WinchesterOwners.com

Guess I'll get things started on this forum. Here are some pictures of my Model 21 Trap. It has 32" barrels, M/F, Steinnen vent rib, deluxe checkering, and was built in 1938. For a trap gun it shoots pretty flat but it will crush a target! I just had the wood refinished as age had darkened it to the point you couldn't see the figure.





Show us what you got all you other Model 21 owners!

Eric

Beautiful wood. What a nice looking M21.

Very, very nice 21. Can you tell me what you used to refinish the wood?

That's an oil finish. I had it done at Wrights and they used something similar to Tru-oil.

Well they did a fine job. I have Fajen wood on a Model 12 that I'd like to refinish. I think that an oil finish will be in order.

What a beauty! They did an awesome job refinishing the wood on your Model 12.

that thing looks like it just came out of the box... very nice

Awesome lookin' firearm !!

...and BTW, Welcome to the Winchester Owners Forum winmod21 !!

Winchester 1912 wrote:Well they did a fine job. I have Fajen wood on a Model 12 that I'd like to refinish. I think that an oil finish will be in order.

I've got Fajen wood with chain checkering on one of my M12 Traps. It has an oil finish as well. It looks great. Apparently Fajen and EC Bishop were competitors in the American Walnut stock business in west MO and KS. I think Fajen ended up buying Bishop, and Wenig bought Fajen. At any rate, they produced some really fine work in their day.

Eric

The wood I have is on a 20 gauge Simmons Ribbed gun with a 26 inch Imp/Cyl barrel. The wood has the rollover cheek piece and I'm sure it would be a good skeet or clays gun. But I do plan on refinishing it with an oil of some kind. Can you recomend a product that will give it that Winchester color tone?

I don't think they used any coloring but I could be wrong. You could contact Wright's and ask for Molly or maybe Sam Hoggson knows.

I don't think they used any coloring. The oil brings out the color. You may want to contact Wright's and ask them.

Now that you mention it, high quality Walnut should need no stain. I'm going to start by stripping it, cleaning it up, and seeing just what I have to work with.

If wood was a little to light they sometimes used burnt umber when applying the oil.

Madis describes the use of a light walnut stain (burnt umber?) "as needed". I gather the "as needed" part was the trick. This issue gets discussed from time to time over on DGS. From what I've read it sounds like it's easy to overdo stain. Then, we've all seen some variation in tint in Winchester rifles and shotguns.

http://www.csmcspecials.com/Pre_64_Winc ... /f0090.htm CSMC sells this stuff. I've never used it, but remember reading posts suggesting that a little goes a long way.

My .02 about wood tint is that folks think of it as something static. Photo-oxidation darkens about any wood. We see well-used leverguns with wood that seems almost black. High end collectibles that have been kept in safes their entire lives will sometimes appear so light in tint as to cause buyer anxiety. (Maybe we should take our nice ones for walks outside every now and then?? )

Sam

Sounds like a good idea!
The burnt umber that they used in the factory was a powder. I still have a mason jar full of it in the shop that John Durkin gave me. Ironically we engravers also used it for laying out templates of engraving patterns.

I've used Burnt Umber back in the day when I refinished antique furniture. I hadn't even heard that term in ages. I imagine that they just mixed small ammounts with the oil or varnish.
But absolutely, examining Winchester finishes through photographs can be tricky. The thing I always look for first, is that red "tint". Now I know where it comes from.

I don't know about how much of a red tint it gives. I heard stories from some of the old timers that way back they would make up a stain from the black walnut hulls. If you've ever messed around with black walnuts you will know what I'm talking about. Those hulls when crushed will turn your hands a red orange rather quickly. Hard to wash off too.

I love wood furniture on guns

GUNNER_D wrote:I love wood furniture on guns

In my line of thinking, wood and steel, that's what quality guns are made of. I'm sure the synthetic stocks are useful, convenient, and can take a beating. But take a look at a high condition, original pre-64 Winchester. The fit of wood to metal and the general appearance of the combination is truly a thing of beauty, a work of art, if you will. That was the "heart and soul" of gunmaking. It'll give you chills. The Model 21 took this to unprecedented levels.

Winchester 1912 wrote:

GUNNER_D wrote:I love wood furniture on guns

In my line of thinking, wood and steel, that's what quality guns are made of. I'm sure the synthetic stocks are useful, convenient, and can take a beating. But take a look at a high condition, original pre-64 Winchester. The fit of wood to metal and the general appearance of the combination is truly a thing of beauty, a work of art, if you will. That was the "heart and soul" of gunmaking. It'll give you chills. The Model 21 took this to unprecedented levels.

I agee.I love these things

I would like to post a photo of my 21 but i am challenged in this area if someone could help it would be appreciated i could email a photo or two to a member thanks

There nothing like wood furniture on a firearm

struff55 wrote:I would like to post a photo of my 21 but i am challenged in this area if someone could help it would be appreciated i could email a photo or two to a member thanks

I uploaded my photos to Photobucket.com (it's free). Then I copied the photo link from Photobucket, clicked on the Img button on the reply screen here, and pasted the link between the two "Img's". I look forward to seeing your gun.

Eric