Soft wood

J

jambrdly

New member
Hello: I picked up a Spanish .308 mauser the other day at a gun show for $100. The bore is cherry. I dissassembled it and cleaned it and I noticed that the wood was getting quite soft and flaky/crumbly in places on the interior. Does anyone know of a wood treatment which might help restore the wood, or at least forestall any further deterioration?

Thanks

JCB
 
Th wood was probably quite soft when the rifle was made, but time and neglect can make it a lot worse. If you want to make the stock surface harder, you can strip the stock with paint stripper (I like Citrustrip) and use Brownells AcraWood on it. It is an epoxy finish that will penetrate the wood and harden.
 
Often the wood in those areas gets soft from over oiling the action. Oils made for metal are normally bad for wood. "Easy Off" oven cleaner is great for getting that oil out of the wood. Spray it on, let it foam, let it sit, wipe it out, repeat a few times. Wood should become dry and hard. Rub in a finishing oil such as tung or linseed oil. There's also some good ones like "Tru Oil" made for gun stocks.
 
If the wood is actually rotting out, there is no magic answer. Even glass bedding won't help if the wood underneath is rotten. The only solution is a new stock.

Jim
 
Well, this could be Dry-Rot or the condition that apr1775 has listed. Both have their own appearance. The fact that this is only present on the inside and no rust on adjoining metal, leads me to "Guess" that it is not Dry-Rot. A picture or more description, would help to identify it better. Also if the damage is not too large it certainly can be repaired fairly easily. Are you seeing splinters as oppose to chips? Sorry for the bad description. Might also add that Dry-Rot is easier to repair/patch.



Be Safe !!!
 
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