Thoughts or suggestions sought on a refinish.

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RhinoDave

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I'm currently redoing the Traditions Pennsylvania in the picture below and am pretty set on what I want to do with it. The problem is with the other rifle. It is a Hopkins and Allen  with a two piece stock. I'm toying with the idea of making it into a half stock instead of the two piece full stock. The forend is long enough that it shouldn't look odd. The front piece is 19" long out of a 36" barrel. Looking for any ideas or opinions regarding this idea. Let me know what you all think.
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Doesn't that H&A have brackets welded/soldered to the bottom of the barrel to attach the front piece?

I have an Italian PR rifle that is similar and it has thin metal brackets that accepts the screws. If yours is like that, it might be difficult to remove them and still make the barrel look nice. Also what about the ramrod keepers?
 
patocazador said:
Doesn't that H&A have brackets welded/soldered to the bottom of the barrel to attach the front piece?.........
I'm not sure what type of tenon is holding the fore end on but it is pinned. I'm kind of assuming it's a standard tenon dovetailed to the barrel. IF I decide to convert to a half stock. I would fabricate a flat piece of steel to fit tightly into the dovetail slot and slightly peen the edges to reduce the gaps to a very thin line. The under barrel rib and the ramrod pipes would be soldered on instead of drilling and tapping a bunch of holes. Track of the wolf has under barrel ribs for ~$20  I would also replace the rear pin with a reinforced tennon, tenon plates and a key. Possibly going to two keys like a mountain rifle instead of one.
 
I reckon it would convert nicely to a half stock, failing that perhaps a brass wear plate could be placed over the current two piece joint, and make it look like a period repair. You could over all slim that for end right down, like an early style. I don't know how good a lock those spanish rifles had, ie how reliable a sparker she is.
 
I'm kind of on the fence right now as to what I'll end up doing. Converting to a half stock will cost a little more and also require a little more labor. I don't know if I want to invest that much into it. As Gordon mentioned this is a spanish made rifle and lock. The barrels have a fair reputation but the locks.... not so much. This one has already proven that it is inconsistant and will require some work to get it igniting dependably. The main reason I'm looking at the half stock conversion is how badly finished the forend is. There is a very noticable dip along the top edge that is almost all the way down the side flat of the barrel and there is a very wide gap at the nosecap.
 
I wonder if you could get an RPL lock from TOW to drop into that rifle. I was gifted a lovely early style .36 long rifle, early 1970s' custom job, Lancaster style with a Douglas barrel. It had a Russ Hamm lock which a good local locksmith had done work on over the years and it still did not work reliably. I purchased an L and R RPL lock from TOW and had it tuned by a chap in Minnesota before having it shipped down under. Works a treat. I am not even sure those early Spanish reproductions had a bridle in the lock. From what you say looks like a half stock might be the go.  I guess soldering on a rib could be a challenge. I have to redo one of my half stock rifles, at this stage the blessings of loctite !!
 
Finally getting to this refinishing job. Decided to just leave it as is and just do a basic refinish. Some teasers as I go along.
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You could always replace the brass insert with wood or horn, depending on what color the refinished stock will be. Below pic is a CVA kit that I modified.

.50 CVA Kentucky w Inlays.JPG
 
Rough one to answer I can say when I refinish I might change a color or leave raw wood and tru oil I try as much as possible not to change configuration unless I have to. I see your doing same it is nice. Even if cut down still would have looked good
 
RhinoDave, If you would like a nice dark water based stain that will give rich color and not hide the grain try black walnut husks soaked in water. That will even make oak dark and rich in hue, I often use it on picture frames as well as stocks. IF you are not able to get husks I sure some one can give a hand.
 
Track of the Wolf carries a good selection of stains and finishs. I am partial to the Laurel Mountain stains. I used a mix of cherry and walnut stain then 800 grit light sanding to help bring out the wood on the above pictured CVA kit, finished with Tru Oil. As you probably know, water based stains will raise the wood and have to be lightly sanded (neither good or bad, just a fact) Alcohol stains (Laurel Mountain) are alcohol based stains and do not raise the wood. As far as finishes available, you have spray and brush on poly, Tung Oil, Tru Oil and a dozen more. I have used a 50/50 mix of Formby's tung oil and Watco Teak oil finish on a rifle stock, but that was walnut and I did 8 hand rubbed coats (took 3 days for each coat to dry) up to 800 grit.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I have actually tried homemade walnut stain but wasn't happy with the results. Probably my lack of expertise causing less than desired results. This rifle is European beech and is rather plain grained so I'm using Dixies antique stain which is a dark reddish color. Plan on using BC genuine oil for the finish. I've use it on the last three rifles I've refinished and am pleased with the results. Working on replacing the poorly fitting toe plate with a longer and nicer one.
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Well it's finished except for replacing a couple of screws that are buggered up. Finish is LMF browning on the barrel and Dixies antique stain with BC genuine oil on the stock20210304_154638.jpg20210304_154658.jpg20210304_154731.jpg
 
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