Finish on CMP M1 Garand with new Boyds walnut stock?

Just purchased a CMP M1 Garand equiped with a new Boyds walnut stock (fitted by CMP). Does anyone know what finish is applied to the stock as it comes from CMP (or as it came from Boyds)?

The one I got two years ago seemed to have no finish at all, it was that dry. I put a number of coats of pure tung oil on it, after removing some wood where the op rod was rubbing.

CMP uses stocks manufactured by Boyds to Dupage Trading Co's specifications. Those new production stocks come with a brown stain and a CMP stamp. Some people have reported difficulty with oiling over the stain. The stain seals the wood and the oil will pretty much accumulate on top.

Here's a closeup that shows a little of what I'm describing:


The brown stain doesn't look right to me. It's flat and lacks the characteristic reddish hue of USGI walnut. When I worked these over for customers I would sand off the stained layer and apply dye and oil or just oil as desired.

Here's a Dupage quarter-sawn set finished with nothing but raw linseed oil:

That is a lot different from what they used to send out. They didnt stain it before. They used to just use a light coating of tung oil, it would look like bare wood. If you wanted to use BLO you had to do a light cleaning of the stock to remove the tung oil before you could finish with BLO or stain it.

That turned out beautifully, I just got a service grade from CMP in the fall when they had them. I am considering doing something similar with the new production stock that came on the rifle, but Ive never done a stock before and would hate to just butcher it up. What do you recommend as far as sanding/refinishing steps? Thanks in advance

CMP stocks need both fitting and finishing work for me to put one on my personal rifle.

Fitting a stock is not that hard. Here's my guide: http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=159912

A lot of people seemed to be upset that I followed Major General Hatcher's instructions. Either way, the guide is there as a free resource.

Finishing a stock is very much a matter of opinion. Here are a couple of options that I have used. In all cases, I sand the brown stained finish down to bare wood.

1) Raw linseed oil. It gives a semi-glossy finish but should be touched up somewhat often. The oil soaks into the wood and does not build up a solid coat. Color ranges from light brown to reddish brown depending on the cut of walnut. Follow on with wax if desired.

2) Tung oil. This gives a glossy finish that dries into a varnish-like coat on top of the wood. Results typically aren't very reddish but yield a darker brown than linseed oil. This finish is more durable and less maintenance-intensive than simple RLO.

3) Standard wood stain. I don't like this as it often doesn't penetrate the wood nearly enough and I find that the finish rubs off when you oil/wax the stock. In theory, stain seals the wood but you should apply additional oil/wax to help slow the effects of moisture shifts and repel rain.

4) Alcohol dye followed by oil/wax. This is my favorite technique to get USGI-esque finishes. Standard brown RIT fabric dye can be rubbed onto the wood. Once the dye has penetrated into the wood and dried, apply oil/wax over top to lend shine and water resistance. Some of the dye will come off so make sure to dye the stock several shades darker than the desired end product.

The last option is my favorite as it provides the closest appearance to a USGI stock. It is labor-intensive but I feel that a M1 deserves the treatment.

RLO base coat followed by multiple Tung oil coats:


Alcohol dye followed by oil:

Yeah the stock definitely needs some fitting, its pretty tough to get on and off, thanks for including that. I may go with the tung oil for the durability since this is going to be my "shooter" rifle, but I really like the look of the alcohol/oil as well. I agree an M1 deserves the effort. I appreciate the guidance, once I get around to it I'll post some before/after pics of how it turned out.

it's supposed to be very hard to get on and off. That'ts how it holds the parts together in the same place. dont sand anything that affects the lock up

The front hand guard should also be difficult to move but there should be space near the gas cylinder so that it can expand in the heat. the rear hand guard needs the same space to expand.

The oprod needs to slide freely. that's where it binds the most.

These stocks tend to have a little too much wood left where the trigger pulls back. That is the only area of the trigger guard you should mess with.

The die comes off really easy with fornby's.

Yeah understood, its a pain compared to my 5.8 million SA with original stock, that one comes apart nice and smooth, I cant unhook the trigger guard without using a screwdriver or something to pull on it so I am planning on just getting that to work a little smoother. Good to know for the other areas of the stock, thanks

A slight amendment on my info- I didn't get the stock info from Hatcher's Book of the Garand now that I think of it.

The front handguard is supposed to be loose. Per the CMP armorers' advice:

"The intentional clearance and movement felt in the front hand guard is there to help maintain a consistent point of impact on the target through the temperature changes that come with firing the rifle. If the front hand guard on a particular rifle is set up with zero clearance (no front to back movement), as that rifle is fired, the barrel temperature will increase significantly and the barrel steel will expand. When the barrel expands, the change in pressure squeezing the hand guard between the lower band and the gas cylinder may change the bullets point of impact."

from: http://thecmp.org/training-tech/armorers-corner/gas-cylinder/

And from MGySgt Gus Fisher's information:

"The CORRECT way to fit a FHG for a standard Garand is there MUST be the tiniest bit of fore and aft play in the FHG when the GC Lock is properly fit/tightened down."

from: http://m14forum.com/gus-fisher/123790-richmond-visit-jc-garand-legal-range-report.html

The trigger guard should not be unhooked often if you're trying to maintain accuracy. The rifle will require several rounds to settle the action back into the stock after disassembly. Since we're not in the field and our rifles stay fairly clean, there's no need to undo the triggerguard during match season.

