Next New Project. #4 Mk1* Longbranch.

[W.R.Buchanan]

OK my barreled action returned form Jess yesterday with the front sight timed right and rifling that looked like it had been lapped.

Absolutely beautiful work!

As I mentioned before I got 4 groove rifling.

Jess was also kind enough to give me a .35-303 case to play with.

Got to find a Boolit Mould.

Proceeding to finish work now.

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

Lots of people might not understand what I mean when I say "detailing."

Fact: All machined parts have sharp edges on them after they are machined.

Sometimes they are dealt with at the factory but most times if they are not on the outside of the gun they are just left. Sometimes metal parts that run against each other wear themselves together. (Break in period.)

Last Friday I had a milling chip invade my nice Browning Citori Sporting Clays .410 and gall the hell out of a couple of places inside. Almost broke my heart! This is a $2500 gun. Obviously not immune from this issue.

Still when you get inside you can see all the places where they just put it together and sent it out. Both of the extractors on this gun were so sharp they would cut you.

This Long Branch is much nicer than my BSA gun made in the same year. There are not nearly as many cutter marks and dwell marks in it as on the English gun. Both were war time production but the Canadian made one was made in a place where bombs were not being dropped on a daily basis. So less external stress equals better finishes.

I still had to file all the edges, and file out some machining marks so that they would not show up like sore thumbs after bead blasting and coating with Cerakote. I also used my Felt Deburring Wheel to blend edges after I filed them so every edge is smooth to the touch.

All of the internal parts are getting the same treatment and it took me nearly an hour to stone the two depressions on the bent where the trigger slammed into it probably from doing the Mad Minute or maybe just being fired a zillion times. I also have to address the striker/cocking piece, and a lot of work on the bolt handle itself. The end result here is a better trigger pull.

Every single part on this gun will get the full treatment and I will probably have 6-8 hours in this aspect of the build before I'm done.

This investment of time will pay off as a much smoother running and nicer handling gun in the end.

When you pick up a gun and it just feels good in your hands you know that you have done your homework. That's how I tell if I did enough work on it. Sometimes I even go back into it and do more if it doesn't pass the test.

One bit of caution. You really need to think about each and every edge you break as some of the parts need the sharp edges for function correctly.

Randy

[KLR]

As I mentioned before I got 45 groove rifling.


Randy

Wow, I thought only Marlin had that.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Hey! my typing speaks for itself,,, !

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

Here's some pics of the detailed internal parts. All are ready for bluing which will be done with Birchwood Casey's Super Blue. They will all be treated with Frog Lube immediately there after. The only parts visible from the outside are the safety and the bottom half of the trigger.

The exterior of the barrel had been welded on to fill some small rust pits. There were some evidence of poor filing technique which had to be dealt with.

I literally used a Finish Sander with 120 grit WoD paper on it and sanded most of the goobers out using fast lengthwise strokes, and rotating by hand as I went. This took about 20 minutes checking frequently for progress.

Before anyone goes,,, Oh my God you've ruined that barrel and it has been "Welded On!"

I took maybe .001-.003 off parts of the exterior. The welding was only done on the surface and it wasn't that deep to begin with and poses absolutely no danger whatsoever.

Also it should be noted that the whole thing will get grit blasted before it is coated with Cerakote which will hide the vast majority of the things I didn't get out. Most are below the stock line anyway as they were rust pits caused by the metal contacting the wood over the years.

I still have to deal with the bolt itself and I think I am going to Cerakote the main part and the cocking piece. There is more than enough clearance for it to run smoothly in the bolt race after both are coated.

The guide ways on my CZ82 were all coated and after 100+ shots they still have no evidence of wear!

I think it will work out well.

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

Made some more progress today by disassembling the bolt. It didn't want to come apart and I had to heat the Cocking Piece to get it to release. After apart I had to buff the threads repeatedly until the firing pin and cocking piece would go together with out too much force on my little $6 bolt disassembly tool. The threads were really tight and needed to be loosened up a bit.
I also drilled out the bolt knob. The way it looked before was like a giant stone club. Now it has some character.

here's pics of the operation in the mill.




Randy

[leebuilder]

Nice work on the bolt knob. Looks original, i like them solid my self.
Those cocking pieces can be tough, when you get one loose wiggle it and apply lube. Then i peen on the sides of the finger grooves, not to marr the metal but just to "swage" the threads a bit looser.
You dont want to get it stuck/galling/seized.
The added touches make a build
pm me if you want a LB dog leg safety