Meet my new lady friend. FWB 603

[T-Higgs]

Well, the addiction continues. I've been shooting in some rather informal ten meter compittions for about 1.5 years. The guys I shoot with keep upgrading their equipment to better and better ten meter rifles. I believe I was the last guy still shooting a springer at these shoots. I've wanted a nice target rifle for a long time but they are pricey. I found this 603 in need of some love. It didn't shoot and needed a rebuild. I ordered a full seal rebuild kit and FWB lube from a place in Canada. I stripped the laminate stock about 30 minutes after I got the rifle. I don't care for the yellow blonde color of the factory 603 stocks so I changed the color and made it my own so to speak. I just finished the rebuild today and this rifle is butter smooth and shooting a bit hot at 635fps with 7.4 gr wad cutters.

Only one caveat, it's a right handed rifle and I shoot left!  I'll be adapting quickly.  I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous  .

Higgs





 

[Methuselah]

So THAT'S what a FWB 603 looks like.

Purty rifle 

[Taso1000]

Higgs,

I you gave away your right arm you "couldn't" be ambidextrous.   

Taso

[floydlong]

She's suspiciously beautiful...
Enjoy!!!

[Tomcat]

Wow! Great looking rifle.

[BenjiHunter]

Nice looking girl!!

[Grover]

Class act.

[mobilemail]

Aw dang, that's purdy!  I would almost start shooting rightie to shoot that...except I would need a much bigger target. 

I'll still shoot springer with you if I get to show up.    And besides...last time I was there, Rudy was still outshooting the expensive guns with his Avanti! 

[scrane]

Stock looks terrific!

[Mtl_Biker]

Congratulations!!!!  Looks real good.

I love my 602, and I do like the natural color of the stock.  But to each his own.

[NTSOG]

Hello Higgs,

FWB 600s are wonderful.  My elderly 600 is my most accurate [10m] rifle and the easiest to shoot well.  I do like your treatment of the old yellow stock.  Mine, being an early 600, is quite tired and well worn.  Seeing your rifle and its new finish makes me think I must strip mine and re-finish it this southern summer.  How did you strip it - I am mindful that being a laminate, and therefore there is glue involved in the making of the stock, some care about stripping agents might be necessary?  What sort of finish did you use?

Another use of old 10m rifles - some will think this to be misuse of a wonderful competition rifle - is the safe elimination of sparrows and other small avian pests around my farm buildings.  Zeroed at 23 yards and shooting Meisterkugeln it knocks them over without risk of damage to building structures.

Enjoy your rifle.  My 10m rifles are my favourites.

Jim.

Addendum:  Higgs I found your other post in the Vintage section in which you detail the process your used to re-finish the rifle.  It answers all I want to know.  Thank you for the information.

Jim.

[fishhuntmike]

Great find and love the mod to the stock color.  Something I should consider for mine, the running target version.  Great micro-sniper rifle!

[Taso1000]

I have a 601 with laminate that is dark in some spots where the finish has worn off from usage and dirt has gotten into pores.  I like your brown color but I'd like to try the blue or grey finishes.  Can I do this with stain?  I have read that the glue between the laminate sheets is hard rubber in some laminate stocks.  I've also read where some are epoxies. How will the stain react?  Will it soak in or not?

Does anyone know what the 601 laminate stock binder/glue is?

Also what is the best for a topcoat/finish?  I prefer satin over high gloss.  Would something like a spar urethane be better if I could get satin sheen?

Thanks,

Taso

[NTSOG]

Hi Taso,

You might look under the Vintage section for the subject: New to me FWB 603

Higgs discusses refinishing his FWB there and talks about the sorts of glues and modern treatments used for stripping without causing delamination.

Jim

[Taso1000]

Jim,

Thank you!  I will check it out.

Taso

[Gwelo]

Great find and love the mod to the stock color.  Something I should consider for mine, the running target version.  Great micro-sniper rifle!

I also have the 603 Running Target model and have never seen another one. Mine is left handed and shoots like a lazer!  Do you have any info on the R/T models?  How many were made, etc.  Where did you get yours?

[fishhuntmike]

I think I got my 603 RT in 1995 or 1996 from Airgun  Warehouse.  Other than that I've never seen another one and don't much about it.

Glad someone else is pleased with theirs!

[T-Higgs]

I have a 601 with laminate that is dark in some spots where the finish has worn off from usage and dirt has gotten into pores.  I like your brown color but I'd like to try the blue or grey finishes.  Can I do this with stain?  I have read that the glue between the laminate sheets is hard rubber in some laminate stocks.  I've also read where some are epoxies. How will the stain react?  Will it soak in or not?

Does anyone know what the 601 laminate stock binder/glue is?

Also what is the best for a topcoat/finish?  I prefer satin over high gloss.  Would something like a spar urethane be better if I could get satin sheen?

