American Long Gun

The treatment of this firearm focused on creating a fill for the missing piece of stock along the proper right side of the barrel tang. This loss exposed the interior of the firing mechanism which could collect dust. Because the lock is made of many small moving parts, it is difficult to clean and often develops corrosion. In addition to the concerns for condition, the loss also is aesthetically disfiguring to the firearm.

I decided to carve a balsa wood fill because it is an easily manipulated material and one I had not worked with previously. The fill was attached to the object with Gamblin rabbit skin glue and clamped for several days. An animal skin glue was chosen because in changes of relative humidity it expands and contracts as wood does, although they are not a perfect match. Additionally, animal skin glue is reversible in water and does not require stronger solvents such as acetone or ethanol. Either of these solvents would affect the surface finish on the stock and because the fill is in close contact with the stock, the future removal of the fill could potentially damage the finish. Rabbit skin glue was chosen in particular because it was available in the lab and provides enough strength to attach the fill when used to tack the balsa wood in place.

The edges were filled with Multiwax W-445 from Conservation Materials Ltd. and dry pigments. Then the fill was inpainted using Golden and Liquitex acrylic mediums. Next a Windsor & Newton Professional satin varnish was brushed on, however the finish once dry did not match. The satin varnish was mixed with a gloss varnish from Grumbacher, a combination which matched the surface of the object.

As part of the treatment, the surface of the firearm was also cleaned with makeup sponges and the metal components were cleaned with solvents before being cold waxed with renaissance wax.