135 Vortex QE .22 Stock refinishing (progress pics)

[SteveP-52]

I wonder if that Tomahawk stock can be had separately and fit the barreled action of my Hatsan Striker 1000x .22?

You can email Hatsan and ask seeing as how they built the rifles, but I don't think they do as the Tommy's are no longer in production and even when they were, I don't think Hatsan sold any spare parts for them but I may be wrong.
I did try a quick test fit of one of mine in a 95 stock and maybe with a few modifications to the inside of the stock  the action will slide in but the screw holes don't line up quite right and they're not angled. The 95 action uses a straight through bolt to hold everything in and you'd very likely totally bugger up the holes trying to make the Striker screws go in.
It's also about 2 inches longer than the Striker stock as the 95 action is longer due to the trigger actually sliding up inside it vs the Striker trigger just screwing down to the outside of the receiver.
If you decide you just gotta try, that 95 stock the last I knew is $54.95 plus a $15 shipping fee. 

[Jadocs]

Leonard,

Pics aren't showing up for me...but it might be the network at work blocking image hosting sites. Yeah, I'm sold on the tissue ball and pillow case applicator, it worked great.

Steve,

That's what I was thinking as well.  I've heard Turtle wax was good too.  I really want to get my hands on some Renaissance Wax. I think I'll order some on eBay and just use the Birchwood Casey wax for now.

[unionrdr]

Must getting blocked? I can see every one of them? I was afraid of that with the stocks. Darn it. I'm not wild about this redwood looking stain. I want the Turkish walnut. I just hate to pay custom prices...even if they do use those copy machines these days.

[Jadocs]

Yeah they were blocked.

I called it good and put it back together. Pictures aren’t great. Have not waxed it yet because I went ahead and ordered some Renaissance Wax and I want to wait until it come in. I’ll get some better pictures in natural light so anyone who is interested can get a better idea of what it looks like.









Before Pic (plastic looking)

[JamesB]

Beautiful! Great job, sir.

[RBQChicken]

that is a FANTASTIC job!

[SteveP-52]

Must getting blocked? I can see every one of them? I was afraid of that with the stocks. Darn it. I'm not wild about this redwood looking stain. I want the Turkish walnut. I just hate to pay custom prices...even if they do use those copy machines these days.

If you want the Turkish Walnut, you either buy a 95 or buy the stock and find someone local that can do the mods and shave the front forks down so the Striker fits in it right and it will need to be modified. HatsanUSA has the spring version 95 refurbs for $100, just pick a caliber:

https://hatsanusa.com/collections/parts-and-refurb-buys/products/mod-95-spring-combo-refurbished

[SteveP-52]

K, that stock is gorgeous...awesome job! I wish my 95's and Tommy had graining that nice 

[Jadocs]

Randy, James thanks!

Steve thanks, I was trying to make it look like yours. I thought yours was awesome.

[Jadocs]

Here are some pics outside in natural light. The comb looks lighter on the left side but if you look close you will see that the grain is actually two different colors depending on how the light hits it. It starts on the left side towards the front and extends around to the right side. I kind of like the natural look.

I’m seriously thinking about knocking the shine off with some 0000 steel wool. What do you think?

[SteveP-52]

If you were trying to make yours look like mine, you would have had to stain what turned out to be a seriously gorgeous stock. I may just have to try nothing more than Tru-oil on my next one after seeing how yours turned out.

[Jadocs]

Steve, this is the video where I copied this guys technique and idea for the applicator.

[unionrdr]

I love the shine! Leave it like it is!

[RBQChicken]

I kept switching back and forth between loving the shine and not liking it so much.  If you rub it out with 0000 steel wool, you'll end up with a matte finish.  If that's too dull for you, you can try what I did - rub it down with boiled linseed oil, and wipe it all off with a paper towel while it's still wet. That's what you do with linseed oil anyway, wipe all excess off.  The oil fills in the tiny abrasions from the steel wool and give the surface a soft "sheen" rather than the glossy shine that you get with tru-oil.  Not flat, just not as shiny.

Let it sit out to fully cure for a day or so.  Very easy to touch up down the road if the finish is starting to look dull. At that point, just rub more BLO on and wipe it off again.  I wouldn't go the wax route because if you ever do want to touch up the stock in the future with more BLO or tru-oil, you're going to have to get all that wax off first.

If you decide after awhile that you prefer the shine, just put another single coat of tru-oil on and you're back to where you are now.  Easy!

I went back and forth with my Hatsan 95 before finally settling for the BLO sheen on my tru-oiled base coats.

[Jadocs]

Thanks guys...

Randy yours looks amazing, thanks for the tips.

[DevilsLuck]

Decided to make a new thread since I was mixing topics in my last thread. Anyway I have two Hatsan 135 Vortex QE’s. One in .30 cal (refurb I purchased) and a new .22. The .22 came in last week and I was amazed at the quality of the stock. It made my .30 cal look like cheap wood paneling.

.30 cal on the left:



After seeing some of the work you guys have done, I got inspired. My only worry was “what if I bugger up the stock screws and can’t get it off”. Everything I have read suggests that Hatsan really wrenches the stock screws in. I found out if I held the button screw still and twisted the sling bolt on the other side...I was able to loosen it up.

I used Citistrip (thanks guys for the suggestion) purchased at Lowe’s. After letting it sit for about an hour, I scraped the old finish off with a plastic scraper. I used a brass brush for the checkering. I created quite a mess and the wife wasn’t too happy with me doing it on the kitchen table!



After I was satisfied that I got all the old finish off, I took it outside and scrubbed it down with acetone. I used the brass brush again with acetone to clean out the mess in the checkering. I took quite a bit of brushing until the run off was clear (ie no more dirty old stain).



I started with 320 grit sandpaper and went up to 800. I then rinsed the stock under hot water while scrubbing it with 0000 steel wool and dish soap. After it dried, I applied my first coat of tru-oil. I had purchased some dark walnut stain but decided against it since the wood was pretty dark as is.



I put a second coat on last night and wet sanded it with 600 grit and some tru-oil (to fill in the imperfections). This morning I sanded it down with 400 grit in order to even up the finish and finished with 800. I put two more coats on this evening using an aplicator made from a small ball of wrapping tissue covered with fabric from a pillow case (see below). I saw a YouTube video where a guy did this and said you can really rub the oil in while maintaining thin even coats.

I’m going to let this dry a few hours and I might do one more coat this evening...or I might wait until tomorrow. I plan on putting a bunch of thin coats on and hope I get a nice deep dark finish.



I’ll update this thread as I go along.

This stock came out fantastically. I had to post to this thread, so I can reference it later. I may refinish mine. Do you think these rifle stocks could benefit from recutting the checkering before refinishing?

[unionrdr]

I still have to citristrip my 95 stock and get it all cleaned up and sanded smooth yet. Too many other rifles in front of it to finish. Got everything to do the job, including Medium walnut Danish oil.