Rossi Rifleman

Just a note here for those who aren't interested in the Urethane finishes. One thing that has bothered me has been how soft the wood on the stock of my Rossi is. It picks up bumps and gouges really easy. I have made a number of knives that had soft wood handles and I have found Watco's Danish Oil Finish retains the wood grain and feel but really hardens up the wood underneath. It is pretty easy to use, just finish out the wood with 600 grit sandpaper and stain (or not), then let everything dry out for several days. The dryer the wood the better because you want it to draw in the finish. I like to heat the wood up with a hair dryer, then I wipe it down with the Danish Oil Finish. I keep applying more Danish Oil Finish every hour or so until it stops absorbing the finish, then wipe it down one more time so you have a clean surface and let it dry. This is not a shiny finish, but it will harden up that soft wood considerably. Now this finish will not hold up to repeated trips through the dish washer (as I found out when I used it on one of my mother's kitchen knives years ago), but it will stand up to years of use out in the rain and snow. Just wipe it dry when you get back home.

Watco Danish Oil is exactly what I use, and does exactly what you mentioned. It not only seals the wood, it hardens the surface. I don't personally care for the shiny, glass look, but I do like the deep, soft shine of Danish Oil.

jd

Might be a good alternative to my poly tactic. I don't like shiny either so I use satin but this sounds great.

On my 25MN I used a cleaning with mineral spirits on a medium fine Scotch-Brite very lightly then several treatments with boiled linseed oil because I liked the color, the finish was OK, it just hadn't been taken care of wood wise. I wiped it off with coarse cotton each of the first two times to remove more yacht but the third coat I put on heavy and wet and let it soak for a few days before I buffed it with soft cotton. It's needed nothing since. Shine is from flash. THIS IS A "plain" MARLIN!

(BTW I ditched those sorry tall rings)

GG, that looks nice and has the "glow" of the wood showing well.


jd

Thanks. Marlin made it with pressed checkering. I just woke it up. Much easier than my 10/22 jobs. Need to rethink that.