Mosin Wood Stock Refinishing Question

[DarthZed]

Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone knows how to remove the inserted metal parts in a Mosin stock (or if they CAN be removed)? I gave a nice Mosin to a friend of mine last year for his birthday, and he was thinking of refinishing it. Now he's a wood guy, and has a really nice setup in his garage (it's what he does to relax after a week crunching code), but he is unsure how to remove the metal parts on a Mosin stock without damaging either them, or the stock. I asked if he could simply work around them, but got a scoff and reproachful look. (Apparently this isn't something you would do if you wanted to "do the job right") I got three of those surplus stocks from AIM SURPLUS and gave them to him to experiment on, but I was wondering if anyone had any input?

Thanks in advance.

Jim

 

[Boom Boom]

I would work around them, especially if you leave any character marks intact (I would).

How bad is the finish as is?

There are different schools of thought on this topic. I lean heavily towards leaving the original finish alone, even if it's beat to hell. I like 'em honest and ugly. I've seen "do the job right" refinishes a bunch of times. Yes, the stock might be perfect and pretty, but it doesn't look "right" to collectors like me who pass them over in favor of originals.

 

[NateIU10]

I just refinished a chinese T53 (M44 variant). I worked around the inset pieces for the most part. I agree on not refinishing most milsurps, but my T53 was beat to all heck and only $99. I would probably not refinish a numbers matching Mosin.

 

[Melnic]

You need a spanner for the recoil lug and punch for band retainrs
I've seen them refinished by pros and done them myself to spare stocks
Lots of vids or other resources if you google.
It does change the character of the rifle but I'd say make sure it is not a rare Mosin first

 

[Machodoc]

Clean it, shoot it, and refinish a fern stand for your wife.

 

[j8064]

You can take a mosin down to bare bones easy enough. But the remaining metal that's imbedded in the furniture is the recoil lug and retaining nut, cleaning rod retaining nut and sling hole escutcheons if the rifle has them (most do).

* Unless there's some stock repair that requires removal of the recoil lug assembly leave it alone. You need a special driver bit to remove it and reassemble it correctly.
* If the threads of cleaning rod retaining nut aren't clogged with crud and it accepts a rod. Leave it alone. Most C/R nuts have a threaded hole on top so you can insert a small bolt with the correct threads and remove it with a slap hammer.
* Most sling hole escutcheons have tabs that hold them in place. They can be punched out from the opposite side, but you run the risk of chipping the edge of the hole in the stock that's been holding the metal for umpteen years.

That's a long way to get back to what's been said. You can remove the stock metal. But if it isn't mission critical...don't!

 

[DarthZed]

OK, thanks for the responses everyone. I appreciate the input. I assumed that the remaining hardware was more-or-less permanently embedded in the rifle; but I thought I'd ask, just in case.

Boom Boom: The finish is actually very nice. (Numbers matching 1943, with a mirror bore, and excellent wood with no visible dings and only one or two small scratches) But as I said, my friend likes to work with wood, and he was wanting to bring the rifle back to "show piece" quality. I disagree, but "shrug" it's his rifle. I gave him the three surplus stocks to play with, maybe he will decide to not refinish his once he sees what a refinished stock looks like.

NateIU10: I feel the same way, but I'm also considering refinishing my T33 as well.

 

[Bullfrog]

To me, 'doing it right' would be a shellac finish with the hardware still in the wood. It doesn't matter how good he makes it look or how much time he puts into it, if he puts a modern finish on it, to me he just decreased the value of the rifle considerably.

If I found one like that for sale I would only buy at a considerable discount.

 

[Bullfrog]

The finish is actually very nice. (Numbers matching 1943, with a mirror bore, and excellent wood with no visible dings and only one or two small scratches) But as I said, my friend likes to work with wood, and he was wanting to bring the rifle back to "show piece" quality.

Sounds like it is show piece quality, or as close to it as a mosin will be. Anything he does will decrease it's value, if possible.

If you're going to refinish a mosin, here's how it's done right: http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=16656

 

[Machodoc]

Seriously ... if it's that nice, why not leave it alone and buy one that's dogged out already?

 

[Boom Boom]

You're describing a showpiece. Refinishing it is a disaster for resale value.

 

[DarthZed]

Well, it's not quite showpiece quality. There is some peeling of the finish up near the very front of the top piece. And the finish is rather so-so. However the graining in the wood is beautiful, and the stock itself is in really outstanding shape.
So yes, I agree with everyone about just leaving it alone. Hopefully my friend will just refinish one of the surplus stocks and retain the original one as-is.

 

[Boom Boom]

It's in the eye of the beholder. Finish issues are almost guaranteed with Mosins, even ones that are unissued or were re-arseneled and put directly into storage. Showpiece military rifles almost never look perfect. Usually far from it. Trench art is a perfect example (often the more the merrier). The blemishes that collectors look for as indicative of the real deal are what the average bubba tries to get rid of.

 

[Melnic]

I did a spare stock in stain & polycrylic and it is now rugged but does not look authentic. I also took a spare stock and cut it to match my sniper and did it in Shellac and color matched to rearsinal color and it looks better. I did that so to not tear up the original wartime stock from it

If he really wants to woodwork a gun maybe he should get a muzzleloader musket kit. I'm thinking of doing that myself