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I haven't been active for many years, last match I shot was about 1980. Haven't built a rifle in almost that long. When my divorce ordeal started I had to work long hours to keep from losing everything, no time to shoot or build rifles. I was even making my own V springs, made a rifling bench but was afraid of liability issues and stuck with commercial barrels. Numrich used to make gain twist barrels that would flat out shoot a round ball! You can push a round ball faster in a gain twist.

My ancestors made some of the first 100% American made rifles, some are in the Williamsburg museum. I just wanted to keep the craft alive for a little bit longer.

To: SandWMan

An interesting overview on wood finish can be found in first link, thanks for mentioning water glass.

Water Glass may be (is term used in Britain) an archival or restoration fill/seal process and I wonder who would be using it but instrument repair (ers)?

“POTASSIUM SILICATE WATER GLASS”

“Potassium silicate water glass is better suited to instrument making than the more common sodium silicate water glass because it does not form the opaque patches that sometimes occur on a sodium silicate water glass surface while drying (caused by interaction with carbon dioxide in the air). It can be applied neat or diluted with some water.”

“The adhesion of varnish to water glass is excellent once both are thoroughly dry. But this adhesion can take many weeks to develop. Though the water glass appears dry in a matter of hours, residual moisture and the alkalinity it carries can affect drying of a varnish coat on top. It helps if one lets the water glass dry in a low-moisture atmosphere for several days before putting varnish on. We also recommend a thin layer of protein (eg. egg white or casein or glue) between the water glass and the varnish. This avoids unusually slow drying of the first varnish coat, and improves the initially poor adhesion that makes the varnish chippy for some time after application.”

http://www.nrinstruments.demon.co.uk/Varn.html
Here endeth water glass for instruments portion...

Then there is the present day usage of the term in and around diverse trades such as auto and ship repair..

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-water-glass.htm

“Also known as sodium silicate, water glass is a solution that may appear as a barely solid agent or a thick liquid. There are a number of different uses for water glass, with many of them related to the manufacture of products that encompass such areas as building materials, textiles, and fire safety. When combined with magnesium silicate, water glass can also be helpful in such tasks as repairing mufflers on automobiles.”