Sure shot wrote on Mar 9^th, 2025 at 12:51pm:


Impossible to find these days, but it was Tapadera's Winchester Red N35. Used to be a couple fellas in Idaho making it and I bought it at local gun shows. It disappeared, as did they, and guessing maybe one or both passed away?
I found a new bottle at the CGCA show in Greeley and bought one. I wish I knew the formula as it's very concentrated and I'd like to thin it out sometimes to not be quite as dark red.
Edit-I found this old post at Paco Kelleys Leverguns site just now! Appears it's alcohol base, so now I can thin mine to lighten it up and go further also!

"There is a huge difference between tapaderas stain and the minwax stains. Tapaderas stain is spirit based (ie: alcohol based). Minwax stains are not. I have experimented with stains for 35+ years now, and had settled on Pilkingtons red stain to match Winchesters color. That is, until I discovered Tapaderas stain. I cannot tell the difference between Pilkingtons red at 30$/bottle versus Tapaderas N35 red at 10$/bottle. They look, apply, and smell the same. Both are spirit stains. They say you can apply them over finish and they will penetrate. It seems like they do, but they do leave different luster when you do that requiring another finish coat. The spirit stains dry very fast, even here in humid Ohio. Tapaderas also sells a N35B which is a brown stain that can be mixed with the N35 red to get any shade of red-brown you desire. For the finish coat I use minwax polyurethane satin, and lately have experimented with Arm-R-Seal, but the minwax is a spray and I get a better finish versus any wipe on. For redoing old trapdoors I use hand rubbed coats of tung oil, but for the winchesters I prefer polyurethane. BTW, I once tried making my own finishes based on looking thru old time gunsmithing books. One recipe was 50% varnish and 50% boiled linseed. I tried it. Looked, smelled, applied, and dried exactly like tru-oil. Just my 2 cents. I would get the tapaderas and try it out on a sample of walnut."

MrTipUp wrote on Mar 8^th, 2025 at 8:42pm:


After sleeping on it I decided you were right Bill; it was too bulky and bulbous. Got at it again today and didn't just take off a lot of wood, but also shortened it so it matched proportionally to what Marlin did on forearms. Usually around 1/3rd of barrel length to forearm length, based on a 30" barrel. So I cut off 1.5" on the forearm rear, then planed it down close, and began sanding it smooth. Still need to put a slight roll to the two side where they meet the receiver, and have to decide how to do that without making the sides weaker.

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MrTipUp wrote on Mar 9^th, 2025 at 5:35pm:


Thanks Bill, and thanks for getting me on the right path too.
The #3F had plain buttstocks with no checkering standard. Someone ordered checkering and a cheekpiece on this one. But didn't order checkering on the forearm. Seems the few I've seen checkered also didn't have checkered forearms.

I rarely think restoration is a good idea personally as I appreciate some wear and history. But I've been looking at this gun for 30 years and thinking I wanted to get it shooting. I contemplated a reline, but didn't like the tiny 24" lightweight octagon barrels. I own a modern Cody Ballard Schoyen model and love the 30" full round extra heavy barrel it has. I decided to go a little shorter with this 27" barrel simply because Green Mountain didn't make a 30" .22RF barrel. 
I've set the original barrel and forearm aside just in case some future owner wants to put it back to original sometime.

Really lookin' good Vall.

Nice. Nothing better than a 3F.

bpjack wrote on Mar 12^th, 2025 at 8:36pm:


Thanks guys!

Yeah, got it from a friend! And it works good too! I need to get the broken one built up with tig and shape it back down for a spare.
Al sent me a set trigger hammer for a Ballard also! All color cased, and ready for a fly. Said he can't recall where it came from, but said it's better with me than his place.

Sure shot wrote on Mar 9^th, 2025 at 12:51pm:


Marlinguy would certainly know if there was any around but there is an answer.

Years ago I worked for wood boat builder in Florida and one of the crew’s father worked Palm Beach to Miami as the ‘ Furniture Doctor ‘ who learned the trade  at a famous school in Amsterdam, NY. Famous French Polisher. I learned a bit from him and patched cigarette burns in tables and fine pianos but I’m too old and crippled up to do your forearm. It is however a straight forward oil dye stain blending process with some shellac shading techniques then varnishing or suitable top coat. Find yourself a decent furniture refinisher who does color matching and he should be able to take care of this. Understand you’ll need to supply the butt stock to achieve a good match. And explain what you need as a topcoat, ie, varnish, lacquer, rubbed oil or do that yourself.

BTW years ago there was a skilled touch up color man named Luigi Cabazoni in Plantation Florida. He was younger than me so he still may be there. Sorry no contact info. 

Good Luck
Rick