.333 Jeff - Resurrecting an old soldier

[Piet-Vis]

I recently took over possession of a .333 Jeffery by Charles Osborne. The rifle was found at a police station where it was abandoned decades ago. The rifle was in a poor but working state. The barrel is frosted and very dark. I took the rifle to a local gunsmith who re-blued the barrel and action, redid the checkering, fitted a recoil pad and gave her an "oil finish." He also replaced the buffalo horn fore-end with ebony. The action was drilled and tapped, and I fitted a little Leupold Scope. I still have a lot of work to do on her, but I believe she has class and lots of potential.

I am, however, not happy with how the stock came out. It has a strange lighter colouring at the bottom. I would love to get the colour right. Please recommend what you would do. I'm considering using the Birch Casey stock finishing kit with the walnut stain, but I don't know if this will give the desired result. The forum members have tremendous experience - Let me know what you think I should do with the stock and any other tips or suggestions you have for me.

 

[Woodcarver]

I recently took over possession of a .333 Jeffery by Charles Osborne. The rifle was found at a police station where it was abandoned decades ago. The rifle was in a poor but working state. The barrel is frosted and very dark. I took the rifle to a local gunsmith who re-blued the barrel and action, redid the checkering, fitted a recoil pad and gave her an "oil finish." He also replaced the buffalo horn fore-end with ebony. The action was drilled and tapped, and I fitted a little Leupold Scope. I still have a lot of work to do on her, but I believe she has class and lots of potential.

View attachment 580603

I am, however, not happy with how the stock came out. It has a strange lighter colouring at the bottom. I would love to get the colour right. Please recommend what you would do. I'm considering using the Birch Casey stock finishing kit with the walnut stain, but I don't know if this will give the desired result. The forum members have tremendous experience - Let me know what you think I should do with the stock and any other tips or suggestions you have for me.

View attachment 580604View attachment 580605

That color is the edge of the pith, the center, of the log. Common in a production stock, usually disguised by the heavy stains used. When your 'smith redid the finish, he removed the old finish, thus you can see that edge now. When it comes with good figure, or is closer in color to the heartwood, nothing typically needs to be done.
To blend that color now, you'll want to remove the oil finish he put on, and then try staining. Adding a little alkanet root to a walnut base will give you the best chance at reducing the visible line and will also give the rest of the stock a deeper color that will finish well with oil.
Go light with the alkanet on the first coat and see if you like it. Test it on the underside, right behind the grip cap. Add a little to the next coat if it didn't blend well. It's a trial and error process to get the color that will blend that line to where you like.

 

[Piet-Vis]

Thank you @Woodcarver
Can you suggest where I can source alkanet root and walnut base?
Do you think I should try to colour the light part more, to cover the lighter part, or should my goal be to cover the entire stock?

 

[CJW]

SB McWilliams ALKANET Stain | eBay

It has a rich history in the craft and I love making it and I love using it myself. Alkanet is all about "hue". On straight grained walnut it will give the wood a burgundy hue and looks initially like mahogany.

www.ebay.com

Here's an alkanet root infused oil. He has some tips in his description. I have a couple of coats on a stock and think it is a good product. I might try stripping your stock, adding a few layers of this to the light patch to see if it will redden it up enough, then apply it to the rest of the stock.

You can also either try to darken that spot AND the rest of the stock or just try to color match or blend the light spot to the dark. Trial and error and go slow. I wouldn't color the rest of your stock too much if at all with anything other than a bit of alkanet root as it already has a nice color to it. Simply use a walnut stain and /or alkanet dye to get the desired color on that light patch, followed by an overall oil finish of the entire stock.

JMO. Staining and finishing can be an art in itself.

 

[Woodcarver]

Thank you @Woodcarver
Can you suggest where I can source alkanet root and walnut base?
Do you think I should try to colour the light part more, to cover the lighter part, or should my goal be to cover the entire stock?

Alkanet is readily available as a powder on Amazon. Walnut stain from the local hardware supply.
I just realized you are in Africa. Don't know how this impacts your ability to acquire this stuff. Same would go for the stuff @CJW suggested. I doubt there are any restrictions on having the alkanet powder shipped to you, but the stain might need to be sourced locally.
If there is a wood shop in your area, they might have these supplies, as both are in fairly common use. The 'smith that worked on your rifle might also be a source.
Good luck with it!

 

[Piet-Vis]

Thanks, Gents
It's possible to order items from the US using a forwarding mailbox.
I will do as suggested. Will first try to just colour the lighter part and see the results, and then do the rest of the stock.

