Muskets

This was a bit of a departure from my regular projects. I was asked to do some wood repairs on two 1840 muskets. One is an Irish Constabulary issue that had a chunk broken off at the end of the stock, and the other is an India Palace issue that required 5 different grafts, three along the top and two where the wood had deteriorated at the barrel pins. Before starting I had to research the finish used and it turns out muskets from that era were coated or dipped in a thick rendered linseed oil activated with lead powder, obviously no longer available. I did all the wood grafts, colour matched them by alternating very thin aniline dies, burnt sienna then black, and then started layering them with a linseed varnish product until the finish was as thick as the original. It took over three months but most f that was watching oil dry.