Military wood stock care?

[TomEgun]

Trying to figure out what to use for the up keep on the wood stocks for my 1903 Springfield and my M1 Garand ? I was thinking Linseed oil or Tru oil?
what do you guys use?
Thanks

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Geezer]

Four parts Linseed oil, one part Mineral Spirits. Wipe on, let it sit for a minute then wipe off. Too much and it will get sticky, so go easy on it.

[bmcgilvray]

Do as the Springfield Armory and U. S. military actually did and treat it with nothing more than raw linseed oil (that's not boiled linseed oil). Very simple. Just rub it in, let stand for 15 minutes and wipe off the excess. A heat source such as a hair dryer would be beneficial this time of year unless you have a hot sun available. If raw linseed oil is not easily found then go to the health food counter and purchase some flax seed oil. You can even purchase it in caplet form. Three or four caplets will coat a stock. The stocks will remain sticky for some days afterward but that is normal. Boiled linseed oil or any type of linseed oil that is cut with mineral spirits will "dry" faster but won't give quite the color that was originally found. The raw linseed oil gave a reddish hue over time as it cured and early Springfield stocks such as the Trapdoor, Krag Jorgensen, and Model 1903 would have featured this dark reddish hue.

Springfield Armory (along with the British) simply dipped their stocks in raw linseed oil and allowed them to hang and drain to provide the original finish when the stocks were new. Both soldiers and small arms field maintenance facilities were provided with raw linseed oil to rub on the stocks occasionally for preventive maintenance.

Here's a link to a restoration effort on a No. 4 Mark 2 showing the effect of the raw linseed oil on a unfinished replacement stock set.
Rehab'ing An Enfield No. 4 Mark 2

[cn262]

I just touched-up the stock on my M1A that was "lost" in my safe for over a decade. The wood was very dry. I spent several days researching this project, reviewing youtube videos, etc. I ran across a good summary (TIP: Boiled Linseed Oil vs. 100% Tung Oil as a Finish @ The Finishing Store News) that helped me decide. Pure tung oil is more water resistant and looks nicer, but boiled linseed oil retained more of the original look.

The process was pretty easy. I wiped the stock down (remove any dust), rubbed-in the boiled linseed oil (using a bit of force and going over each section several times - took ~30 minutes total), let the oil sit for 30-40 minutes then gently wipe it off, and then let it sit for 12+ hours. After the first coat I used a mildly abrasive 3m pad to lightly rub the entire stock (just to smooth it out).

Apparently the military did soak the new stocks in pure linseed oil and then let them hang for weeks to dry. Years ago I tried using plain (pure) linseed oil on a stock with not very good results, so initially I was leaning toward tung oil.

It was easy to do and turned out nice. Here's a thread I posted after that with pictures - see for yourself. My "new" M1A - What do you think?

[TomEgun]

Wow so many choices I want to keep it simple just want a preventative maintenance on the wood to keep it in nice shape and water proofing ?