New M1A Walnut Stock - Feels a Bit Unfinished

[H2O MAN]

If you don't wish to reveal the features & character in the wood, just rub it with steel wool.

 

[HuckleberryFun]

I have a Springfield Armory M1A Loaded. These have very nice stocks with a beautiful red-tinge finish that I like, but they are very dry. The wood is not sufficiently treated. I ended up putting four coats of tung oil on it followed up by a coat of gunny wax. Lost that red tinge but the wood stock is now thouroughly impregnated and waterproofed for an outdoor Northwest environment without worrying so much about swelling/warping. Also, it looks more like what an issue M14 stock would have looked like: serious business brown rather than pretty-pretty range queen reddish.

 

[etrain16]

I have a Springfield Armory M1A Loaded. These have very nice stocks with a beautiful red-tinge finish that I like, but they are very dry. The wood is not sufficiently treated. I ended up putting four coats of tung oil on it followed up by a coat of gunny wax. Lost that red tinge but the wood stock is now thouroughly impregnated and waterproofed for an outdoor Northwest environment without worrying so much about swelling/warping. Also, it looks more like what an issue M14 stock would have looked like: serious business brown rather than pretty-pretty range queen reddish.

Losing that color is something I'd like to try and avoid. I've got various oils on hand, BLO, tung, lemon, and a few others I've used for wood finishing/sealing. Each one will cause different results, and, unfortunately, I don't have a piece of wood to test it on first. You're right though, the wood feels dry, like it left before it was completely finished. I could understand that with a wartime stock, but considering the price on these guys, I would expect a stock that's at least fully finished/sealed.

I know that color you're talking about, and I think it looks good on those older military rifles, I'm just hoping to preserve the color on this one without going to something like a polyurethane.

Thanks for the info - and to all the other suggestions. Looks like bronze wool may be the safest place to start - I've got 0000 steel wool on hand, but it sounds like the bronze may be worth getting and trying first.

 

[H2O MAN]

I plan on finishing this birch E2 this winter. The Iodine preservative will be removed by sanding with the grain, I'll smooth it with steel wool, and then add Tung oil.

 

[HuckleberryFun]

Losing that color is something I'd like to try and avoid. I've got various oils on hand, BLO, tung, lemon, and a few others I've used for wood finishing/sealing. Each one will cause different results, and, unfortunately, I don't have a piece of wood to test it on first. You're right though, the wood feels dry, like it left before it was completely finished. I could understand that with a wartime stock, but considering the price on these guys, I would expect a stock that's at least fully finished/sealed.

I know that color you're talking about, and I think it looks good on those older military rifles, I'm just hoping to preserve the color on this one without going to something like a polyurethane.

Thanks for the info - and to all the other suggestions. Looks like bronze wool may be the safest place to start - I've got 0000 steel wool on hand, but it sounds like the bronze may be worth getting and trying first.

Quickly, before I head off to work: to preserve the red tinge you add something to the tung oil... Citrus I believe. You can look that up on the Net...lemon oil I think, but don't recall offhand.
Good luck!

 

[etrain16]

I decided to send a message off to Springfield before I do anything - I'd really like to know, before I do anything to 'finish' this stock, if this is how they normally send their guns out. I have a suspicion this one may not have been fully finished, but we'll see what they have to say. I'm fairly comfortable finishing wood, but I don't expect to do that on an expensive new rifle - that's part of what I'm paying for...

 

[etrain16]

Quickly, before I head off to work: to preserve the red tinge you add something to the tung oil... Citrus I believe. You can look that up on the Net...lemon oil I think, but don't recall offhand.
Good luck!

I will certainly look into this pending the response from Springfield. If they have nothing to offer, I'll probably consider the tung oil route as it's a finish I do like on most woods and it does a nice job of sealing/protecting the wood.

 

[Iceberg]

Most of the new wood stock M1As have semi-finished stocks. Saves on labor hours/hand work. I just like the feel of a nice smooth GI type stock. My buddy's Super Match came the same way, should of just paid a little more for a Marine camo style glass stock.

 

[Velzey]

Springfield wood stock finish has gone downhill in the last 10 years. I swear when synthetic stocks came out they forgot how to finish wood. I know the exact feel it has, spend a good chunk of money on an M1A and then the customer needs to do the final work on the stock.
I've finished several of them and I go over them with a light sanding to bring out the grain. I then apply 15-20 coats of BLO, then for a top coat I use Linspeed Oil.

 

[DB is Here]

So, I got a new M1A. It's a beautiful rifle. I love everything about it.

But I've got a question on the stock, it's not something I've personally run into before, so I'm hoping some of you folks might have some ideas. To date, all wood stock guns I've bought came either finished with something like a polyurethane finish, glossy or semi gloss, or the wood was already well worn in, such as the case with say an old Mosin or Garand, for example. This stock is different. It feels like it's almost not quite finished. In fact, there is dust on the stock, such as what would be left behind from a final sanding as you're refinishing a stock.

It feels almost like a final coat of finish/stain was applied, let dry, and the grain has raised, but no final sanding coat was done to smooth it down. There's kind of a 'fuzz' on the wood. It almost feels like it might need a finish coat of oil of some sort to help seal the wood as well.

