The stock on the Winchester is now on the last few steps. To obtain a grade, we have to do at least one finish coat on the wood. During grading the instructor looks and makes sure that there is no scratch or tool marks in the wood. The finish I used for this stock is Custom Oil by Gun Sav’R. I chose to use a satin finish. The finish is available in an aerosol and liquid that can be sprayed by airbrush or paint gun. I used both, starting with an application of liquid rubbed into the stock.

First finish coat, left side

First finish coat, right side

Once I got to this point I realized I had forgotten something quite important. I had not removed all the wood in the buttstock and the action would not fit at this point. For reasons I will show you in the next post, I will make sure I do this earlier in the finishing process next time. So, of to the mill, to clamp and mill out most of the material that is in the way. It is a little tricky to clamp this and I had to take care to make sure everything was lined up correctly.

Milling work

After I completed the milling work (with a little filing as well) I started to assemble the rifle to ensure proper operation. I cleaned all the parts first and then assembled. Since it had been a long time since I disassembled the rifle, I did not go together on the first try but that is how you learn!

All of the parts!

Assembled

The next few pictures speak for themselves. When you work with wood, it is always difficult to predict exactly what it will look like as you shape the wood. An interesting pattern on the outside could just fade away as you start removing wood. That did not turn out to be the case on the forend. The slight discoloration between the forend and the receiver is some Acraglas. This time, I did color it a little darker.

Close up 1

Close up 2

Close up 3

Close up 4

Fore end view

I am happy with the way this project is shaping up. The barrel band fit is not perfect and there is a few dimension not quite the way they should be, but those are not very noticeable. The forend feels and fits really well in my hand. I should have one more post on this project where I will be able to wrap up.

Thank you again for stopping in and reading!