could you explain your oil and wax procedure for me?
Sure thang.
Here's the recipe I got from my beloved Dad.
I use plain, ol, boiled linseed oil and beeswax. Heat the beeswax and add just enough linseed oil so that when the wax cools, it's soft. Like cream cheese soft. Or whipped butter, still cold from the fridge.
Man, I'm getting hungry.
There is some trial and error involved here.
And it's fairly inexact, however, if you're working with harder woods like white oak and maple, you can add a tablespoon or two of turpentine per pound of wax for better penetration.
The application of the wax is the labor-intensive part.
I use alcohol to raise the grain between buffings of 0000 steel wool until the wood is slick, then heat the wood and rub in generous amounts of wax-and-oil with your bare hand. Rub like a madman, because the heat generated by the friction will allow the wax to fill the grain. I've used this on everything from gunstocks to furniture to the crucifix that hangs at Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Sterling, Colorado.
Obviously, the more applications of this process, the nicer the outcome.
If you want, you can use progressively harder oil-and wax suspensions to get shinier finishes.
Remember, this is a hundreds-of-years-old process, so tackle the project with an old-world mindset and don't be in any big hurry.
This is quite a process, and certainly one that needs to be passed-on. Thank you for sharing it here.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Doug Wilson
Could you maybe use a soldering iron to get it on a small area ??
Doug
When I saw this trick in high school shop class, it was indeed a soldering iron and cotton cloth that was used worked pretty darn well too!!!0 -
quote:Originally posted by kimi
[br
This is quite a process, and certainly one that needs to be passed-on. Thank you for sharing it here.
I only hesitated for a moment before sharing...
Then I realized how much valuable information I've gleaned from the generosity of many in the GB community. And how I might be able to repay it in some small way.
So, have fun making things beautiful. Lord knows I have.
I'll have to get some pics posted of gunstocks I've worked on. A couple of 'em turned out well enough to be proud of.0 -
I'd sure like to see them, Colonel. I hope you do decide to post them. 0 -
Thank you to all who replied to my post. You have been of great help. I like to make sure my collectables look thier best and with and really appreciate your help. Thanks again and God Bless the U.S. Support the right to bear arms! 0
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