to put things in perspective ...
lyman trad ml's are rebranded with their name, the actual gun is made by investarms, italy. imho, they are the best of ALL the offshore guns out there today.
lyman trad ml "kits" are actually "screwdriver kits" 'cause that's all it takes to put them together. might take all of, oh, maybe ten minutes and the gun is ready to load and fire. seriously.
while that lyman gun is screwed together and ready to shoot, it could still use some work, and this is where the serious elbow grease can kick in, or not kick in - all depends on the level of finish one requires. i'll say it again - once screwed together, it IS a gun that's ready to load and shoot, and kill critters as well as any store-bought, fully-finished, ready-to-shoot gun.
at the very least, one could take some coarse sandpaper, say 80 to 100 grit, and go over the wood (mostly the butt stock) to smooth it all out. then some 220 or so grit to clean up any of the rough sandpaper scratches. this could take about 10 to 15 minutes. now go get a 3oz bottle of tru-oil and apply a coat. when it cures overnight, buff out the finished wood with some 0000 steel wool, or just a paper towel. now give it another coat and let cure. done. go load and shoot. the gun will last a lifetime if ya clean it well.
to take finishing to a much higher (but unnecessary) level, and take lots of time (like up to a few days), rasp all the proud wood down even with the furniture. this also means contouring the stock's wrist area where there's a "bulb" of extra wood - smooth it all down and get the wood to flow nicely. this doesn't take a master cabinet maker's skills, just let the rasp do the work, eyeball it, and when it looks good to you then it is good. yeah, this will scratch and mar the metal, no big deal. now go over all the wood with 100 grit, 220 grit and 400 grit sandpaper - yes, the furniture will get some sanding, too, in the process. now buff out the metal scratches with 0000 steel wool. the lyman/investarms stock wood is walnut and to stain it or not is purely for aesthetic reasons. i've stained some of these guns dark, some light, but most are just fine without staining and just applying some type of protective finish. there are a number of oil finishes i like using, but the easiest, fastest, surest gun stock finish is still good ol' tru-oil, wiped on with a piece of 100% cotton t-shirt material.
there ya go! look what ya done! ya put together yer own rifle! you did it, it's yours and ready to serve ya well! congrats!
now learn how best to feed and care for it!
