doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com To stain or not to stain...

I have had SKB (of the DG board) recently reproduce a walnut stock for an American SXS. The wood is highly figured (feather crotch) in the butt and straight grained through the wrist.
My question is: Should I stain (dye stain) the wood or simply use my oil finish to bring out the grain?
What do most of you do?

I only ever stain an inferiour wood (if neccessary)
if you have a proper walnut stock, any good stock oil finish will be the best solution.
Best thing to do, if you're not certain, is to try on a spare piece of similar walnut and see what it looks like after staining and oiling

Best regards from England
Gunter

That stick of wood will darken up nicely and give you a nice red tone without adding stain is my feeling. I usually add alkenet root to my finish but I would go very carefully with your piece of wood. Stain could cause it to end up too dark. This is a Sterlingworth I stocked for a client last year. The wood is very similar to yours and has no stain or root added to the finish.

I think actual stains are tricky and probably would not try it on a nice piece of wood. That said, I think there are few gunstocks that would not benefit from some sort of help. Colored shellacs used as filler and tinted oils (e.g. Pilkington) are good at raising contrast. One thing I tried recently was Herter's recreation of the Winchester reddish-brown; it has a filler in it and I was expecting a somewhat murky finish. I was surprised at the nice, clear contrast and color that it imparted to a piece of Claro - might go with the Herters.

Others have suggested trying several options. on scraps. Unless you already have a particular go-to finish, that's good advice.

I suggest cheap wood and Mark Larson...Geo

Back in the late 70's when I was an apprentice carpenter, I talked the superintendent ( a gifted woodworker) into helping me build a grandfather clock. When it came time for finishing, he asked me if I wanted just the finish (in this case, nitrocellulose lacquer) or stained and then lacquered. I didn't hesitate with my response: "Oh of course, lacquer only." He then asked if he could stain one sample and compare it to a lacquer only piece. I agreed, and hands down, the proper stain, judiciously applied, greatly enhanced the color and figure of the walnut.

I'm with Gunter- you have nothing to lose by staining a small sample, perhaps one of the off cuts from the stock work.


Mike

The natural color of the wood is ALWAYS the best way to go.
Unless a repair is needing to be blended or sap wood or aomething of the sort, there is no good reason to use stain.

The type of finishes used can have a real effect on the color of the wood.

I like to stain plain walnut a reddish color, beautiful stock SKB. Bobby

Alkanet with Walnut can if applied properly produce's a wood finish looking far better than just applying a straight finish. Walnut Alkanet and an oil finish can produces a finish that improves the wood's looks far above what you would expect.

This statement by Brian Dudley may be the most important in the entire conversation. Take a bunch of pieces of planed and sanded walnut, and apply as many natural or untinted wood finishes to each piece as you have on hand. I did this several years ago as an experiment using clear polyurethane, spar varnish, Minwax and Laurel Mountain oil modified urethanes, Watco Danish Oil, Waterlox tung oil, Linspeed, and several other finishes. You will be amazed at the difference in the finished appearance on the same piece of wood. There will also be a difference with different species of walnut, and even with different grain or porosity within the same species. The earlier advice to use a test sample of the same wood with your choice of finish and/or stain is the best way to avoid disappointment or do-overs.