Dishwasher M-1 Garand Stock Project

[nehalemguy]

Recently I purchased two M-1 Service Rifle stocks from GunBroker for the bargain basement price of $21 total. The lighter colored stock looked to have promise. The darker one looked to be a throw-in paired with a nicer stock to move it out of inventory.

When they arrived, I was surprised to find that the lighter colored stock was indeed a good buy. It was a mid 1950's Harrington and Richardson stock with the correct "circle P" stamp and worn DAS cartouche. Nice find!!

The other stock was .......let's just say well seasoned. 60-70 years of cosmoline and crud covered whatever wood was underneath. Numerous dents, dings, gouges and graffiti spelled out as "KVAXS" adorned the stock.

I had read of other Garand owners running such stocks through the kitchen dishwasher with great results. Since the wife unit was out shopping today, I thought why not give it a try? So I ran the beater stock through the heavy-duty wash cycle. Here are the before and after results.

P.S. Another result....many of the dents and dings were steamed out during the wash.



-E-

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[ma96782]

I did it once. Never again. I can learn a lesson. Be it....the hard way.

Aloha, Mark

 

[Andy54Hawken]

"KVAXS"...Hmm...I wonder if that was a Greek Lend - Lease rifle at one time...?
Andy

 

[40Garand]

I would have done it on somebodies grungy CMP stock first, not a post war with a visible serif, DAS. If you want to get the correct color back go to the CMP forum and you can get some good info, stain and Toms 1/3 mix off a handful of members. http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=27670&highlight=garand+stain

 

[Mikej]

I did it once. Never again. I can learn a lesson. Be it....the hard way.

Aloha, Mark

Why? what was wrong with it afterward?

 

[nehalemguy]

I would have done it on somebodies grungy CMP stock first, not a post war with a visible serif, DAS. If you want to get the correct color back go to the CMP forum and you can get some good info, stain and Toms 1/3 mix off a handful of members. http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=27670&highlight=garand+stain

I didn't do it on the post war stock. It's too nice. The grungy dark stock is the one I ran.

-E-

 

[ma96782]

Why? what was wrong with it afterward?

Besides the bone-white color of the wood, the cartouche that might be disappearing, and the possible stock twist due to drying. Of course, some of the noted effects......will/might just be more noticeable than others. Oooops.....not to mention.....the dirty sheen that someone might just notice in the dishwasher.

Well, as always......

Up To You.

Aloha, Mark

PS....you know how you change your vehicle's oil and you end up wiping your dirty hands on some towels. Yeah. And those towels get thrown into the clothes washer. Well, I learned that lesson too.

 

[Nosferatu]

PS....you know how you change your vehicle's oil and you end up wiping your dirty hands on some towels. Yeah. And those towels get thrown into the clothes washer. Well, I learned that lesson too.

Oily rags are supposed to be used as fire starters.

 

[ma96782]

Oily rags are supposed to be used as fire starters.

Good point.

But, I don't set many fires around my home. No BBQ grill.

Anyway......
So nowadays, I save the old washcloth/kitchen rags. When they need replacing. They get a final wash. And their final use is for oil changing duties.

BTW.....I bought a supply of new washcloths at Wally World today. The price (almost $6) is about a $1 per bundle higher vs. last year.

Let's Go Brandon!

Aloha, Mark

 

[Stomper]

"KVAXS"...Hmm...I wonder if that was a Greek Lend - Lease rifle at one time...?
Andy

Kevin Spacey did it to point us towards his home planet, but you have to wear sunglasses to decipher it.

 

[nehalemguy]

Kevin Spacey did it to point us towards his home planet, but you have to wear sunglasses to decipher it.

Lol....that was K-Pax. Different planet.

 

[nehalemguy]

I would have done it on somebodies grungy CMP stock first, not a post war with a visible serif, DAS. If you want to get the correct color back go to the CMP forum and you can get some good info, stain and Toms 1/3 mix off a handful of members. http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=27670&highlight=garand+stain

BLO will oxidize a red tint with age. I assume that is what the stain you linked is trying to replicate?

-E-

 

[40Garand]

BLO will oxidize a red tint with age. I assume that is what the stain you linked is trying to replicate?

-E-

Stain and Tom's (aka gun wax) are two different things. Since you chose not to follow the link I'll just leave you to assumptions I guess.

 

[Stomper]

Lol....that was K-Pax. Different planet.

Siiiiiiggghh…….. yes…. that WAS the joke


You ruined it…. Listen to your wife, stop talking.

 

[nehalemguy]

Stain and Tom's (aka gun wax) are two different things. Since you chose not to follow the link I'll just leave you to assumptions I guess.

Except that I did follow the link..........."My stain is oil-based".

 

[40Garand]

Except that I did follow the link..........."My stain is oil-based".

I was unaware that you had your own concoction going and I shared a thread that has some solid options to ponder. Take it for what it is or stick your current recipe.

 

[wolfcreed]

Earlier this year, I followed the same method using our dishwasher to clean a M1 Carbine stock. It cleaned up nice, but i noticed a crack in the wood I didn't see before. The wood lifted near the recoil plate where I assume it was cracked before.

"Took me awhile to convince my wife it wasn't going to ruin the dishwasher".

Glad too see you had better luck than I did!

 

[nehalemguy]

I was unaware that you had your own concoction going and I shared a thread that has some solid options to ponder. Take it for what it is or stick your current recipe.

The "My stain is oil-based" quote is from the link you provided. I'm not saying that I have my own recipe.

I appreciate the help you are trying to give but all I asked was a simple question regarding what you posted. I'm really not sure why I'm getting the "well then just do it yourself" response.

IMO good walnut doesn't need stain. That deep rich red color that older stocks have is from oxidized linseed oil and not a stain. That is why new CMP stocks don't have that deep color of older stocks. They are simply too new. The stock that I am working on will be finished au naturel with BLO.

-E-

 

[40Garand]

Earlier this year, I followed the same method using our dishwasher to clean a M1 Carbine stock. It cleaned up nice, but i noticed a crack in the wood I didn't see before. The wood lifted near the recoil plate where I assume it was cracked before.

"Took me awhile to convince my wife it wasn't going to ruin the dishwasher".

Glad too see you had better luck than I did!

Some of the grungier post war stock sets I've picked up in the past are laid out in the sun on a hot day to sweat out all the cosmoline and other oily grime. I wipe them clean and repeat till they are done sweating. Then I steam out the dent's and if they are raised I gently knock them down. I let them warm back up in the sun and then start working in the Toms. No strippers, wood bleaches, or dishwashers involved. Everybody has their own recipe just like they do when it comes to making wash for tumbling brass with stainless steel pins or making home made case lube. The Garand addiction is real!

 

[JuglansRegia]

I ran a few grand stocks through the dishwasher back in the day when the CMP was selling woodless Danes and Doug stock pile was shipping