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Finishing wood is not an exact science but there is a lot of misinformation out there which doesn't help much. Most "stains" on the market are not pure stains but consist of pigmented finishes, usually but not always oil based. The analine dyes, often called spirit dyes (that is what Brownells calls them) are analine dyes suspended in alcohol. Few professionals use oil based stains, partly because the quality of the pigments is low and apply them tends to mask the figure that makes us like wood in the first place. Analine dyes are the way to go but they do have drawbacks. Penetration of dyes is seldom deep so the wood has to be ready to finish before the stain goes on as anything but the lightest sanding will go right through it. Using an alcohol based dye will raise the grain so it is important to dewhisker the stock completely before staining. It is hard to duplicate the look of an original military stock from the times because it isn't so much a finish as a patina. The various oils have been oxidized and turned dark, grit and oil have filled the pores and the surface of the wood has become polished to a dull sheen. A good job duplicating this can be done but it takes time, patience and a bit of practice. As for finishes, most of what passes for tung oil finishes are polyeurethane blends with little or no actual tung oil in them, Formbys has nearly no actual tung oil in it. Tung oil in its pure state gives better moisture protection than BLO but will build to little or no gloss. The gloss comes from the polyeurethane and to make it low gloss they add filler than turns the finish opaque which is why a few heavy coats of low gloss finish looks so plasticy. With that said, skillful use of it can do a fair job of duplicating the look/patina of an old stock. A trick is to use a thin layer of the gloss to seal the wood after staining and then start applying BLO. The BLO doesn't soak in as much and you build up a finish faster. As for applying stain over finish, that is called a wash coat. Winchester finished their stocks for years like that, the color was in the finish rather than in the wood. Remington stained the wood iteself on the Colt Thompsons. For most people at home it is hard to get a good looking finish with that technique that doesn't look plastic and artificial. I speak from my experience as a custom stockmaker making exclusively wood for military guns.

I specialize in reproduction stocks for military weapons and am doing Reising 50 stocks. Price is $200 for a fully finished stock assembled with your metal. Stocks are done with plain walnut, fancy figure like the one in the photo is additional. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. http://www.mgstocks.com/reising50.jpg

Custom built GI style transit chest. Built using the best wood and hardware to make a strong, rugged, and attractive chest. Price as shown is $225, case can be provided fully painted for an additional $75. The Transit Chest will hold the following: 1919a4 M2 Tripod Pintle T&E Two Spare Carrels .30 cal ammo can for spares and tools http://www.mgstocks.com/unpaintedtransit.jpg

Hawk, Your rare $250 case is actually a cheap Bren spare barrel case that can be had for about 1/10 of what you got for yours.... Bren Spare Barrel Carrier

That was actually cheap, I know people who have paid nearly a grand for beater stocks that had cracked stocks and pitted metal. Reproductions will be available shortly and will be approximately $1,000. They will be built using original parts and brand new production wood. Some will be made with reproduction metal that is simpler than the original (namely the sling metal in the pistol grip) that will be less, somewhere around $750.

This is now a moot question but the modifications to use Grease gun mags required modification to the reciever. The Ken Christie mags are a vastly better deal. They are only $75 each for a 30 rounder, when original mags are $125 plus for a 20, seems like a bargain.

Hawkeye, Try The Dealer Showroom and ask for John, he has parts and I think some photocopies of an original manual. (916) 371-6900, he is hard to get ahold of so be patient.

I am going to have to puzzle this one out. Some of these issues you just have to look at the gun to figure out. As for parts, you can call John Bush at (916) 371 6900 and he has some parts, he knows the guns well but can sometimes be slow. Paul Hayes has a lot of parts and you can get him at 513-922-0632

I am not so sure it is the mags Try this: Strip everything except the bolt out of the reciever and tilt the gun back and forth. Does the bolt slide freely with the force of gravity. If it does, then add the hammer (the other round thing) and try it again. If both slide freely with gravity, they are fine. Next, slide the inner spring in and out of the bolt, does it bind? Do that with all the springs. Check the recoil spring guide, make sure it is smooth. If nothing there, assemble everything and then slowly cock it, feeling for binding, then slowly ride it forward and again, feel for binding, it should be smooth. Look at the mag catch, is it worn? I wonder if it is holding the mags high enough. Try putting something thick like a washer made from a cereal box or abouth 1/32 to 1/16 thick under the mag housing and against the stock, see if that makes a difference. Best of luck, just whatever you do, go slow and don't start grinding. Michael

For those MG 34s deserving the VERY best...pretty nice eh? http://www.mgstocks.com/images/mg34set.jpg

There is no law stating what is and isn't legal regarding dummy guns. The law states "readily restorable" which is of course, open to interpretation. ATF has issued letters stating that inserting solid blocks from 1/2 to 1" (depending on the letter) and using real portions in front and behind is okay with them. ATF has issued NO formal ruling on what is and isn't legal. A letter from ATF is NOT a formal ruling and does not have the force of law. Mixing the two up is pretty common thing however.

What sort of ammo are you using? Is the gun squeeky clean but with good oil? How do the feed lips for the mag look? Reisings are sensitive to being dirty but should work well with decent mags. I would recomend saving the old springs, put the new recoils spring in and try shooting it again. I have worked on a LOT of Reisings. At Armex we had them litteraly stacked like cordwood on pallets. Many of them had the stocks eaten by some sort of rather large and hungry termites. Anyway, post the answers to the above question and lets get that gun rocking!

Dealer Showroom charges about half what Numrich charges.

Call Dealer Showroom at (916) 371-6900. They have all the parts for Madsens both SMGs and LMGs. They are slower even than I am but they will get you the stuff eventually.

I put the first coats of finish my prototype Reising stock. This is the first one to work out the bugs. Turned out rather fantastic I think. There are also a few shots of the inside to show the quality of the inletting. Can't wait to put enough coats of finish on it for the figure to really show. http://www.mgstocks.com/reising50.jpg