I thought I would share an option I wanted to do on my next RAW. I enjoyed my .25 LRT so much, I ordered another RAW in .22. Wanting something different in the way of wood. Maple guns always intrigued me. My Grandfather had one. I couldn't tell you what is was being too young, I just always remembered it.
Dealing with RAW, you are dealing with the owners themselves. Martin let me furnish my own lumber. Sandra sent me the size requirements for them to cut it. I found a nice figured flame maple piece from a Northwest vendor. I had it shipped directly to RAW to save on double shipping. Also opted to do the finish work myself since I never got to see the lumber in person. Opting for the thumbhole stock since I already had the LRT on my .25. Also thinking the stocks could swap back and forth between them (both HMX blocks).
They sanded it to a smooth finish for me so all I needed to do was strip the hardware, wet it to raise the grain and a final sanding for an extra smooth surface.
This is the initial coat. I like to use tung oil for most of my finishes. Minwax has a few additives also that works well. I even use this stuff on most my other pre-oiled guns to bring out the grain a little more. The nice thing about this product it is almost fool proof. Just keep applying until you get your desired sheen. After about eight coats and 0000 steel wool rub downs, I reached a desired satin finish.
One other thing that I might add is, I have did maple and other figured woods with a pre-dye then sanded it back to enhance the figure in the wood. After this arrived to me, the figure was so pronounced that it was not needed.
Turned out really well. Just a little different twist for a good gun. Thanks RAW for these kinds of options. It makes the gun have more of a personal touch.
I enjoy woodworking and would like to tackle my own cutting. I need to get some in-letting tools at some point. NMShooter doing his own has made me very interested.
Now all I need to do is shoot it!
