doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Salt Wood

Use a soln of silver nitrate (a 1% to 1.5% soln works well) to test for salt in the wood. This Silver Nitrate & Water soln will be Purple in color.
Place a couple drops of the soln onto a spot on the wood where you have freshly scraped the surface so the soln can react with the clean wood.

If the spot stays Purple,,there is NO salt in the wood.
If the soln turns White,,there is salt in the wood.

Here's some pics of a German DR 9.3x72R from the '20's.
The effects of it being (IMO) originally stocked with salt cured wood.
The heavy moon crater pitting under the wood line,,everwhere wood & metal contact was made. The forend iron and trigger guard included.
The rifle had since been restocked in a very plain straight grain piece of wood,,but no additional rusting .

But,,Then someone decided to practice refinishing techniques on the gun and heavily soft wheel buffed and hot blued the entire thing.
A good project. The exc bores and the Leopold Alaskan in claw mounts made the deal even better.

Action and parts have been annealed and acid pickled cleaned of any heat scale in the pics.