Thread: Wood Stock Sealant

I have to shave the inside of a walnut stock [ barrel Channel]
Is Boiled Linseed oil as good as any sealant or should I get something else.

Snow seal for your boots, apply to the barrel channel and melt it in with a warm hairdryer

I have used Birchwood Casy True Oil in the past and it did the trick. Probably cheaper options though.

There are certainly better sealants (like epoxy) but there's probably not much point sealing it more thoroughly than the rest of the stock. What's the current finish?

Current finish is Boiled linseed oil. It's what I had.)
Top Rifle

Boiled linseed will be fine - mix a tiny amount of turps with first coat-linseed will soak in better - suggest light sand first to remove any dirt etc

Looks good. I'd stick with the BLO too. If it was end grain then it might be worth sealing more thoroughly, but otherwise you might as well match the exterior for water resistance.

Idle musing here, but you could probably make a specific case for not sealing the barrel channel more thoroughly than the outside. When the stock is picking up atmospheric moisture I could see benefit in all surfaces picking it up at the same rate. If the wood near the barrel stayed drier than the wood on the underside of the forearm, I imagine you'd see a slight warping tendency towards the barrel. Like a bimetallic strip bending. Better that everything shrinks and grows evenly.

I wouldn't put too much stock in that mind you, I only just came up with it. I'll probably decide I'm wrong by the end of the day

An old trick when finishing a stock is to use a thick sandsoap solution. This seals and sands. Then finish with rubbed in boiled linseed oil once sand soap is dried and rubbed down. Don't forget the area under recoil pad and the checkering.

1/3 each boiled linseed, turps and cabots.

BLO doesn't block moisture, but does repel water droplets. What I have always been lead to believe with timber stocks is that you do actually want the stock to be able to 'breathe' or pass a bit of moisture in and out of the timber - if it doesn't breathe as such and you leave it in an area of unevenly applied heat (like sunlight) the timber gets hotter on one side and drags some of the trapped moisture into the warmer timber.

I had a cheaper .22 rimfire that was secured into the stock by a single screw, and fully bedded into the wood. It was seriously bad for going to the pack when it was left in the sun, wandering zero and groups going to the pack - really bad to the point of being useless over 50m. That was the explanation I was given when we found the stock was putting pressure on one side of the barrel, then turn it over in the sun and you could damn near see the wood twist. Ended up bedding it with Devcon steel and floating half of the barrel (and a good 5mm plus of devcon, not just a skim). That sorted it out, but very frustrating and it stuck with me how bad it was.

At the end of that, if the rest of the stock is finished in BLO I'd run with that - it'll play.