There was recently a lengthy discussion on various wood finishes in the "Timberlux" thread.
Some here persist in the thought that Timberluxe is the greatest finish ever... which is ridiculous on so many levels.
It is rather difficult to imagine what an original Lefever stock finish would have looked like because of what over 100 years of oxidation and exposure to UV light, etc. would have done to even a gun in excellent original condition. There was a stock finish recipe on the old Lefever forum that I think was mostly conjecture about the original factory finish. I suspect they probably used some copal varnish or varnish/oil mix that was much different than commercial varnish made today.
As far as stains go, I have used alkanet root soaked in BLO, but have moved on to Behlen's SolarLuxe. It is always a concern about how evenly stain or finish will penetrate where glue or epoxy squeezed out of a repair, and may act as a sealer. This is one reason why I prefer Titebond II over epoxy for repairs that are on exposed surfaces. Clean up with a wet cloth before clamping along with minimal sanding seems to prevent glue joint marks under the finish.