Thanks,

Taso

Taso,
It's possable that the area that looks like dirt is rubbed into the grain isn't that at all. Several guys I shoot with have 603s and several of them including mine had that look. What's happening is this. The stock is laminated in a 123,123,123 pattern. I'm not sure what species of light wood they use in Germany,but let's call it birch. The lay up one sheet of vertical grain birch veneer, then one sheet of horizontal grain birch veneer, then one sheet of dark colored veneer. And repeat. The dark veneer it darl grain type line you see. What happened in the sanding process is that sometimes the birch is sanded too thin and that dark veneer shows through. I had this on my adjustable comb. I had to sand through two sheets of veneer to make it all one color. If you'll notice the grain direction change on mine, stock is horizontal, comb is vertical. It's just my guess but several of the 603s I've seen have this color variance.

As for making your stock blue or grey. I have used a wood dye from a company called behlen. In their dolor lux line they have a color called sea blue. You could use it but you won't know till you try. You might start on the inside of the inletting to see if you'll like it. There is another company called J. E. Moser's that's has wood dye that mix with alcohol. They have blue and silver/grey that may work?? I've never worked with them but with practice, I'm sure they could be used. With the dyes, you'll still get the dark veneer line that will give it some good contrast but it will not look like the weihrauch stocks we all know.
 

The stock will take stain but it's a bit more like trying to stain hard maple. It fights you a bit. I thinned out my stain with lacquer thinner, stained the stock, let dry, mixed my thinned color with very thinned out lacquer finish and sprayed the color on the stock a few times. This is called shading and can give a very even color job but takes a bit of practice. You don't want to use to much finish, you want the color to be on the wood and not necessarily suspended in the clear. After that dries you can start clear coating.

As far as finish, I do this for a living so I use commercial products. I used catalyzed lacquer on my 603. I don't care for hand or brush applied finishes. Not that they are bad but when you are trying t o make a living, time is everything so spraying wins. Plus, sprayed finishes, when sprayed correctly, just look better. They do make spray cans of eurithane but I'm not familiar with their quality.

Also, I used paste stripper similar to what can get in a paint or hardware store. It removes the old finish pretty quickly and then I scrub it down with lacquer thinner for a final clean. I don't know what adhesive they use in the laminating process but I'm sure it's tenacious enough to withstand this process. I would NOT tank or "dip strip" this or anything for that matter. Dip stripping usually involves tanks of methylene chloride which is gnarly stuff. I've seen it destroy glue joints in old furniture. I had no reservations doing what I did.

Higgs

Higgs

[T-Higgs]

Okay, sorry if I'm long winded but several members have asked me about the material I use. Rather than PM each individual, I'll post it here.

My stripper materials. The stripper I use is a commercial product, but you can acquire stripper at paint stores or Lowes etc. Strypeeze has been around forever, works well, and is readily available. i use a scotchbrite pad and lacquer thinner to scrub down the stock after the stripper has been removed.  then wipe the stock with a lacquer thinner wet rag for final clean and removal of any residual stripper


Sanding the stock is next, but keep in mind the grain patterns and colors I mentioned earlier.  Finish sand, with grain (sometimes apposing directions) to 120 grit or higher.  The grit you choose can change how the piece takes stain. Finish with higher grit, it will take less color, course grit takes more color.  Wood dyes often color without care of sanding grit unlike wood stain, so keep in mind what you are coloring with.

The wood on this particular laminate is very light and very yellow. To get an even brown tone I chose raw umber from a company called tri clad. Choose any color but keep in mind what is already there.
You will have to play with you're technique to get even coloring. A piece of lamb's wool is my favorite stain applicator. I ended up using the shading technique i mentioned in my previous post.



Finishing is going to be what you are comfortable using.  I use sprayable finishes. My go to finish is catalyzed lacquer. It can be had in several gloss options. I chose to mix 50/50 satin with semi-gloss for a sheen that is just a bit more luster than satin but not plasticy looking. Many people ask me about things like true oil and Maccari London oil and to be honest, i just don't use things like that, so I don't have an opinion other than they are too slow and labor intensive compared to sprayable modern materials. I don;t care for anything that might leave a brush stroke or application mark. I am not knocking those materials, I just choose not to use them. I also use an aliphatic urethane that is a fantastic material. It's expensive, has a short pot life, little tricky to spray, but man it's durable.





Well, I hope this helps more than confuses. My mom is a 91 year old little Polish gal. She was and still can be a FANTASTIC cook. I call her sometimes to ask her how she made a particular dish. Her directions are horrible! "a little this, a little that! She just knows what she wants and how to get there. I feel like my finishing help is a little like that. I know i can match a color or look, but i just keep working till I get it. I'm often not sure how I'll get there till i arrive 

Sorry if that was painfully boring,
Higgs

[Taso1000]

Higgs,

Your posts are perfect.  Not long or boring at all.  I'm realizing it may be more than I'm willing to do on such an expensive rifle. 

I've only ever sanded down a CMP 853 and applied Formby's tung oil finish.  It's ok and it could use another sanding to take out some lint that stuck to the finish.  But I'm not too concerned.  It is what it is. 

Taso