 

[tward1604]

SB McWilliams ALKANET Stain | eBay

It has a rich history in the craft and I love making it and I love using it myself. Alkanet is all about "hue". On straight grained walnut it will give the wood a burgundy hue and looks initially like mahogany.

www.ebay.com

Here's an alkanet root infused oil. He has some tips in his description. I have a couple of coats on a stock and think it is a good product. I might try stripping your stock, adding a few layers of this to the light patch to see if it will redden it up enough, then apply it to the rest of the stock.

You can also either try to darken that spot AND the rest of the stock or just try to color match or blend the light spot to the dark. Trial and error and go slow. I wouldn't color the rest of your stock too much if at all with anything other than a bit of alkanet root as it already has a nice color to it. Simply use a walnut stain and /or alkanet dye to get the desired color on that light patch, followed by an overall oil finish of the entire stock.

JMO. Staining and finishing can be an art in itself.

Can we see that stock please?

 

[CJW]

Can we see that stock please?

Sure. I'll put another couple coats on it and sand down the piece I cut off the forend to show the difference in color. It's a very bland and blonde cz550 stock so it won't look quite as regal as those in the ebay link or the OP's rifle. I would also like to do as @Woodcarver suggested and try the powder.

 

[tward1604]

I can't waint to see it. I have some of his finish too for a project but it isn't even inlet yet so I have a ways until i get finish on it.

 

[The35Whelen]

Talk about a find, and in a police station of all places. I'm shocked it wasn't destroyed a long time ago. I think it looks great as is, however I can appreciate the desire for a deeper, more uniform color. Thanks for sharing. Please keep us updated on the progress!

 

[PeteG]

I recently took over possession of a .333 Jeffery by Charles Osborne. The rifle was found at a police station where it was abandoned decades ago. The rifle was in a poor but working state. The barrel is frosted and very dark. I took the rifle to a local gunsmith who re-blued the barrel and action, redid the checkering, fitted a recoil pad and gave her an "oil finish." He also replaced the buffalo horn fore-end with ebony. The action was drilled and tapped, and I fitted a little Leupold Scope. I still have a lot of work to do on her, but I believe she has class and lots of potential.

View attachment 580603

I am, however, not happy with how the stock came out. It has a strange lighter colouring at the bottom. I would love to get the colour right. Please recommend what you would do. I'm considering using the Birch Casey stock finishing kit with the walnut stain, but I don't know if this will give the desired result. The forum members have tremendous experience - Let me know what you think I should do with the stock and any other tips or suggestions you have for me.

View attachment 580604View attachment 580605

Looking forward to seeing this all done. great stuff so far.
Hope the barrel holds up and it shoots well, at least minute-of-sable

 

[Nyati]

Try a furniture maker in your area, they have all colors of wood stains in powder, you can also mix them to get the color you prefer.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

An oil base stain is preferable. You don't want a water based stain.

Personally, I would leave this stock the way it is. Note the birdseye knot at the heel. It was a rather low grade piece of wood from the get go which is a bit of a curiosity for a custom made gun. I'm thinking it was probably ordered during the Depression with an eye to keeping costs low. Perhaps the client suddenly ran out of money before it was finished? Would not be surprising in a post Market Crash economic climate. The stock has a story to tell for sure. Perhaps that may be a selling point?

I thought about building a rifle in that very interesting historic caliber but finding components would be a challenge (understatement!). What safety is on your rifle? I don't see a side mount trigger block or Model 70 style. And there doesn't appear to be enough clearance under the scope for a Mauser flag safety. It's a military conversion, correct? Looks like expensive folding leafs express rear sight. Again, top shelf furnishings just doesn't fit with a cheap piece of wood containing multiple flaws. Very odd.

Edit: Apparently Charles Osborne Company was dissolved before the Depression in 1926. According to one source they specialized in "affordable" African and Indian hunting rifles. So there's your explanation. This gun was made for the market, not an individual. Made to look like a top end custom rifle but more or less mass produced for economy.

 

[Piet-Vis]

Looking forward to seeing this all done. great stuff so far.
Hope the barrel holds up and it shoots well, at least minute-of-sable

Minute-of-Sable!

I'll share my progress, I've ordered some stuff from Ebay, it usually takes about 3 sometimes 4 weeks to get to this side of the world

 

[rookhawk]

Might I suggest you also get a red New England Custom Gun pad in 1.25" length to add as well? The current recoil pad stack doesn't look so great, but the 1.25" NECG gives the illusion of a proper one inch orange pad even though its a bit bigger.

The stock was sanded too lightly, hence all the dark dings that wouldn't fill nor steam out. If it were me, I would not refinish it again. I would figure out what oil was used, I would remove half the finish with spirits, and I would build it back up with a pigmented oil to get the stock grundgy and a bit too dark, hence, giving it back its apparent age and reducing the obvious partial-refinish.

