Canadian Airgun Forum

Yesterday I posted a message asking for help finding Aqua Fortis (thanks for the replies!) and after doing more research I find that I was looking for the wrong thing.

Don’t know how many on the forum make or refinish their own stocks but I thought that I would pass on what I found (paraphrased from several posts on the American Long Rifles forum http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/ind ... ic=37723.0 )

Aqua Fortis is the medieval, alchemical name for nitric acid...just the acid...not iron or anything else dissolved in the acid. The acid, when applied to wood and heated, will color the wood darker (depending on the concentration, tannins and sugar in the wood a reddish brown).

The Ferric Nitrate solution (very improperly called "aqua fortis") generated when iron is dissolved in nitric acid, will produce a darker color when it is applied to wood and heated as the iron is now part of the chemical process that imparts color to the wood (depending on the concentration, tannins and sugar in the wood a tan to dark brown).

So if you ask a chemical supply house for "aqua fortis" they will give you nitric acid, not the ferric nitrate solution I should have been looking for.

There are a lot of recipes for homemade Ferric Nitrate on the web but IMHO, it is a lot more practical (and safer) to buy the commercially available crystals and dissolve them in water (or denatured alcohol) when needed.

Anyway, hope this is of some interest. I plan on making a “sport stock” for my FWB 300S this winter; I’ll post a picture when it is finished.

Cheers!
Hank

Maple with aqua fortis, I sold this rifle a while ago and regret it.

_________________
SKANZY

Thanks for the post and tips Vana2!

That is one gorgeous looking stock and rifle I might add! It's clear the reason why you're experiencing some separation anxiety.

Avianmanor

_________________
*Air Arms S510 Extra*Artemis M11 MK II*CZ 200S*Benjamin Marauder*Brocock Concept*Cometa Orion*Daystate Huntsman*Daystate Revere*FX Dreamline*FX Streamline*Hatsan BT65*Kral Puncher*Reximex RPA*QB78D*Weihrauch HW100S*Artemis PP700SA*PP750*Snowpeak CP1-M*

This stock, a highly figured piece of maple, was stained with AquaFortis, then blushed with a heat gun, then finished in Tung Oil.

_________________
Best Wishes
Daryl

Same rifle.

_________________
Best Wishes
Daryl

Thanks for posting those pictures!

Beautiful stocks - if the figure on my maple is half as nice as those then I will be very pleased. Makes me anxious to be cutting wood!

Cheers!
Hank

Very nice work. I would never guess it is maple.
I've made a number of stocks in walnut and in birdseye maple. I do actually like my maple stock natural, highly polished and a few coats of tung oil.

Other, softer, lower grade maple.

_________________
Best Wishes
Daryl

Some nice walnut, no stain.

_________________
Best Wishes
Daryl

Very nice checkering there

@ Daryl

Beautiful stocks!! Wouldn't mind a muzzleloader in my collection.

I'll use a touch of stain on a very plain wood to add a bit of zip to the grain but rarely on wood that has some character. I'm refinishing a nicely figured high contrast walnut FT stock for my TX200 at the moment. For some reason the stock was originally stained so dark that the grain was barely visible! Each to their own I guess.

Even what seems a gentle stain can darken walnut excessively. The lighter French and some English walnuts can take a stain and not be too dark.
NA Black walnut, on the other hand will almost go black with a stain.
The checkering on the SxS 12 bore flint shotgun, is typically English - this one of high count, but flat topped as usual.

_________________
Best Wishes
Daryl

This is a maple (and ebony) stock I've made when customizing my Swedish Mauser. Natural with a few coats of tung oil. Just for a change from the dark wood.

Back in the 50's a lot of modern rifles were built up on maple, figured and plain, and simply oiled, no stain.
For good quality walnut, no stain is just fine.
The top 2 are my 16 bore SxS with rifled right barrel, smooth left- after refinishing the stock.

_________________
Best Wishes
Daryl

Same 16 bore Husky SxS- stock refinish.

_________________
Best Wishes
Daryl