I'm thinking about refinishing the stock on my SMLE with linseed oil but I don't know if it has already been refinished, and I don't want to destroy the collectors/historical value by refinishing it if it has not been refinished. Can anyone tell if this Lee-Enfield stock has been refinished?
Another picture.
>>29462074
It took permanent modification to fit that scope which means it now has no collectors value
Sand away
Not an expert but it looks original. If you want a nicer looking stock, buy an old drill purpose stock set and restore and finish that. It'll take some work but you can end up with a stock finished to your liking.
>>29462128
It wasn't drilled or tapped. I got a tension fitted mount for it. Meaning I can take it off and on without damaging the value.
>>29462142
Oh nice, in that case if its all matching no, dont refinish it
Stock looks fine, but finish it, that's the best part of an old gun.
>>29462157
I fucked up, DON'T finish it
>>29462153
I don't think its all matching because the front top handguard near the sights aren't original because it has an FTR (factory through repair) stamp on the receiver, if you look closely you can see the stamp and color and wood difference.
>>29462185
If thats the way it came from the factory its collectable, if its mismatching because the previous owner lost the bolt or something its a shooter
>>29462483
>its a shooter
What do you mean?
>>29463563
it's not collectible and feel free to throw as much ammo through it as you can
>>29462074
Rifle stock is fine
>>29462074
Soldiers had to oil their stocks once a month, just not to the point where it becomes shiny. Linseed isn't 'refinishing', its routine maintenance.
>>29462074
the finish looks fine. not much that can be done about the gouges other than heavy sanding. you could try an iron to get some of the gouges to rise a bit, but I wouldnt refinish.
>>29462133
Anne is correct. A buddy of mine did this. He bought the full wood work from a place that did mil surp. Wood was in unissued condition. A couple of hours of sanding with superfine grit and a clean up had the wood looking great. He oiled it up and it looked great when he did the swap over. He liked it so much he got another lot of woodwork and went nutso doing a french polish on it. Pimped and classy at the same time.
You can't 'refinish' an Enfield stock with linseed, unless you take the current oil finish off and out of the wood and effectivly reset it to dry clean wood, since it's an ongoing process.
Soldiers were issued raw linseed to rub into the stocks regularly. So if you just want to rub raw linseed into the stock then go ahead it will only ever do it good, and it won't destroy any value; quite the opposite.
The only time I clean the finish from a milsurp stock is if the wood has cosmo or gun/machine oils on the wood and in its pores. Then I'll try get all that shit out and start from scratch soaking linseed into the grain as deep as possible, building up a finish as I go.
