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Is this .250-3000, was professional re-bored from a 22 Hi Power to .250-3000 way back in the 50's and it's a tack driver.
The rifle is in beautiful condition and it's tough to tell it's been refinished.
The stock was chipped on the bottom and it had a crappy butt plate that was not original to the rifle or the year 1913.
I sent it to the Tri-Cities, WA with a sacrificial 99 Savage stock to have it professionally repaired. It also has an after market butt plate but it's better than the crap that was on there.
I didn't have Bill completely refinish the repaired stock though, I wanted to do that part myself.
It arrived yesterday and I'll need to leach some of the old oil out of the wood where the receiver is placed.

That came out nice, You should drop blairvt a PM. He has a 1920 with a chipped toe.

What's your plan for concealing the straight line, or just stain'n'go??

I don't know about Sportsdad, but I've concealed lines on small repairs by making faux pores in the wood along the seam and sometimes adding a little artistic darkening to blend in grain lines before finishing. I figure the faux pores fill with finish and ever so slightly help camoflauge the seam. I'm sure there are a thousand and one tricks to doing this too.

I think I may just stain and go. Full strength Walnut stain (not rusty walnut) . It won't completely hide it but it's not a collector, it's a shooter!

Sportsdad60- I just sent you a private message.

Thom

And odds are nobody will ever notice the seam unless you go out of your way to show it to them.

I got the stock sanded smooth enough to retain the character of it's history and not fill every flaw. 2400 grit-cloth backed.
Then I first started with diluted brown walnut stain but soon realized I needed to match the forearm wood (which was not stripped, it was in excellent shape)
So I darkened the wood with 100% stain (water based)
Then I applied its first coat of Tung oil in this case. Its got a wet look at the moment.

Can you see the repair? This is from about 12" view point from stock.
I like how Bill maintained the perch belly.
I just love how grains of wood you couldn't see jump out with a coat of oil on it.
Should be done in a week or so.

Poor lighting in this Cell phone photo, but you can see I was matching the color and finish of the original the forearm(matching numbers) with the new finish... the forearm stock was baby butt smooth, no varnish, probably the original Savage finish (did they use Tung oil in 1913?Anyone know what they used?)

I got the color pretty close,eh? I will snap better photos with everything buttoned up in a week.

You did good. David

Thank you David.

Looks good Sportsdad60, You've just added another 100 years to that rifle's life! Give me your address so I can send you some walnut scraps. We don't want you cutting up any more 99 stocks for material!! (even if it is a clunky old boyds butt)

That early, the predominate finish was varnish, as far as I know. Oiled examples have had 100+ years to have fallen prey to the ministrations of refinishers, thus adding to the confusion.

I would call that a true "professional" repair. I don't see any sign of the toe being repaired. JMO Congrats!
JW

That looks great!

Good colour match with the fore stock and you would have to look very close to see the repair, awesome job!

Thanks Gents.
Here is Bill's info if you want his services. The repair was under $170 including shipping.
Of course, I did my own finish but he is a pro in that area obviously.

http://www.gunstockmaker.com/

4 coats of Tung oil applied now. I've been waiting 24 hrs for each coat to dry. I started by lightly rubbing oil in, wiping down, then drying. WIth 0000 wool I was knocking down the whiskers in between applications (first 2) then follow up applications with thicker oil and 100% cotton cloth.


After 6 applications I'll let it dry for a few days.
The rear stock should shine up with Renaissance wax once the tung is all absorbed. Yes, I've been working on the stock detached from the receiver. This was just an anxious photo op.
The color to the original forearm isn't a perfect match, but I'll take it.

All I can say is wow! I wish I had the wood working skills to pull that off. That's a gorgeous gun and I wouldn't feel one bit bad about it being refinished.

Thanks! It will shine once everything is done. And I am a rookie to woodworking (I was a machinist by trade in another life)
I would not have done a thing to the rifle had the butt stock not have a toe busted on the perch belly.

Here was the before:

For what my opinion is worth, I like the finish on this 99 much better than the last one you posted about. And I'm not saying that there was anything wrong with that one. I like short rifles like this. Nice job. Very nice job.