Maybe I just haven't bought enough guns of this type, but I'm not sure how I should proceed. I've finished wood before, so I'm comfortable with the process, but I don't want to mess up the finish on this stock - I like the color/finish, but it's just that it feels unfinished. I'm tempted to consider taking a very fine grain sandpaper over the surface, maybe even work in a little oil to help seal the pores in the wood. But I'm going to hold off until I get some input.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Do something to it? Or leave it alone and be happy?

If you look at the photos below, you can see some of the 'fuzz' that came on the stock:

View attachment 320195 View attachment 320196

Just send it to me. I can do the work and should have it back to you in about 5 years.

Kidding aside....That's a beautiful gun.

 

[Iceberg]

CMP forum has detailed instructions, the new M1 stocks being sold by them are also not completely finished (just oiled). It is really easy on M1A stocks since you don't have to work on the handguards. Worth the little effort and expense when you are done.

 

[etrain16]

Springfield wood stock finish has gone downhill in the last 10 years. I swear when synthetic stocks came out they forgot how to finish wood. I know the exact feel it has, spend a good chunk of money on an M1A and then the customer needs to do the final work on the stock.
I've finished several of them and I go over them with a light sanding to bring out the grain. I then apply 15-20 coats of BLO, then for a top coat I use Linspeed Oil.

Sounds like I may have a little work ahead of me. Thankfully, those types of steps are fairly easy, though time consuming considering drying times between coats. It's sad to hear that this is the type of product they're sending out - it doesn't speak well of them to build such a nice rifle but go cheap on the most prominent visual feature of the gun.

 

[etrain16]

Just send it to me. I can do the work and should have it back to you in about 5 years.

Kidding aside....That's a beautiful gun.

That's a very generous offer....

 

[etrain16]

CMP forum has detailed instructions, the new M1 stocks being sold by them are also not completely finished (just oiled). It is really easy on M1A stocks since you don't have to work on the handguards. Worth the little effort and expense when you are done.

I'll look into that too, thanks, I didn"t think about looking there.

 

[Medic!]

It's a bit frustrating when a new gun needs the wood refinished.

My 94 BB .375 Winchester had beautiful grain that was hidden under a crappie stain job. And it was marred with deep unfinished sanding scars. Along with sloppy factory splotches of stain speckling the wood.

I was use to old M1's and 30 carbines needing refinished. But I really resented having to alter a new factory 94. So I lived with it for years.

Then one day I said ''I don't care''. This finish is ugly! And the wood has such potential.
I'm refinishing the sucker!

So after refinishing maybe 30 beat up GI stocks. I did my first refinish of a ''New Gun''.

I threw it in the dishwasher. Sanded the crap out of it. And re-stained it.
Then I gave it a factory looking satin gloss finish. Something I had never done before.
All my GI stocks have BLO finishes. But this one needed to replicate what Winchester had done.

When I was done. I found the wood the factory used was probably ''Deluxe''. But had ben finished like any other ''Standard'' rifle.

That made it worth the effort.

So I say If the wood bothers you. Or has hidden possibility.Go for it!

 

[H2O MAN]

Sounds like I may have a little work ahead of me. Thankfully, those types of steps are fairly easy, though time consuming considering drying times between coats. It's sad to hear that this is the type of product they're sending out - it doesn't speak well of them to build such a nice rifle but go cheap on the most prominent visual feature of the gun.

Grab yourself a nice tight fitting GI fiberglass stock, and use it while you sort out you walnut stock.

Springfield Armory Inc. assembles a nice M14 clone, but their M1A is still rough around the edges, it's not refined. End users are responsible for smoothing out the edges, and refining their rifles.

 

[etrain16]

Grab yourself a nice tight fitting GI fiberglass stock, and use it while you sort out you walnut stock.

Springfield Armory Inc. assembles a nice M14 clone, but their M1A is still rough around the edges, it's not refined. End users are responsible for smoothing out the edges, and refining their rifles.

That's disappointing when you're paying extra for the upgraded walnut stock, seems it should be more than 'rough' finished. Not a good mark for Springield on that one.

Still, I love the rifle and if she needs some work to completely finish the wood, I'm up to the challenge. Getting a fiberglass in the meantime isn't a bad idea - at least then I could take my time doing the stock correctly.

 

[etrain16]

So I say If the wood bothers you. Or has hidden possibility.Go for it!

Depending on what Springfield has to say, I may just be doing that.

 

[Medic!]

Grab yourself a nice tight fitting GI fiberglass stock, and use it while you sort out you walnut stock.

Springfield Armory Inc. assembles a nice M14 clone, but their M1A is still rough around the edges, it's not refined. End users are responsible for smoothing out the edges, and refining their rifles.

True of many new guns.
The factory will leave a lot on the table. And there is almost always something you can do to enhance the wood.

If you know your way around it.

 

[Medic!]

There is a lot of beauty in that stock.

It's work. But fully sanding. Then fine sanding the wood. vs. just applying BLO or some other finish. Will allow the three dimensional depth to come out.

It can release those subtle little tiger stripes and feathering in the grain that most walnut has. But can't normally be seen because the finish sanding is too coerce.

Smooth that wood out. And watch it pop!