Rebuild of Mauser 71/84 from SOG

[arclight]

Hi all,

Here are some pictures of the SOG 71/84 I restored. Had to turn a new bolt stop + screw as these parts were missing, but the rest was there and salvageable.

I used electrolytic rust removal to de-rust the magazine tube and other parts, then reblued key parts.

Stock got stripped and steamed for dent removal. I used fiber-reinforced Acraglass to fill in some disintegrated wood up front, and everything came out pretty well.

Check out:

http://23b.org/gallery/v/23b_members/Arclight/projects/metal/mauser/IMGP2086.JPG.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1

http://23b.org/gallery/v/23b_members/Arclight/projects/metal/mauser/IMGP2087.JPG.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1

Arclight

[MtGun44]

Looks good. Is it a shooter?

Bill

[arclight]

It sure is. I've got about 50 cases from Buffalo, and my current load is:


31.5gr IMR-3031
350gr Lyman boolit (.446) lubed with homemade beeswax/paraffin/Crisco mix
1/2 square of toilet paper as filler

So far, I'm around 3" at 50 yards, and I'm starting to get the hang of this whole casting thing, so the next test will be with my improved, non-wrinkled bullets.

Does anyone bell their case mouths before seating cast rifle boolits like these? I sometimes get some shaving at the base, which I'm guessing will affect accuracy.

Arclight

[Ricochet]

That looks terrific!

Yes, you should flare the case mouths just enough so the boolits will start in the case mouths easily with no shaving.

[MtGun44]

Lee makes an excellent universal case flaring die that will cover from
(I think) .22 cal up to .50 cal and works very well. 3" at 50 is a great start
and if you avoid shaving the bullets it should help.

If you have Unique on hand try 10 - 12 gr of Unique and see what you get,
no filler or wad is required and this load has worked very well in many
different caliber rifles including .45-70 and .43 Spanish, so may work well
for you.

Bill

[Buckshot]

...................Dang, that old gewher looks VERY presentable! I have a M71 and a M71/84 someone had sporterized :-(. They're all good shooters.

..............Buckshot

[danyboy]

Arclight,
I can't get those pictures or a link for the pictures on your thread.
danyboy

[Freightman]

I can't see them eather!

[Echo]

I can't see them either - just get a blank box with a little square with a red 'x'.. we must be doing something wrong, but I'm not literate enough to know how to fix it.

[Johnch]

I can't see them either - just get a blank box with a little square with a red 'x'.. we must be doing something wrong, but I'm not literate enough to know how to fix it.

Right click on the X
Click on properties
Then cut and paste the listed adderss in your browzer and you can see the first pic
ANd then look at the other pic's

John

[osage]

Nice job Arclight.

John thanks for the how to on opening the pics.

[arclight]

Here is a link to the full gallery if you're interested:

http://23b.org/gallery/v/23b_members/Arclight/projects/metal/mauser/

Also, here are some photos of how I used the car battery charger to de-rust some delicate parts, like the magazine tube:

http://23b.org/gallery/v/23b_members/Arclight/projects/metal/derusting/

As an aside, I now have about 150 rounds through this rifle since receiving it as a wall-hanger and restoring. I'm using the Lyman 350gr .446 mould and 3031 powder, pushing velocities similar to the original BP loads. I also load 2F Goex with a milk carton power wad and a squirt of bore butter to reduce fouling.

I turned the .446 punch out of a piece of drill rod and hardened.

So far, the smokeless loads are putting 3 shots in around 2.5" at 100 yards. Not too bad for something this ancient.

The only problems I have now are:

1. The short range and medium sights don't quite agree on windage.

2. Some of my rounds are hard to chamber. I assume this has to do with them picking up a slight bulge during the boolit seating operation. I just got a Lee Universal Expander die to try, so will see if this resolves. :-D


Arclight

[danyboy]

100 yards open sights; no way me 50 year old eyes could shoot open sights at 100 yards.
I have been shooting my mauser for years now. Your renovation job is very nice.
I had never heard of using a car battery to remove rust, could it be used on the barrell as well ?

danyboy

[arclight]

Yes, it does work on the barrel. The only thing to remember though, is that you don't get back any metal that is already lost. So it will take a sewer pipe bore and remove the rust, but if there are pits they will remain.

