What has happened to the stock oil thread?
I'm looking for Damascus's note on making stock oil and his recipe and any notes on Gun Arabic and Copal .

Salopian. You will find my efforts on Traditional stock finishing in "frequently Asked Questions" any further questions send me a PM.

Salopian,

I used damascus's recipe with the gum copal manilla. Bought digital scales and identical ingredient and could not get the gum copal to run into the oil whatever i did the gum copal came out of solution and formed a jelly like substance that was uniquely interesting. In the end i poured off the oil residue and filtered it and it was the most pleasant smelling oil - something of turps and something of manila i ever had on the bench - it wasn't useless but not was it much better than anything else i had at the time - I'd mix another batch only for that smell again.

If anyone gets any further with it than i did i would be interested to hear - Ive no doubt i misinterpreted some key stage of the operation its been a few years since i tried it

Demonwolf at the end of that posting other people had the same problem. in the end it was all down to the type of dryers that I added, the dryers I used was a bottle I had had for some time and based on Lead. As we now know some heavy metals are now frowned on with lead being at the top of the horror list just below kryptonite. The dryers sold under the names of Japan and Terebin are based on some other less toxic substance having the Lead removed, but in changing things it has an extremely strange effect on vegetable oils like Linseed and Tung oils. The cure is relatively simple you can leave the dryers out completely though it will slow drying time a little, or use just a couple of drops and no more this should stop the oil turning to jelly.

damascus

Ah I'm glad we got to the bottom of it - lead based driers are pretty impossible to get hold of now days.

Just go"s to show that those "OLD Buggers had lots of secrets that if they didn't want you to find out how they did "stuff" you were screwed (WE, all my lot back in the 1940s & 50s had to find out for ourselves(NO Internet etc!!) "NMUL"...Not many of us left "!!One of my treasured books worth a read.The Craft of the Gunsmith by G.W.Spearing,(Call Carol @ Gunnerman Books)..dt

Glad to see you posting Crossedchisles.

Dave , good to see you posting , yes Geoff was/is? a good old boy, sadly I keep going to funerals , but a few of us live on , thanks to the reviving influence of Guinness.