Building a Rifle on a Tight Budget

[fourfive8]

Both of those CRF Win 70 actions are from the New Haven era between the CRF reintroduction in 1992 and the FN takeover in 2006. Easy to tell because the triggers are old style M 70 triggers. FN Win 70, post New Haven triggers are a boxed style trigger. Those two actions are absolutely excellent for building custom rifles and have IMO the best hunting rifle trigger ever designed,

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Typically you will need to repaint wet stripper coats several times before removing. Use warm water and a small brass brush to scrub off stripper laden with stock finish. It will be gassy so do it in a well ventilated area. May take several attempts to get all the finish off.

 

[WI-2021]

Typically you will need to repaint wet stripper coats several times before removing. Use warm water and a small brass brush to scrub off stripper laden with stock finish. It will be gassy so do it in a well ventilated area. May take several attempts to get all the finish off.

Thank you. That will be my next attempt. Last time I only applied a single coat and it appeared to remove a very thin skin of finish. Next time I'll coat it multiple times and let it work longer. I'm really hoping to avoid doing much sanding since the stock is in great condition and doesn't need it if I can get the finish off by chemical means. Ventilation isn't a problem as long as the weather is half decent; I have overhead doors on both ends of my shop and plenty of fans. This is some rather nasty stuff.

 

[WI-2021]

Both of those CRF Win 70 actions are from the New Haven era between the CRF reintroduction in 1992 and the FN takeover in 2006. Easy to tell because the triggers are old style M 70 triggers. FN Win 70, post New Haven triggers are a boxed style trigger. Those two actions are absolutely excellent for building custom rifles and have IMO the best hunting rifle trigger ever designed,

Thank you. I am rather curious exactly when they were made, but it's not particularly important as long as I know the general time frame for parts compatibility. I am rather curious what Winchester would have to say about them, but they'd probably be none too happy about them being in the wild due to the lack of heat treat. FWIW, I plan to use the factory triggers on these. A bit of stoning may happen, depending on how they feel once they're built. A lot of this build will be new to me, but I'm confident in my ability to stone a trigger.

My initial goal for the first build will be a slightly improved Safari Express. "Improvements" (quotes because they're all subjective) will be the stock finish and bluing, assuming I don't screw them up, a better recoil pad, and I'll use NECG express sights and barrel band. As much as I like quarter ribs, I'll probably skip it on this one since it will be scoped. Really a pretty basic build. Any engraving or custom walnut would only happen later, if ever. Just to introduce a bit of sacrilege, I'll also thread it for a suppressor. Whether one is ever installed remains to be seen, but the threads will be there and the front sight will be set back accordingly. I'll do a thread protector that matches the barrel profile to pretty it up a bit.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Thank you. That will be my next attempt. Last time I only applied a single coat and it appeared to remove a very thin skin of finish. Next time I'll coat it multiple times and let it work longer. I'm really hoping to avoid doing much sanding since the stock is in great condition and doesn't need it if I can get the finish off by chemical means. Ventilation isn't a problem as long as the weather is half decent; I have overhead doors on both ends of my shop and plenty of fans. This is some rather nasty stuff.

Rinsing with water will raise the grain and you'll have to take the "fuzz" off. You'll have to rinse with water or the residue of stripper will erode new finish. You can use steel wool to take off the fuzz. Better than sandpaper.

 

[WI-2021]

Rinsing with water will raise the grain and you'll have to take the "fuzz" off. You'll have to rinse with water or the residue of stripper will erode new finish. You can use steel wool to take off the fuzz. Better than sandpaper.

Thanks again for the tip. I've done a fair bit of woodworking, to include building an electric guitar, but this is my first experience with stripping and refinishing a rifle stock. I presume 0000 steel wool would be preferred to knock off the fuzz? Degreased, of course.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Thanks again for the tip. I've done a fair bit of woodworking, to include building an electric guitar, but this is my first experience with stripping and refinishing a rifle stock. I presume 0000 steel wool would be preferred to knock off the fuzz? Degreased, of course.

000 will work. Only lightly touch checkering. You can use a hot clothes iron tip against a wet rag to steam up dents.

 

[WI-2021]

Yesterday morning I went out to the garage, put "Pour Some Sugar On Me" on repeat, and practiced my stripping. No, not like that....

It's working, but slowly. I tried heat as well, which didn't do much. Patience will be required. The finish on these M70 stocks is definitely catalyzed and I can only imagine it would have been pretty bomb-proof if I'd have left it alone. For better or for worse, I can't leave anything alone though if I think it can be improved. The factory finish definitely hid the grain quite a bit. I'm now contemplating trying to recut the checkering. What's there is grippy, but not pretty. I'd keep the same pattern, or at least try to, but this would introduce another element of risk since I've never attempted it before.