Arclight

[danyboy]

OK. And this washing soda, did you mean baking soda like this white powder that you buy in a box at the grocery store ?
danyboy

[arclight]

Danny,

The stuff you want is called "Arm and Hammer Washing Soda." It's Sodium Carbonate, not Sodium Bicarbonate like Baking Soda.

A spoon full of Red Devil Lye also works. The basic procedure is to fill up a container with water, place 1 or more sacrificial electrodes in and hook up the 12V battery charger.

For rifle parts, I like using a plastic wallpaper hanging tub from the hardware store, and 1-2 pieces of 3/8 or 1/2" rebar. You can use the low or high setting on any 12V battery charger, just don't use the "Jump Start" setting.

One other important fact: Make sure you get the polarity right! You want your parts to be attached to the NEGATIVE (BLACK) cable. The chunk of iron you are using as the electrode goes to the POSITIVE (RED) terminal. If you switch them, it will rust your part MORE.

I usually clean for 2-4 hours. You can't really damage your part by overcleaning, although it does take off finishes and plating IF the metal underneath is rust.

Here are some more details:

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/rust/electrolytic_derusting.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/aschoepp/electrolyticrust.html

Your finished product will come out sort of slippery. Wash it off it water and take some steel wool or Scotch Brite to it. The rust will come off like mud, leaving behind a grey surface where there used to be nothing but rust.

Be sure to dry and oil up your parts immediately after cleaning, as they will be vulnerable to rust.


Arclight

[danyboy]

Arclight,
Would try it out but not sure enough about all the finiky parts in the action, i.e. how am I going to dry all this out without taking everything apart ? Did you just soak the action right in the pail ? What happens after, how did you dry out and oil all the action parts without taking it apart ?
Danyboy

[danyboy]

Did an electrolysis on my old 71/84 with this 12V battery charger method and it worked great. Here is what it looks like :
http://s454.photobucket.com/albums/qq261/dan_leonard87/?action=view&current=MauserM7184002.jpg&newest=1
http://s454.photobucket.com/albums/qq261/dan_leonard87/?action=view&current=MauserM7184001.jpg&newest=1

[Beekeeper]

Arclight
those are great looking pics.
I used them when I was building the stocks for the 2 that I have.
I bought barreled receivers from Centerfire systems and built the rest getting parts from all over ( mostly from OWS) and scratch built the stocks using your pictures and a stock tracing I got from a man at the gunshop where I go.
Seems a customer heard me say I was looking for a 71/84 to use to make a tracing and left one there for me.

I use the lyman446 boolit and size it down and P/P it back to 449 which is mu bore size.
Have you fired yours using BP yet?
I am told it is great but haven't tried it yet?

I have been using a load that Buckshot gave me of 35 gr of H4198 with a sized .449 boolit at 378 grains (straight ww) and have had good luck with it.


Jim

[Beekeeper]

Arclight,
Here are a couple of pics of the 2 that I built using your pics as a guide.

[MtGun44]

So - from you handle I assume a Buff driver or bombadier?
Not everyone knows what a arclight was.
Correct?

Bill

[leadman]

I bought the Lee Universal case expander and am not very happy with it as sold. I did however find that the expanders from other Lee dies will work with it.

I now use the expander fom my 45acp Lee dies in the universal case expander and it does a better job of expanding the case rather than just flaring the neck.

[danyboy]

Nice job Beekeeper. No I haven't tried BP nor paper patching yet. However, I did a chamber cast using sulphur and graphite (chamber neck diameter is .467") and I slugged my bore (.433" bore, .4475" groove).
Last night I measured an unsized Lyman 446110 cast bullet: .448". Thought it would be perfect for my bore but I will have to outside turn my cases to make these fit cause they won't chamber. Also thought of getting the chamber neck reemed a little larger...

[Dutchman]

Is there a source for a reproduction stock and magazine tube?

thanks
Dutch

[Beekeeper]

Dutchman,
OWS used to have reproduction stocks.
Send an e-mail to Dixie at OWS and ask. I found that they do not list very much on thier website but have a lot in stock.
I made me mag tube out of bras tubing from the Hobby Lobby hobby store, ahve forgotten the number but will look it up if you want.
The head for the tube is the hard part to find!


Jim