Help Me Finish This Stock; Mossberg 46M-B

[Heyjoe]

Some here have already seen my Mossberg 46M-B that I obtained a number of years ago. I recently had time to take it down and sand the stock which was in rough shape from 80 odd years of existence. The cheek piece had always bothered me due to the fact that there really was no defined line where the cheek piece transitioned back into the buttstock, a similar issue existed at the pistol grip, and there was significant scarring on the cheek piece as well as throughout the full Mannlicher stock set.

These old Mossberg's were always considered a budget alternative to manufacturers of the time like Winchester and Remington. Well, I'm not the type to allow common opinion on a subject to convince me of a rifles ability so here we are and thank goodness because posterity will reflect a wonderful reputation for accuracy, function, and sometimes looks. I found this to be a worthwhile project.

I'm looking for recommendations for what finish would be appropriate here, I think the last one I did was finished with a coat or two of tung oil but I can't remember for sure. Any thoughts?

Also, what should I do about the butt plate that is majorly cracked and really is just a bothersome end to an otherwise smooth stock?

Before: After:

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[monkeybutler]

Tung oil would be fine.

You did a great job at making the cheekpiece line obvious.

 

[EugeneGunsmith]

Tung oil is a great option.

We would suggest buying a new butt plate from Numrich.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Older Mossberg .22 rifles , as a general rule shoot very nicely.
They are always worth a second look and re-storing.


www.havlinsales.com
Is a excellent source for Mossberg .22 rifle parts.
Andy

 

[whiskeybill]

Tung oil or the Dem-Bart stock oil from Brownells.

 

[Spitpatch]

They are accurate. I had a 151M that would shoot better than a buddy's tricked out Volquartsen 10-22.

 

[jbett98]

I've used Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil before and got excellent results. Very easy to work with and you don't have to wait a long time between coat's like you do with Tung oil.
For an even better look, I would scrape up some of the pigment solids that are laying on the bottom of an old can of Minwax red mahogany stain.
It's an old furniture restorers trick that I read about many years ago.
Take some of the putty like pigment and rub it into the open pores of the stock. Then wipe with a rag dampened with mineral spirits.
You get a nice vintage patina look, Or, you can buy a ready made product, but I'm cheap.

How to Use French Red Stock Filler - Gunsmithing Journal

French Red Stock Filler great tool to help finish your gunstock. This is an great alternative to wet sanding your stock trying to fill the grain.

kurtthegunsmith.com

 

[thorborg]

Usually available at most any outdoor store Birchwood products have given me great service for many years. No special equipment required other than your fingers and rags for buffing. Do not forget to liberally apply to the butt end and inletted / barrel areas to keep moisture out. Ever time I shoot and clean my guns a thin film of the wax and wipe down finishes their protection and keeps them looking good it even is OK on metal parts.

 

[Xaevian]

it's the 21st century. You've already sanded the stock and reformed the cheek peice. Use urethane. It is far superior in moisture resistance, warping, and everything else than traditional oil type finishes. Something like Minwax spar urethane in satin.

 

[Jay Walk]

Having also just hand sanded an old stock (circa 1948) I can respect the work that you have into that. Mine is Birch and I am doing linseed oil because it is what I have and also, I applied many coats of it to a 1937 lever action that I had just cleaned with Murphy's, it turned out way better than I expected.

From my research however, the True Oil is the way to go if you don't mind spending a bit more coin.

Luckily, I had it at a "well-known" gunsmith many months ago, inline to have all of the cracks epoxied.

 

[Heyjoe]

Tung oil would be fine.

You did a great job at making the cheekpiece line obvious.

Thank you

Tung oil is a great option.

We would suggest buying a new butt plate from Numrich.

Tung oil or the Dem-Bart stock oil from Brownells.

Awesome. How would the color compare to the original pictured?

 

[Heyjoe]

I've used Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil before and got excellent results. Very easy to work with and you don't have to wait a long time between coat's like you do with Tung oil.
For an even better look, I would scrape up some of the pigment solids that are laying on the bottom of an old can of Minwax red mahogany stain.
It's an old furniture restorers trick that I read about many years ago.
Take some of the putty like pigment and rub it into the open pores of the stock. Then wipe with a damp rag with mineral spirits.
You get a nice vintage patina look, Or, you can buy a ready made product, but I'm cheap.

How to Use French Red Stock Filler - Gunsmithing Journal

French Red Stock Filler great tool to help finish your gunstock. This is an great alternative to wet sanding your stock trying to fill the grain.

kurtthegunsmith.com

I'll look in to this, I wondered if a little red might look nice. I'll have to look around my stash for something with old pigments though, not going to spend a bunch of money refinishing this one.

. Do not forget to liberally apply to the butt end and inletted / barrel areas to keep moisture out. Ever time I shoot and clean my guns a thin film of the wax and wipe down finishes their protection and keeps them looking good it even is OK on metal parts.

Awesome. Good info here. Thank you!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

A little oil paint , like burnt umber makes for a good base color of the stock , before finishing....
Andy

 

[thorborg]

Here are but two guns finished with Birchwood Casey a long time before the pictures were taken and had been used a lot,
Other good finishes too, but as with any finish you choose, the end results are highly affected by the prep work you do first.

 

[Heyjoe]

A little oil paint , like burnt umber makes for a good base color of the stock , before finishing....
Andy

Burnt umber?

Here are but two guns finished with Birchwood Casey a long time before the pictures were taken and had been used a lot, View attachment 1460558View attachment 1460559
Other good finishes too, but as with any finish you choose, the end results are highly affected by the prep work you do first.

I can handle removing the scratches and dings and keeping sharp lines crisp but I'm an oaf with anything liquid. I guess that's the main draw to tung oil- hard to eff that up.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Burnt umber?

Burnt Umber is a reddish -brown paint color....in it's oil paint form it is useful for "dying" / coloring leather or wood stocks.
Andy

 

[aasbra]

I've refinished 2 or 3 rifle stocks, and a couple pair of handgun grips with tru oil and been happy with the results. Pretty easy to work with. I thin down the first couple coats with mineral spirits, and scuff it slightly between coats with a white scotch brite pad.

A bottle lasts a long time!

 

[whiskeybill]

Tung oil is a bit clearer and would require a bit of burnt umber, as Andy stated. Be cautious, it doesn't take much to darken up the tung oil, and you can go overboard pretty quickly. The Dem-Bart oil from Brownells is much easier to work with, and a few coats give the wood a nice deep finish. Professional stock makers use it extensively. I like to let each coat dry, then take it down a bit with #4 (fine) steel wool between coats. Make sure the wood is sanded smooth, as once the finish gets applied, any minor flaws such as scratches from rasps or courser sandpaper will show up clearly. I spray mineral spirits on the wood first, the little nicks and scratches will show up there as well. Use some cheese cloth to apply the finish, whichever you use.

 

[Heyjoe]

We'll I got this thing finish sanded and stained, it's hanging in the garage with the first coat of polyurethane that I'd already from a 8/4 oak tree swing I made earlier this year. It's going to look like a deluxe grade Browning when finished which wasn't necessarily my intent.

Next up is to finish inletting a Marlin 1894c crescent stock that I've been putting off.

 

[Czechsix]

Interested to see how it turns out, I've got a few old Mossberg .22's I keep pondering about refinishing.