Just recieved a Sharps Borchardt actioned rifle stocked back in the mid 1960"s by Jerry Fisher.  Highly figured walnut.  What has me worried is the rifle has been in New Mexico for the last several years & owner said average humidity is around 10%.  Here in Michigan winter, basement humidity is 35%..I can get it up around 42% or so with humidifier running constantly.  In summer it stays around 45% with de-humidifier running constantly.  I noticed the butt-plate screws were loose.  I put a couple coats of wax on stock.  I wonder if I should do anything with the thru-bolt in stock?  Original finish all there on stock.

My concern would be if all of the non visable wood surfaces have been properly sealed including the through bolt hole? If not I would then indeed be as concerned as you currently are now.

JLouis wrote on Feb 7^th, 2017 at 3:31pm:

Pour some sealer in, let it sit for a few minutes and pour out the excess.

BTW, most of those moisture meters only read a few mm under the surface.  It is what it is. Preventing rapid or uneven change is the goal.

I've come to the conclusion over the years that there is no way a brushed or rubbed on finish is going to truly seal a gunstock.  At one time, until it burned up in a fire, a friend and I had a vacuum/pressure system for forcing poly finish into a stock. We were able to get over two oz. of finish into the wood as determined by weighing before and after. We proved the point beyond doubt on a two week float trip where it poured down rain for 12 of the 14 days. Both our guns and us were wet the whole trip.  His stock, which had been vacuum/pressure treated, didn't swell at all.  Mine, with many coats of finish applied in the usual way, end grain included, swelled terribly. I guess the only thing we can do with a conventionally finished stock is to seal it as best we can and then just put up with the changes.

JS

How about a description of that vacuum set up, so I can duplicate it??  What kind of pump, enclosure, etc.?  I always thought that would be a good idea!
JS47 wrote on Feb 7^th, 2017 at 11:29pm:

One of the lessons from this thread is to buy stock wood that has been stored in a similar environment to where you live.
If you live in the dry West, buy from a western supplier.
In the more humid East and Northwest, buy from a similar area.
Otherwise, leave the wood in the shop at least a year before you cut into it.
Chuck

marlinguy wrote on Feb 8^th, 2017 at 12:10pm:


I tried this method too and couldn't see that it really helped.  Test pieces thrown in with the stock are interesting to cut into.

Our original set up was a piece of 6" PVC city water line 3 feet long. It takes a large pipe to hold a one piece stock.  The end caps were cast iron water line fitting with locking rings.  Locking rings are important when pressurizing the setup.  I hung a lead ingot on the end of the stock to sink it and filled the pipe with polyurethane.  One  end cap I drilled and fitted with a tee and valve setup to hold a vacuum/pressure gauge and a hose fitting.  The vacuum was pulled off the brake booster on my '89 Ford truck, around 28" of vacuum I think.  I let it soak for 24 hours, relieved the vacuum and then gave it 50 lbs. of air pressure.  After another 24 hours I let off the pressure and took out the stock. The stock bled out the poly for hours as I kept wiping it off.  The main problem with the system was that it took about 4 gallons of poly, which is expensive, and after doing a few stocks the poly gelled up and had to be replaced.  After all this, I figured I'd just do standard finishes and put up with the changes in the wood.

JS 

That indeed is the issue with putting a stock into a container. It simply takes too much sealer, and too much is wasted. I also found that vacuum sealer bags kept the amount down, but even they wasted some sealer.
On raw stocks the Minn Wax WOP is so thin that the first 3-4 coatings soak in almost as fast as I can apply it. So I pour it down the through bolt hole when I do a Ballard stock. Then I wipe the exterior with what is in the catch pan. It is a better way to be efficient with the poly, and makes it go further, yet seal the interior wood.
Most raw wood takes me 10-12 coats to get to the finish stage if I want a glass like hand rubbed appearance. The last 3-4 coats I wet sand with the poly and wipe off the excess. I finish by rubbing with rottenstone powder, and after sitting for 30 days I wax and buff it out.