ORIGINAL: salukipv1
haha, I had to laugh....what kind of quality do you want for the outcome? if anything better will be an improvement and fine with you, go for it.
personally woodworking/wood finishing is an artwork all its own, so having aspirations of this gorgeous stock that someone would charge you a grand to finish professionally, I wouldn't expect.....because it is a skill, and to myself just thinking about it, makes me not even want to consider it.......my main point of concern would be the checkering.......
yea if youre just going to replace it anyway and want to try it out, go for it, you may consider just having a pro restock it, though that would cost you more than $115 for a nice peice of wood and fitting etc....
If you had read the post, it says old mauser, nothing about any checkering or detail work. Besides what is the harm in learning something new. If he refinishes the stock and don't like he already had his mind set to replace it so no harm done. Anyways, to refinish the stock we need a little more info to work with. first, is it covered in cosmoline? or has it been cleaned up fairly well already? What are your expectations?If the stock is covered in cosmoline then you'll want to get it off and the easiest way I've found is to use kerosene and rags and be prepared to be at it for a while. I don't like hitting the wood with sand paper until all of the old finish is off and then as sparingly as possible. You cannot replace what you have just sanded off, keep that in mind that is why I prefer the chemical strippers that can be sprayed or brushed on. Once all of the finish is off you'll need to raise any dings and dents which can be done with a wet towel and an iron or soldering iron, your dad should be familiar with the concept of steaming a piece of wood. Then once all that is done then smooth everything out with some 600 grit wet dry paper, I like to use some linseed oil to keep the cutting to a minimum and you'll see what kind of figure you have to your wood. Rinse the stock and then your ready for stain if you want to go that route, many like to leave the wood au natural. After several coats of stain to achieve the desired color then comes the fun part of choosing what type of finish. For a first time project I would suggest an oil finish. My favorite is 1 part tung oil, 1 part linseed oil and 2 parts japan drier. Apply the first two coats and either wet sand or buff with XXXX steel wool then tack rag it to get any particles and dust off and repeat allowing 24-48 hrs between coats, repeat several times to build depth and once the desired depth is achieved apply another 6-8 coats without sanding for a nice finish and allow to cure for at least a month. Now with that said there are a lot of commercial finishes available that you can use that may be less work.