The suspicion is creeping up on me that I may have jumped into a deeper rabbit-hole than I anticipated but I'll proceed slowly. No homemade custom stocks or self-taught engraving.... yet.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Yesterday morning I went out to the garage, put "Pour Some Sugar On Me" on repeat, and practiced my stripping. No, not like that....

It's working, but slowly. I tried heat as well, which didn't do much. Patience will be required. The finish on these M70 stocks is definitely catalyzed and I can only imagine it would have been pretty bomb-proof if I'd have left it alone. For better or for worse, I can't leave anything alone though if I think it can be improved. The factory finish definitely hid the grain quite a bit. I'm now contemplating trying to recut the checkering. What's there is grippy, but not pretty. I'd keep the same pattern, or at least try to, but this would introduce another element of risk since I've never attempted it before.

The suspicion is creeping up on me that I may have jumped into a deeper rabbit-hole than I anticipated but I'll proceed slowly. No homemade custom stocks or self-taught engraving.... yet.

Don't use heat. It makes the stripper evaporate quicker. Expect four or five attempts before the finish all comes off. Again, use a small brass bristle brush and warm water to scrub off stripper.

Let's see what the checkering looks like.

 

[WI-2021]

Don't use heat. It makes the stripper evaporate quicker. Expect four or five attempts before the finish all comes off. Again, use a small brass bristle brush and warm water to scrub off stripper.

Let's see what the checkering looks like.

I tried heat without stripper on the stock in the hopes that it would help the finish release. No dice. I've been using a plastic bristled brush with a reasonable level of success so far since the only brass brushes I have are pretty beat. I'm rather surprised that the stripper isn't breaking down the plastic brushes, but I'm not complaining. It definitely did a number on the plastic putty knife I initially tried. Progress continues. 4-5 coats may be optimistic; this finish is really tough, but it's letting go with time and elbow grease. Once it's gone, I plan to give it a bath in mineral spirits to wash the stripper and any other contaminants away. I have a planter box that I used to soak guns in to remove cosmoline back in my mil-surp days that it will fit in. The final finish will be BLO and I'll fill the grain with sanding dust. I've done oil finishes before on other things, but usually tung oil.

The checkering is currently swimming in paint stripper, but I'll post pics after I get the finish off. The good news is that the plastic brush doesn't seem to be harming the checkering. The bad news is that it was kind of flattened to begin with. I have a few books on the subject, but no experience and no tools. If I tackle it, it will be a learning experience. I'm also kicking around the idea of an ebony grip cap and fore-end tip. There's that rabbit-hole again....

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I tried heat without stripper on the stock in the hopes that it would help the finish release. No dice. I've been using a plastic bristled brush with a reasonable level of success so far since the only brass brushes I have are pretty beat. I'm rather surprised that the stripper isn't breaking down the plastic brushes, but I'm not complaining. It definitely did a number on the plastic putty knife I initially tried. Progress continues. 4-5 coats may be optimistic; this finish is really tough, but it's letting go with time and elbow grease. Once it's gone, I plan to give it a bath in mineral spirits to wash the stripper and any other contaminants away. I have a planter box that I used to soak guns in to remove cosmoline back in my mil-surp days that it will fit in.

The checkering is currently swimming in paint stripper, but I'll post pics after I get the finish off. The good news is that the plastic brush doesn't seem to be harming the checkering. The bad news is that it was kind of flattened to begin with. I have a few books on the subject, but no experience and no tools. If I tackle it, it will be a learning experience. I'm also kicking around the idea of an ebony grip cap and fore-end tip. There's that rabbit-hole again....

Mineral spirits will NOT get all the finish and stripper removed, especially out of the grain. Hardware stores or craft shops should have the brass bristle brushes. These days it is getting harder to find good stripper. The environmentally friendly shit made of orange juice has taken over the market. I would suggest for the next stock that you use a dull knife blade dragged across the wood to chip off the old finish. Many production rifles have acrylic finish. It can be sprayed on and dries quick so less issues with dust. But that crap is a pain in the butt to strip off. However, relatively easy to chip off because it's brittle.

I made this grip cap from block of zebrawood. My first attempt. Not for the faint of heart. Dad's old Shopsmith was essential for the task.

 

[WI-2021]

Mineral spirits will NOT get all the finish and stripper removed, especially out of the grain. Hardware stores or craft shops should have the brass bristle brushes. These days it is getting harder to find good stripper. The environmentally friendly shit made of orange juice has taken over the market. I would suggest for the next stock that you use a dull knife blade dragged across the wood to chip off the old finish. Many production rifles have acrylic finish. It can be sprayed on and dries quick so less issues with dust. But that crap is a pain in the butt to strip off. However, relatively easy to chip off because it's brittle.

