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Wood used in Stevens 1915 (Read 5389 times)

LikeAntiques Newbie Offline Posts: 5 Joined: Mar 26^th, 2019	Wood used in Stevens 1915 Mar 26^th, 2019 at 7:10pm	Print Post
	Hi Everyone First post. Does anyone know what type of wood was used in the 1915 Stevens SS rifles?


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Bill Lawrence Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 1037 Joined: Mar 17^th, 2014	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #1 - Mar 26^th, 2019 at 7:55pm	Print Post
	The normal stock wood was plain-jane walnut. However, gum and butternut (aka white walnut) have been observed on some of the lower-end Stevens boy's rifles like the Maynard Jr., so it would not surprise me if these "imitation walnut" woods sometimes sneaked into the Favorite production line also. Last but not least, I once had a chance to buy a cased and accessorized Stevens No. 16 Crackshot, fancy walnut stocks, a Pope-rifled barrel, and sighted with one of those 1/2"-diameter Stevens scopes normally reserved for the factory's pocket rifles. That the outfit was factory-original was not just obvious; the 83-year-old seller had received the outfit from his father, a Stevens employee, for a Christmas present in 1903. The point is, if you knew the right people and were willing to pay for it, you could get what you wanted. Bill Lawrence


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Redsetter Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3468 Location: New York Joined: Aug 6^th, 2013	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #2 - Mar 26^th, 2019 at 7:57pm	Print Post
	The catalog claimed walnut.


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Redsetter Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3468 Location: New York Joined: Aug 6^th, 2013	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #3 - Mar 26^th, 2019 at 8:17pm	Print Post
	Bill Lawrence wrote on Mar 26^th, 2019 at 7:55pm: However, gum and butternut (aka white walnut) have been observed on some of the lower-end Stevens boy's rifles like the Maynard Jr., so it would not surprise me if these "imitation walnut" woods sometimes sneaked into the Favorite production line also. Bill Lawrence Gum was also used on some Winchesters, esp. Model '92 carbines, for some reason. It's the heartwood of the common sweetgum tree, & though similar in appearance to walnut, doesn't hold up as well, due to its greater porosity; but quite good enough, I think, for any boy's rifle.


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Amoretti Full Member Offline Posts: 203 Location: thermopolis, Wy Joined: Nov 2^nd, 2009	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #4 - Mar 26^th, 2019 at 9:12pm	Print Post
	I’ve heard in WW2 the GIs would try and get M1s with the gum stocks cause they were lighter than the walnut ones.


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slumlord44 Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2849 Location: Lebanon, Illinois 62254 Joined: Dec 21^st, 2007	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #5 - Mar 26^th, 2019 at 11:23pm	Print Post
	To my knowledge the Favorites were all walnut but I sure wouldn't bet my life on it. They did have some neat options through the years. Delux checkered stock. Delux wood. Several sight options including scopes. Got one with the correct full length scope. Smooth bore was also an option in .22 and .32. You could put together a large collection and not have any duplicates. Lost track of how many I have. I also got into the later versions in the 1970's and 1990's. The late ones came in .22Mag and .17HRM which turns them into totaly different guns.


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LikeAntiques Newbie Offline Posts: 5 Joined: Mar 26^th, 2019	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #6 - Mar 27^th, 2019 at 9:56am	Print Post
	Thank you gents, now I know! I'm restoring one and the timber needs a few new patches. After an acetone bath it looks slightly grey, probably due to its age.


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Bill Lawrence Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 1037 Joined: Mar 17^th, 2014	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #7 - Mar 27^th, 2019 at 10:02am	Print Post
	Rub the wood down with ethanol or mineral spirits to get an idea of what its true color is and its refinished color would be. Bill Lawrence


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uscra112 Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4044 Location: Switzerland of Ohio Joined: May 7^th, 2007	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #8 - Mar 27^th, 2019 at 1:11pm	Print Post
	Once again I'm going to advocate for cleaning the wood thoroughly by running it thru a dishwasher set as hot as it will go, and using TSP in the dispenser. This works far better than solvents can ever dream of doing. Also raises dents. You start refinishing with what is almost new wood. Try it.

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Schuetzenmiester Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 6707 Location: Cool Wet Side of WA Joined: Apr 27^th, 2008	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #9 - Mar 27^th, 2019 at 1:51pm	Print Post
	uscra112 wrote on Mar 27^th, 2019 at 1:11pm: Once again I'm going to advocate for cleaning the wood thoroughly by running it thru a dishwasher set as hot as it will go, and using TSP in the dispenser. This works far better than solvents can ever dream of doing. Also raises dents. You start refinishing with what is almost new wood. Try it. How long do you let it dry after the dishwasher treatment?

	"some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence
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uscra112 Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4044 Location: Switzerland of Ohio Joined: May 7^th, 2007	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #10 - Mar 27^th, 2019 at 2:01pm	Print Post
	A coupla-three days on general principles. If there's a dry cycle in the dishwasher it'll come out dry to the touch. The amount of time it's being wetted isn't enough to let the water really soak in. I've done this over half a dozen times now. Would still be doing it, but my retirement shack doesn't have a dishwasher.

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Redsetter Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3468 Location: New York Joined: Aug 6^th, 2013	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #11 - Mar 27^th, 2019 at 4:40pm	Print Post
	uscra112 wrote on Mar 27^th, 2019 at 1:11pm: Once again I'm going to advocate for cleaning the wood thoroughly by running it thru a dishwasher set as hot as it will go, and using TSP in the dispenser. Never had a dishwasher any time in my life, but used plenty of TSP & hot water on the various oil-soaked military stocks of the guns I was buying out of Rifleman ads in the early '60s.