The barrel interior can be enhanced a lot with a bronze brush, with bronze wool wrapped around it, with a cotton patch rolled around that like a cigarette, then doused in Kroil and then finally with JB bore paste smeared on the exterior. 50 passes in and out, then a full cleaning. Then another 50 passes, then a full cleaning. Then a last 50 passes, and a full cleaning, the most meticulous of your life. You'll find the rifling is far better than first claimed, the dark gray in the rifling grooves is clean, the rifling is far deeper, and it may shoot very well.

I bought a wall hanger once that had rotted rifling. After the above procedure, the 7" groups became sub-MOA groups with handloads. It turned a $4200 gun into a $13,800 gun when I sold it, but that gun is worth $25,000 today, only 5 years later. The cleaning regimen DOES work and it removes nothing of originality.

 

[Piet-Vis]

I took @rookhawk advice and decided I might as well try to wash the oil finish off while I wait for the Birchwood Casey kit I ordered online from the US. This being Africa North of Limpopo and quality workmanship not being one of the things we excel in, I was not surprised when I washed a thin layer of oil coat of without too much effort. The results are posted below. My take is that I need to sand off what appears to be an old finish/stain before I can proceed. Agreed?

I have a question about the cigarette method of barrel cleaning - Brass brush, brass wool, covered by a cotton batch covered in kroil and then smeared with JB bore paste. I want to better understand why and how that works. Perhaps I misunderstand you, but how will the brass brush/brass wool (I did not know that existed!) act to clean the barrel underneath the cotton patch?
I had given the barrel a few hundred strokes of first JB Bore Paste and then a few hundred more of Bore Bright. My patches are coming out clean - bore still looks terrible. I was wondering if ceramic treatment like Dyna-Tek wont help?

 

[rookhawk]

The bronze wool and bristle only provides structure, a few bristles poke through the patch at most, the Kroil and JB do all the work.

For all things holy, do not use birchwood casey on that gun. It will be far worse than what you had already. I didn’t say to remove all the finish as you’ve done, I said take off half. No sanding! Then use a pigmented finish like Timberluxe. The gun will be unfit for even firewood if you use bitch woods BS oil finish or even worse, truoil, or even worse their whole catastrophic kit.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I think the "cigarette" method is mostly about compression while scouring. I rely more on compression with rags than scouring with brushes. I drop the weighted end through the chamber end, then step on it and draw repeatedly to pull cord through till the looped end is about to enter the receiver end. Then I slip a small rag strip soaked with cleaner through the loop and finish pulling it through. Gun always remains muzzle down. Pull the rifle upward while repeatedly stepping on the cord. The object is for the rag to be so tight in the bore you can barely pull it through. The harder it is to draw through, the better. I use a shotgun bore brush of appropriate size (28 gauge for 30-06) to clean the chamber. Wrapping it in thin cotton soaked in cleaner is very effective. I attach the brush to one section of cleaning rod and use a variable speed hand drill to polish the chamber. If using a rod to clean bores (I rarely do any more), always work from the chamber end. It is said by gun magazine "experts" that an aluminum cleaning rod can somehow damage the crown at the muzzle (though a harder copper bullet will not?). I personally think they're full of BS (shocking!) but there it is.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Use a chemical stripper to finish the job you have started. These are water soluable. Paint the stuff on, let it set for about ten minutes, and scrape off excess with a flat putty knife. May take a couple of repeats to get most of the finish off. Then paint with stripper and scrub off with water and a brass wire brush. Be gentle with checkering. I use the tip of a knife to scrape the stripper from checkering valleys. Eventually you will have it down to clean bare wood. Use the tip of hot steam iron against a wet rag to steam out dents. They can often be raised to surface again though you will still the wrinkle in wood grain. Then sand it smooth. Clean the checkered areas with water and a tooth brush. Avoid sanding the checkered areas. At the very end use 00 steel wool to lightly knock the fuzz off checkered areas.

I have used BC True Oil. It's okay. I prefer Linspeed brand stock oil but may not be available for you in RSA. I apply a coat of oil finish. After it's dried about a half hour till tacky, I rub each coat off with paper towels and throw them away. Repeat at least a dozen times till grain is filled. Skip the checkered areas until the very last coat. Just one light final coat over checkering. I use my finger when applying the oil and rub it in. I have refinished a couple dozen stocks this way. The stripper and water will much more effectively lift the stain from the wood. Sanding out would be a lot more work.

 

[rookhawk]

Respectfully, we’re operating in different planes @Ontario Hunter . Your recommendations of TruOil and Linspeed might be a way to put a finish on a gun, but its also would reduce the appraisal on a vintage british gun by thousands of dollars. I was trying to get the OP‘s gun to as lightly and correctly conserved as possible, erasing signs of heavy handed amateur gunsmithing. Truoil and a light sanding and that gun will be $400 in a gun rack.