I made this grip cap from block of zebrawood. My first attempt. Not for the faint of heart. Dad's old Shopsmith was essential for the task.
View attachment 671949

Thanks again! If there's any finish left tomorrow I'll pick up a few brass brushes on my way home from work. FWIW, the Citrustrip does seem to work, but the nasty Jasco stuff does work better. I have lacquer thinner too, which seems to mostly remove the stripper, just not enough to bathe the stock in. I'm pretty sure this isn't acrylic; it seems way too tough, but next time I'll try scraping to be sure. I did scuff sand it with 150 grit prior to applying the stripper with the idea that it would give the stripper more surface area to work on. Things are progressing a bit more quickly now as the finish breaks down. Still an exercise in patience; an area in which I'm generally lacking.

I have a Shopsmith too; I bought mine from my wife's uncle when he got older and couldn't get out in his shop as much anymore. According to my research, mine was made in 1951. I mostly use it as a drill press and occasionally a lathe, but I have a pile of other accessories for it. I'm curious how you went about doing your fore-end tip and possibly grip cap (can't see that in the pic). I was thinking of just cutting my fore-end straight and adding the tip. I may also add a contrasting wood spacer just for fun. That depends on what the stock looks like after stripping and a few coats of oil. Squaring everything up will no doubt require fixturing. My grip cap area has a bit of a radius on it, so i need to figure out how to get that flat without screwing it up too.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Thanks again! If there's any finish left tomorrow I'll pick up a few brass brushes on my way home from work. FWIW, the Citrustrip does seem to work, but the nasty Jasco stuff does work better. I have lacquer thinner too, which seems to mostly remove the stripper, just not enough to bathe the stock in. I'm pretty sure this isn't acrylic; it seems way too tough, but next time I'll try scraping to be sure. I did scuff sand it with 150 grit prior to applying the stripper with the idea that it would give the stripper more surface area to work on. Things are progressing a bit more quickly now as the finish breaks down. Still an exercise in patience; an area in which I'm generally lacking.

I have a Shopsmith too; I bought mine from my wife's uncle when he got older and couldn't get out in his shop as much anymore. According to my research, mine was made in 1951. I mostly use it as a drill press and occasionally a lathe, but I have a pile of other accessories for it. I'm curious how you went about doing your fore-end tip and possibly grip cap (can't see that in the pic). I was thinking of just cutting my fore-end straight and adding the tip. I may also add a contrasting wood spacer just for fun. That depends on what the stock looks like after stripping and a few coats of oil. Squaring everything up will no doubt require fixturing. My grip cap area has a bit of a radius on it, so i need to figure out how to get that flat without screwing it up too.

Build a jig to chop off the fore end tip flat. Simply use a piece of scrap dimension lumber and a straight edge and ruler to draw a strait line lengthwise down the middle of the board (make sure the line is exactly the same distance from one side of the board). I carried the line over the end of the board (you'll see why). Then use long screws to attach the stock (through action screw holes in bottom metal) upside down onto the board with screws in the line. Use a square at line over end of the board to make sure the bottom of stock's barrel channel is aligned with the pencil line. Then you can use either a chop saw or radial arm saw to make your cut with the board against the saw's fence to keep the cut square. Of course my cut at an angle was more complicated. Don't forget to tape the cutting zone with masking tape to prevent chipping. Use a fine tooth cutting blade. Below is a similar jig setup on a board for drilling out crossbolts in the second stock I picked up for my 404 build.

Here's the jig for drilling the block to make barrel channel for fore end tip. After the hole was drilled, I ripped the block in half.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I did not have time to make a grip cap for the first stock. I only finished building my 404J in time for safari at end of August '23. When I returned, goose season opened here. Time to send the 404 off to be blued. When the geese left around Oct 20, I packed up the dogs and returned to Montana to hunt birds, deer, and elk. Back here before Christmas and winter set in. The deal for new stock came up in February. It already had a blued steel grip cap.

You could try what I did to make a zebrawood plug to fill my 404's hollow bolt knob.

Cut a disk of desired wood and thickness. Drill a hole approx in center. Measure width of grip cap zone with caliper. Roughly trim the disk to that size. Run a long narrow bolt the width of screw you'll use to attach grip cap. Then screw on a nut and washer and tighten to what will become backside of grip cap. Flip your Shopsmith to lathe position. Tighten the end of the machine screw in drill chuck. Turn rpms down fairly slow. Start spinning and use a sanding block to trim the disk to widest diameter of oval grip cap. Position it on the grip cap zone and mark the center hole. Drill pilot hole in the pistol grip, remove machine screw/nut, and screw the oversize disk onto pistol grip. Using a fine point mechanical pencil, mark the back of the disk where it needs to be trimmed further. Put a fine sanding disk in the Shopsmith drill chuck, slide the table up to it, and carefully trim the remaining excess from grip cap disk. Then, if desired, countersink the screw hole for flat screw. Or use a panhead screw, brass or blued.