On Tue, 6 Mar 2018 20:13:37 -0500, Alex wrote:

I brought the M1A home today. The stock is a dry walnut - not a smooth
varnish like my shotguns and other rifles. What do you recommend to
preserve the wood? Tung oil seems to be popular. I have multiple
dehumidifiers in my safes so I don't want it to dry out and crack.

We never put anything on the stocks of our M-14s, but maybe the armorer did. Looking around, as I'm
sure you have, I came across this:

Protecting/Preserving Walnut Stock
I recently became the proud owner of an M1A Standard with walnut stock and I of course want to take
good care it. Right now it has a dull finish and I would like it a big glossier, but not too much.
After hours and hours of using the search button I've seen a wide variety of things people use to
protect/preserve the walnut stocks but I figure a poll will be the best way to see which is the most
popular. I did send and receive a reply back from Springfield Armory regarding this. Here was their
reply.

Troy,
Thank you for your purchase of our M1A model. We use linseed oil rubbed into the stock here.

In the same thread there were several suggestions for tung oil.

I'd go with linseed oil. Lightly. Rubbed out after setting for 30 minutes or so.