Hi all
I just thought I would post some photographs of a Baikal stock which is far from being high quality Walnut I have just finished the wood is initially coloured with colour adjusted red oil (so it is not to red) finished with my own mixture of the classic vintage London oil finishing oil I have developed over the years. Now I am sure you will forgive the quality of the pictures because me and photography have always not been the best of friends, I do my best it looks good in the view finder but the outcome is not what I would like. That said the photographs show how you do not see the surface finish only the figuring of the wood. All the photographs were taken with the sun at a low angle so any reflection from the finish was kept to a minimum.
The stock is sanded after raising the grain with water, then it is coated with red oil and sanded again making a paste of the sanding dust and oil to fill the larger pores of the wood grain.
Then the finishing oil is applied over a number of weeks and allowing each coat of oil to dry completely before applying a further coat. Also in the early stages the finer wood pores are filled with a soft grain filler and tinted oil mix.
The oil is hand rubbed on the wood also no abrasives are used during the finishing oil stages because abrasive grit work its self in to the surface oil and spoil the glass like look of the finish and the same goes for a ban on wire wool also.
The only down side to this classic vintage finish is that it takes time a commodity we do not all have, though the end results can make a low price gunstock look far finer than it really is.
