I bought a color case hardened Third Model 1890 action from an acquaintance and was owed a nice stock blank set. The stock carver called and said he had a butt stock that he thought I would appreciate that had real nice looking wood, but that the guy that ordered it would probably reject it due to it having knots in it. It pays to establish a relationship with outfits you trade with, they know you and what you would like. Knots have never bothered me.
The inletting went well and the wood has a couple seal coats of 50/50 polyurethane/mineral spirits and three or four coats of Pro Custom oil finish on it currently. It will get another 25-30 coats, but is already starting to show its stuff. The grain in the pump handle is really nice, the wood has an open grain though. Although it doesn’t look like much now, the grain will slowly but surely fill in and it will end up looking nice. I don’t wet sand my oil finishes, I have nothing against it, but I just do things my way and slowly fill in the pores and grain.
Anyway, I’m just getting going on this project. I have some custom barrels in 22 LR on order that will probably not be delivered until the fall. They will be octagon, top flat matted full length w/the squiggly pattern Winchester used back in the day. Correct roll markings, but w/o dovetails cut for the magazine rings or sights. I intend to use all four on custom Model 90 projects that will have a tang sight, so we won’t be cutting a rear sight dovetail. I’m not sure if any will be cut down and used to make youth rifles with non standard length magazine tube, so we will cut the turn in dovetails for the magazine rings when that is decided.
This first rifle will have a straight grip and crescent butt plate, at least a couple we will bend the lower tang to fit a pistol grip stock and fit a shotgun butt plate to.