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uscra112 Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4044 Location: Switzerland of Ohio Joined: May 7^th, 2007	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #12 - Mar 27^th, 2019 at 5:13pm	Print Post
	I got the idea from an old book that recommended boiling the stock in Oakite.

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LikeAntiques Newbie Offline Posts: 5 Joined: Mar 26^th, 2019	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #13 - Mar 27^th, 2019 at 5:34pm	Print Post
	Is TSP also sugar soap?


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uscra112 Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4044 Location: Switzerland of Ohio Joined: May 7^th, 2007	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #14 - Mar 27^th, 2019 at 5:48pm	Print Post
	According to what I found in the Innertubes, sugar soap is a European name for TSP, (trisodium phosphate). No longer a part of laundry and dishwasher detergents, (thank you the EPA), you can still buy it in the paint section at True Value.

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Redsetter Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3468 Location: New York Joined: Aug 6^th, 2013	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #15 - Mar 27^th, 2019 at 6:16pm	Print Post
	uscra112 wrote on Mar 27^th, 2019 at 5:48pm: According to what I found in the Innertubes, sugar soap is a European name for TSP, (trisodium phosphate). No longer a part of laundry and dishwasher detergents, (thank you the EPA), you can still buy it in the paint section at True Value. Has Spic & Span floor cleaner been banned? Used to be pure TSP.


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Bill Lawrence Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 1037 Joined: Mar 17^th, 2014	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #16 - Mar 28^th, 2019 at 4:19pm	Print Post
	Spic & Span was one of those cleaning agents my mother swore by (and some times at), but I haven't seen it for sale in years. But then along with fixing things, if you could actually clean things well, there'd be less reason to follow today's commercial philosophy of "throw it away and buy new". Bill Lawrence


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uscra112 Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4044 Location: Switzerland of Ohio Joined: May 7^th, 2007	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #17 - Mar 28^th, 2019 at 6:43pm	Print Post
	Walmart still has the powder on their website. (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) Whether the "new power formula" is still 100% TSP is of course open to question. And the price is a jaw-dropper.
	« Last Edit: Mar 28^th, 2019 at 6:53pm by uscra112 »
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LikeAntiques Newbie Offline Posts: 5 Joined: Mar 26^th, 2019	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #18 - Mar 29^th, 2019 at 8:34am	Print Post
	Thank you everyone. More time in acetone seems to have cleared the grey. New question (to save creating another thread). What finish was used on the 1915's (pre serial number) wood? Boiled linseed oil like most pieces from that era or something else? Thanks again!


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uscra112 Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4044 Location: Switzerland of Ohio Joined: May 7^th, 2007	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #19 - Mar 29^th, 2019 at 10:29am	Print Post
	Linseed oil as far as I know. You can't go wrong using that no matter what. What do you mean by "pre serial number"? If you've been soaking it in acetone, it ought to be allowed to "dry out" for a time. Acetone will have penetrated much more deeply than water will. What it may do to the linseed oil I don't know,, but I'd hate to find out the hard way.

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Redsetter Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3468 Location: New York Joined: Aug 6^th, 2013	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #20 - Mar 29^th, 2019 at 10:38am	Print Post
	LikeAntiques wrote on Mar 29^th, 2019 at 8:34am: What finish was used on the 1915's (pre serial number) wood? Boiled linseed oil like most pieces from that era or something else? Good question, but I can't find the answer in the "authorities" I've checked. A single application of oil isn't much of a finish, unless the stock is completely immersed in very hot oil, sometimes under pressure, as was done with many military stocks. Repeated applications of rubbed oil would seem far too time consuming for low-priced guns. So I wonder if a fast-drying lacquer was the most cost-effective (& superficially attractive) choice on field-grade guns. A different story of course on high grade guns, where hand polished varnish was the standard.


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uscra112 Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4044 Location: Switzerland of Ohio Joined: May 7^th, 2007	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #21 - Mar 29^th, 2019 at 11:10am	Print Post
	In the 1900 catalog they offer refinishing. Oil for $0.75, Varnish for $1.50.

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LikeAntiques Newbie Offline Posts: 5 Joined: Mar 26^th, 2019	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #22 - Mar 29^th, 2019 at 8:10pm	Print Post
	Interesting! What varnish do you think they would have used?


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slumlord44 Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2849 Location: Lebanon, Illinois 62254 Joined: Dec 21^st, 2007	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #23 - Mar 29^th, 2019 at 10:03pm	Print Post
	It would have been oil based for sure back then.


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uscra112 Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4044 Location: Switzerland of Ohio Joined: May 7^th, 2007	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #24 - Mar 29^th, 2019 at 10:49pm	Print Post
	The ancient furniture formula was linseed oil, rosin, and turpentine. Proportions according the whims of the producer.

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Bill Lawrence Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 1037 Joined: Mar 17^th, 2014	Re: Wood used in Stevens 1915 Reply #25 - Mar 29^th, 2019 at 11:08pm	Print Post
	Actually, a fair number of period gun manufacturers were using shellac, usually cut 4 to 1 and often tinted amber, especially for their lower-grade rifles and shotguns. It still works well - doesn't leave brush marks, is very quick to dry, and builds nicely. Bill Lawrence


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