[kaboom]

Hi guys have crack in one of my rifle stocks that is heavily oil soaked and just want to know the best way to remove the oil before i glue up the crack Cheers

[pilchard]

this will be interesting i know from working with timber once you oil it then it stays oiled some epoxy glues will work if the surface is rough. i had my grandads shotgun and it had been oiled with everything from whale blubber to singer sewing machine oil it took the gun smith 3 months just to get the oil of the barrels so he could silver solder it. i look forward to any answers that will not damage the timber

[Varmtr]

I would go down the route of using Prepsol and soak the stock with that to try and remove as much oil as possible ( time wise you will have to judge it as you see it ). Then use some hexane to remove the prepsol from the wood grain and maybe hexane wash the crack (with both of these solvents let the stock dry naturally eg not in the sun or high temps). This may give you some usable timber which to glue, this may work. But if the stock as been oiled with any good timber oils like Birchwood Casey's true oil, tongue oil etc etc you maybe strungling to fix it as the oil pentrates very deeply into the timber. You may have to wash and soak a few times with these solvents to get the timber back to near original, but no guarantee.


When soaking the stock place a phone book over the container to reduce the evaporation of the solvent.

After all this you may still have to get a new stock made up.

[gunnerdoo]

Would be a heap simpler to get another stock.

I have worked with wood quite a bit, removing the oil would require soaking in a solvent solution and changing the solvent often, if the stock is broken using dowels might work, but if cracked it would be a lot of work to take on, I have two oiled Sako's, it would be less agro to just find another, Used Guns often has used stocks, worth a look, place an add in a national publication or contact as many gun shops as possible to start a larger network.

[projectile]

Hi
I have a true oiled stock that has a fancy burl in it that has, up to now, been prone to cracking in the butt.
It was repaired once by Pro-Cal Trading but the crack returned. Five years ago it was repaired by Jeff Slee(who originally made the stock) of Bacchus Marsh and I have not had a problem since. I'm currently refinishing the stock having stripped off the original true oil finish and reappling a new one to freshen it up. It may be an idea to speak with him and arrange a meeting were the stock can be veiwed and it's ability/viability for repair accessed. Unless it's a very good (read also expensive) piece of timber I think you will find that the cost of repair will exceed the cost of replacement.
best of luck
Projectile.

[OSSI]

You may to want to try this

http://homepages.vvm...tpart/stock.htm

[kaboom]

Thanks guys for your input i work in the timber industry and have available some pretty strong glues but wanted some insight on removing the oil from the stock before i get gluing.the oil is just gun oil from the previous owner. the gun is a marlin 95 and is just soaked from oiling the action and has leaked through into the stock. the crack is hidden when stock is fittered to the rifle but being a 45-70 i want to fix it before it gets to bad to fix it and i need to replace it. im not worried about the finish on the stock as i will be refinishing it after repairing it. i'll let you know how it turns out cheers.

[pilchard]

now thats a good ending , getting info back on the feedback with results to follow good on you kaboom

[Varmtr]

Kaboom if you need a new stock have a chat with Jeff Slee Bacchus Marsh in Victoria ( as per Projectile ) for memory he advertise's in the SSAA mag. All my custom rifles have his stocks on them. Jeff can be a little bit cantankerous ( only after I asked him to make a stock out of a piece of ironbark that I have ). But he does do good work.
Kaboom sounds like there is a fair amount of oil soaked in the timber, good luck in leaching it out.

[WBYNUT]

Shellite is good for soaking out oil. I have gone to the extent of using oven cleaner and scrubbing the stock, and allowing the oil to leach out overnight by sitting in near a bar heater.

At the end of the day, Stockmakers make a living fixing this sort of thing, and they are still in business for a reason. Find a stockmaker, and make sure he pins the crack. A good stockmaker will be able to pin it without you seeing the pin externally, and it will strengthen the stock no end.

[Roderick]

Try industrial alcohol, plain old metholated spirits from your supermarket.

Usually cheaper there but the hardware stores often will compete,especially if you say "- - - - - - is selling it at $----".

[kaboom]

Varmtr, on 26 Dec 2010 - 03:41 PM, said:

Kaboom if you need a new stock have a chat with Jeff Slee Bacchus Marsh in Victoria ( as per Projectile ) for memory he advertise's in the SSAA mag. All my custom rifles have his stocks on them. Jeff can be a little bit cantankerous ( only after I asked him to make a stock out of a piece of ironbark that I have ). But he does do good work.
Kaboom sounds like there is a fair amount of oil soaked in the timber, good luck in leaching it out.

Hey vVarmtr yeah i've seen a few of his stocks in my travels and he does really great work buy unfortunately im a really big tight arse and can't bring my self to spend any money.i have been spoiled by boyds with $140 stocks.but i have repaired and refinished the stock and im really happy how it come up. it will get tested on my next trip out hunting and if doesn't hold up then i will just pin it with some dowels but didn't want to pin it if i didn't have to. thanks to all for them input. much appreciated guys.

[Mulga]

I have successfully used "Mr Muscle Oven Heavy Duty Cleaner" to draw oil from a rifle stock. Spray on the affected area then wait for the oil to come to the surface, wipe off. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Regards

Mulga

[Colonel Thomas]

gunnerdoo, on 25 Dec 2010 - 01:43 PM, said:

Would be a heap simpler to get another stock.

I have worked with wood quite a bit, removing the oil would require soaking in a solvent solution and changing the solvent often, if the stock is broken using dowels might work, but if cracked it would be a lot of work to take on, I have two oiled Sako's, it would be less agro to just find another, Used Guns often has used stocks, worth a look, place an add in a national publication or contact as many gun shops as possible to start a larger network.

Gunnerdoo is spot on - once a stock is saturated it is nearly impossibile to remove it.I had a same problem with a SMLE303 butt stock I ended up handing the job over to a furniture restorer even he could not remove it.

Best of luck

[500 A-Square]

Hey guy's,

A long while ago I wanted to do the same thing, get all the oil out of my 6.5X55 Sweed stock and clean it up and refurbish the whole rifle.

Well I simply got myself a 44 gallon ( remove the top ) drum and sat it on a frame I knocked up, built a fire under it and boiled water in it and added the old washing up liquid, about 50 ML. It takes some time and you need to keep an eye on things but I successfully boiled all the oil out of the stock leaving it a totally different piece of timber.

When it dried it did not bend on me ( luckey ) and I finished it with a lacker. To this day it has not warped or cracked in any way. No harsh chemicals. Just boil it and keep removing the oil and grease that is on the top of the water.

Hope this may help in some way.