Another Maryland shooter taught me a trick with preserving the stock bedding surfaces. Start with a TG with worn lugs when the stock is new. As the walnut compresses, use a new TG with full, round lugs. Always make sure to grease the lugs to extend their service lives.

Here's one group shot with HXP:



I regret not bringing handloads to the range that day.

Thanks for the additional info. That's a good point, I usually only ever take it out about every couple hundred rounds or after a couple range trips. Wow nice shooting that's a great target. I got lucky the rifle I received in the fall came with an LMR barrel which is supposed to be quite accurate, shot a few decent groups with it but only had it out a few times so far.

I called CMP in Anniston GA yesterday to ask my question as to what finish do they apply to their Boyds walnut stocks before they are sent out on a rifle. I think the woman I talked to directed me to the "Armory". The woman I talked to there told me that the CMP does not put any finish on the boyds M1 Garand stocks that they fit. They use them as they come from Boyds.
So I called Boyds and talked to a young woman in customer service and she told me they spray a lacquer finish on all of their stocks. I didn't really get the impression the young woman was really understanding that I was asking specifically about their M1 stocks going to CMP. She didn't impress me that she ever got to many technical questions.
Upon closer inspection of the stock on the rifle I have - it looks like there is some kind of stain applied only to the exterior parts of the butt stock that show and clearly nothing applied on the interior of the stock. The rear handguard looks like a stain was applied inside and outside. The front handguard looks like a stain is applied to the outside with stain only about 1/2" in to the barrel channel and the unfinished inside of the barrel channel very light colored walnut. Looks like maybe the 3 stock components if stained were done so to even up the natural differences in their color.
I while back I got a CMP Special in 308 with the same kind of stock and I just applied 5 coats of progressively less mineral spirit diluted tung oil. The tung oil seemed to penetrate the walnut and not just sit on the surface that you would think would happen if the stock had some kind of lacquer sealer on it.
Any comments on my research and what the finish on the stock looks like to me.

I hate it when people describe the front handguard as loose. It must be free to move but "free movement" is a bad thing. That's why match garands are unitized or screwed and glued.

My pet peeve, nothing personal.

CMP armorers close the trigger guard with a hammer. It should not be easy.

My Toy- Boyds manages to excel in incompetence. They claim to 3D scan actions and CNC the stocks. When I asked about one of their M1903 stocks with the bushing hole drilled at the wrong angle, the employee didn't seem to think that it was a big deal.

Drmsparks- My belief is that infantry-grade (what I like to call standard, issued configuration) accurization has a very different set of requirements. A National Match M1 must be babied due to its preparation. For your run of the mill M1 that can be pulled off the rack by the handguard, having to force a FHG back into the band after it pops out is not desirable.

I echo your sentiment that it's nothing personal. If your M1 shoots the way you want it to and conforms to the rules for the event you attend, then go ahead and enjoy it!

Oddly enough, the more I have shot the M1 the less I find myself worrying about stock fit outside of the obvious clearance issues. Let's compare two rifles:

1) 1942 SA with '48 barrel and a tight Dupage stock set
2) 1956 SA with '56 barrel and a USGI stock that requires very little pressure to close (this is a correct SA 6mil)

Both of them shoot very similar groups with the same handloads. So long as the action is not moving in the stock, I think you can get away with less than ideal lockup pressure.

The first thing I do with any CMP or Boyds repo stock after checking the fit of the action and stock metal is get out my rasp and go to work on any unsightly dips or straight lines that have been altered by the palm sander. Usually after that has been done there is not enough of the original finish left that a piece of 150 sandcloth and a hardwood or felt backer will not readily remove. Once all that is done final finish for the most part comes out fairly well unless you wind up with some open grain which is not hard to remedy. The worst you can end up is with a trigger well that is not always square on a receiver on an M1, so what I do is soot the components with some candle black, assemble, fire few strings and then reexamine for inconsistencies and adjust if necessary. I would start out with a non milled trigger guard with good lugs before I did anything to try and improve lockup by lessening the contact area because of how soft the examples I have worked with are. Making sure the stock ferrule is square centers the barreled receiver in the stock tight and in the right position can be a job in it self. Tinkering with the handgaurd is easy for me because I always try to just get it as tight as I can to the barrel itself without unitizing it just trying to get even expansion, a slight relief at the lower band to stock ferrule if I can and not touching the rear of the gas cylinder even by creating clearance the front of the handgaurd and dimpling the sheet metal handgaurd cap. I think its some kind of shoe polish tint they use on the wood now that will rub off on your hand. Earlier stocks I used had just had a light coat of oil of some sort that always seemed to soak in pretty deep and disappears pretty quick once the rasp comes out. Boyds 03 and 17 stocks always need adjustment for the generous amount of wood they come with. Boyds stocks are good substitutes because there is no big loss if one gets worked incorrectly and are realistically priced vs. the real thing compared to the cost of most replacement parts. I do prefer to avoid replacement stocks that come to me by others and consider the cost of the timber to come off the top because you cant always tell whats been done to them previously. They do however usually look good and make for good projects or a stop gap measure to get something together for hard use in the field.

I believe in keeping the best practical accuracy I have. I wouldn't shoot with a loose gas cylinder(peening the splines is too easy) and I don't have any rattlin handguards.

Garands just should not be picked up by the handguard. I can live with that rule......and in case of accident if it does come out, it's never hard enough to put back and never takes more than a few seconds. If it's life or death you can just accept the loss of a few MOA and shoot it loose but I've never been in that position with the garand.

fantastic job.

bravo!