Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Goens rifle project

I think Kathy Forster in Idaho is great for checkering. A pleasure to do business with.

Received the stock back from Mr. Bedeaux. He did a great job. I've refinished a handful of rifle stocks over the years but I will be asking for some help on this to try my best to properly sand and not loose the contours and sharp edges that need to remain. Also tips on stain and finish. I've used tung oil and tru oil in the past. I'm sure there are some superior finished out there that give the look of a in the wood oil finish that is tougher.

Mr. Bedeaux said he used Pam Wheeler in Plains Mt. for checkering. He also said she's is slow to get work back but does a great job.

Thanks for sharing the unfolding story of your build. Very useful contact information!

Excellent progress. Might I suggest you purchase a copy of Professional Stockmaking by David L Westbrook (Wolfe Pub, 1994)? As a long out of print book, I am used to them being over $100 per copy, but there are a bunch online right now more like $60 bucks. There is a whole section on sanding and finishing, and the book has excellent photos. It will help you understand what you need to do to keep the lines correct. About 5 different stockmakers share their finishing techniques, all of which are different (and none of them are 1-2 layers of Truoil slathered on). You want to get the finish down in the wood rather than a thick layer on top, but they do make you realize that there is not one magic way to do it.

You have an excellent foundation for the finished product. Don't get impatient and cut any corners at this point.

Get a collection of cork blocks, old chalkboard erasers, or other hard felt, and hard rubber erasers for sanding backing. I forgot which finish Dale Goens worked with but I think he was influential in the development of either Permalyn or Pro Custom Oil. Both of these are similar to the old formula Flecto Varithane which was a Polyurthane/Oil blend spar type varnish which I believe Goens used in addition to pure oil finishes.

My word that’s awesome!! Keep up the good work!

A update on my progress. Finished sanding and started sealing the stock
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bare wood pics



pic of the alkanet root infused Daly's Ship n Shore sealer and Teak Oil.



dried sealer pic after one application

Well done...

Very well done 👍
Can’t wait to see it finished!
What checkering pattern? I guess I missed that detail.....

Thanks for the comments. I'm trying hard to not mess this up
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Blacktail53, I'm still in the air about the checking pattern. Goens was known for his fleur de lis style. I prefer Point. Mr. Goens build log records contain almost no info. Except for the serial no. of the rifle and that it was a Winchester mdl 70. I don't even think it has a date. for when the work was done. It was one of his later rifles built in approx. 1985. So I cant go on the that to recreate the checkering.

Very nice. Good to see that the project is advancing well for you.

Very nice. I was going to suggest Alkanet but you beat me to the draw. Maybe it is the light or the polish level but is the rifle rust blued? A real classic and one I would want to handle all the time.

I have seen a couple hybrid fleur and point checkering jobs but difficult to not get too busy. I would lean towards fleurs since that was a Goen's trademark of sorts. But either will look great, your rifle.