Are you using any kind of sanding block ?
I found that a Pink Rubber Ereaser works very good as a sanding block.
It is firm enough , small enough , and can get into areas you need to apply pressure but still have control of the sanding direction.
Sandpaper just held in your hand will just follow the contour of the flat surface you are trying to restore
I know you may not want to do this but some smiths are artists with a bead blasting gun. Bead blast and get it reblued will come out very dark. Or get a smith to do a black park after bead blasting. I have a chopped M1917 U.S. Enfield in 30-06 that I had done years ago as far as cutting down the rear receiver ring and sand and polish all the metal. The smith bead blasted it then reblued it. Came out almost black. Though there are differences in the steel your 1886 was made out of and the later M1917. There was an article on the ASSRA forum about a a process called micro welding. Poster had an action sent out and was badly pitted. They cleaned it up as best as possible. Then set the action up in the machine and and what you saw was a bunch of very small lines of weld. Not enough to affect the heat treatment. When cleaned up was almost impossible to detect where the welding was done. Frank
Originally Posted by LAGS
Now that's a great suggestion and has caused one of those "now why didn't I think of that" moments for me! Thanks for sharing that one!
Statistics show that criminals commit fewer crimes after they have been shot
I cut a small block of wood but an eraser is a good idea!
Wood is Good.
But there are Curved surfaces on a gun.
The rubber can follow them without exerting additional pressure and gouging in.
A ereaser is the cheapest and most available block that I have found.
Also.
You can cut sand and shape a rubber ereaser to whatever shape you want.
And if you need a firmer sanding block , just use a grey Ink eraeser
I use them when sanding and refinishing stocks too.
Here's where im at. I like the left side of the gun, came out nice. The loading gate side still has deeper scratches from rough paper im trying to get out. Im pressing hard but I cant seem to reach them.
Looks like you can polish out more of the scratches on the right side if you take your time.
But try to work in one direction only and don't just focus on a scratch or you create dips in the surface.
Like near the front on the right side where they rounded off a depression at the screw recess.
Did you got look at the Turnbull Videos I posted? It had all the prep work lined out pretty simply?
Also you should be doing the curved surfaces first as that keeps the edges sharp. All covered in the Turnbull's Vids.
When you get done with your finish you need to wax the metal parts using Tree-Wax , Bees wax or similar. You apply the stuff to a warmed part and let it soak in then buff with a towel. Do it 2-3 times, and the gun will never rust again! This is not new or unheard of it's been around since the beginning.
How do you think they protected their guns from the elements 200 years ago? The only oil that was available was Whale Oil and it was very expensive. Patches got Bacon Grease or Bear Fat.
If you were out in the rain which was kinda gonna happen sooner or later you had to completely disassemble your gun every night fro cleaning and if you didn't do it, it would rust solid in a day or so. The wax prevented that from happening.
Randy
Last edited by W.R.Buchanan; 04-29-2020 at 06:50 PM.
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
Il give it a shot. Im using an eraser like you mentioned.
I bought renaissance wax.I didn't use any yet.
I was not aware of these. They are excellent. Thanks for posting.
2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
"Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of different perspectives? Because if not, there’s absolutely no point."
– Amber Veal
"The Highest form of ignorance is when your reject something you don't know anything about".
- Wayne Dyer
I sanded down a 1905 young American 32 given to me that was all oxidized and pitted. I sanded it smooth and polished it. The pistol looks like new now. I love these projects!
I completely refinished a 1941 long branch sporter lee enfield last year. Imo the Oxpho blue finish turned out better then most factory jobs. I reblued the whole rifle.
Your gun is looking awesome! Looks like candidate for Oxpho blue! It’s a $20 try that you can remove if you don’t like it.
Now that you got out most of the building would be pretty cool if you sent it in to get it Case hardened again. It would probably cover some of the imperfections to the naked eye with all the different colors. I think Brownels sell a “brown” colored old school type bluing as well.
Last edited by Tripplebeards; 04-29-2020 at 07:28 PM.
They were sent to me in a "Turnbull Newsletter" a few days ago. Figured I'd spread them around.
His Wood Finishing Techniques are closely guarded secrets and akin to the English Gun Makers techniques. And when I called them asking how they matched the colors their stocks and fore ends they wouldn't tell me.
But then came the "How's it's Made" TV Show,,, which covered a guns restoration from beginning to end.
I found out the way they match the colors is by making the Stock and Fore end off the same stock blank! DUH!!!
Even the grain structure matches because it's from the same piece of wood!
My "Big Light Bulb" pretty much burned out after seeing that!
Randy
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
\
I bought some brown, im waiting for it to come. You did a good job on those guns! I have an enfield that my grandpa owned and it got passed down to me. My uncle gave it a few years ago.
I knew that, but the problem comes when people like us that work on guns try to order new stock pieces. Im pretty sure companies don't care if they match or not. They will pick up the pieces and ship it out.They were sent to me in a "Turnbull Newsletter" a few days ago. Figured I'd spread them around.
His Wood Finishing Techniques are closely guarded secrets and akin to the English Gun Makers techniques. And when I called them asking how they matched the colors their stocks and fore ends they wouldn't tell me.
But then came the "How's it's Made" TV Show,,, which covered a guns restoration from beginning to end.
I found out the way they match the colors is by making the Stock and Fore end off the same stock blank! DUH!!!
Even the grain structure matches because it's from the same piece of wood!
My "Big Light Bulb" pretty much burned out after seeing that!
Randy
For most 100% finished lowest cost stock producers that is mostly true. Not true for most of the semi-custom producers. Even on there low grade woods they will cut from the same blank. Some do it automatically and some you have to request it but I have never had an issue for getting two piece stock for the same blank.
2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
"Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of different perspectives? Because if not, there’s absolutely no point."
– Amber Veal
"The Highest form of ignorance is when your reject something you don't know anything about".
- Wayne Dyer
3B: Was that the original wood on your Enfield? It came out nice. On my BSA Enfield the wood looked like it had been drug behind a car. I went after it with a sander and just kept after it until all the dings and dents were gone. The wood has a very pleasing Redish cast to it, almost looked like Rosewood, and finished up nicely with Tru Oil.
I just went over the metal with Birchwood Casey Super Blue and it came right back, but it wasn't very far gone in the first place. Really just a touch up of the worn spots.
The gun came out nice.
Randy
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
Does the blue hold up?
It holds up OK, but if it does get thin you can just go after it again and touch it up. I use it alot, and it's pretty painless to use.
Randy
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
BSA used English walnut on thier military firearms not high grade stuff though
.Australian made Lithgows got stuck with Coachwood stocks .
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