1898 Krag Jorgensen project

[webradbury]

In the beginning, there was no Krag....

So my father has wanted a Krag rifle for a long time. He wanted a rifle length uncut rifle as he likes his milsurp weapons. I was looking around online for a rifle with which to surprise him and I couldn't find one that I was comfortable with. They were all more than my budget and I like to put my hands on a used weapon before I buy it.

So I was killing time at work one day and saw a Krag cocking knob/main spring/firing pin assembly for auction on Ebay. I bid about $15 and forgot about it. Well, I ended up winning it and so began an online quest for Krag parts to build a rifle. I found an unissued Krag receiver at Sarco and an unissued bolt body on Ebay. Ordered a semi-inlet full length walnut stock from Boyd's and began bidding on the small parts here and there on ebay trying to get the best deal. I also bought a brand new 30" barrel from Numrich which, I must say, is beautiful. It's crowned, blued, sight screw holes drilled/tapped and extractor notch cut. I don't think I've done bad, now I have every part to build the entire rifle.

Now, I'm one of those folks who doesn't see anything in the world wrong with a professional restoration of a historical firearm...I know many many people think old weapons should be left original but I don't. It's just my opinion, that's all. Having said that, I wanted my father to have a really nice rifle and I knew I wouldn't be able to restore one the way it should be so I'm piecing one together from new and used parts. This is going to be a shooter and hopefully a beautiful one at that. I look at it as resurrecting a rifle from the many rifles that are dismantled and sold as parts online (shudder).

So I started by polishing all of the metal parts (tedious) and getting any little nicks or pits out. The parts were in great shape to begin with. Polishing the receiver was not fun with all of the nooks and crannies in the krag design. My plan was to rust blue the parts and the process can be viewed on the Gunsmithing tips and Tricks page under the "Rust Bluing...interrupting the process" thread.

The parts are done now and I'm beginning to inlet the stock and fit the parts. I will be posting pics along the way so stay tuned. Will

[nekshot]

very good indeed!! wheres theres a will theres a way! My grandfather was issued a krag in the panama conflict and I have wanted one in a long time, now I have another option!

[webradbury]

Some pics of the blued parts and starting the wood work.110982110983110984110987110988110989110990110 991110992

[Pb2au]

Gratuitous Krag porn,,,,I like it.
Very excellent, thank you for sharing this.

[seaboltm]

Nice ! FWIW, I always do wood work prior to bluing, especially when doing a new stock that will need a lot of rasping and sanding, which is apparently what you are doing. I have scratched too many nice blue jobs in the wood working phase. Just a thought.

[webradbury]

yes I kind of got ahead of myself on that. I'm being super careful but if I oops, it will just give me practice rust bluing. I still have to polish and blue the rear sight and butt plate. stock is going to be Watco Danish oil and i'm going to fill the grain. ive been in touch with Buckshot to get one of his one-off Krag receiver wrenches so I can get that going. Honey do projects and never ending grass cutting taking a toll right now!!

[webradbury]

Some pics of the stock. Plenty of wood where it needs to be for shaping.111032111033111034
I look forward to any spare time when I can work on this project but I have to be honest, I'm not looking forward to cutting out the left side of the stock for the sideplate. Plenty of ways to screw that up. I'm going to feel like the guy who had to make the first cut on the Hope diamond... he studied it for a month and passed out when he made the first whack.

[gnoahhh]

Man-oh-man, that's nice! Looking forward to seeing the finished product. (What- grass cutting is more important than rifle work? Perish the thought!!)

[webradbury]

Man-oh-man, that's nice! Looking forward to seeing the finished product. (What- grass cutting is more important than rifle work? Perish the thought!!)

I agree. I have procrastinated on the grass before and it gets out of hand quick this time of year! Of course, eastern NC summer weather is comparable to the Congo!

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I've inletted several of these, all from Boyd's, and you want to make cuts like for the sideplate undersized and them work them out to where they need to be. With the action in the stock I take a sharp lead pencil and reach through the receiver from the loading gate side and mark around the edges of where the loading gate hole is to be located. Take the action back out of the stock and you'll be able to see where to cut the hole out to the marks you made which will be just a bit undersized, and easy enough to work out to an exact fit. If you look at a lot of originals though you'll see that the wood to metal fit around the side plate really wasn't that precision. You're rust bluing looks great! Good work.

[webradbury]

I've inletted several of these, all from Boyd's, and you want to make cuts like for the sideplate undersized and them work them out to where they need to be. With the action in the stock I take a sharp lead pencil and reach through the receiver from the loading gate side and mark around the edges of where the loading gate hole is to be located. Take the action back out of the stock and you'll be able to see where to cut the hole out to the marks you made which will be just a bit undersized, and easy enough to work out to an exact fit. If you look at a lot of originals though you'll see that the wood to metal fit around the side plate really wasn't that precision. You're rust bluing looks great! Good work. post some pics of your rifles here I'd love to see them! Thanks for the compliment. I enjoyed the rust bluing process... I found it easy to get results I was proud to show others. Will

[roadie]

That's an excellent polishing job, letters left sharp and edges preserved. Doesn't look like any wheels were used on it, just hand polished. It looks like a fairly high polish, were there any problems with the rust blue solution biting?

I agree on the restoration of 'collector' firearms, I want mine to look good as well as shoot good.

[webradbury]

It was polished to 320 grit. I did have a few spots it didn't want to stay on. That's when I started putting it on a little more wet. Seemed to work out. Thanks. Yes, no powertools used at all. Really wasn't that hard. The hardest part was the loading gate. It had some tiny pits but the front was very very slightly concave so the paper on the sanding block wouldn't touch the middle. Took a while to get it flat!

[reed1911]

Anyone else have a shot of adrenalin to the heart when looking at those pics...great job keep us up to date.

[gnoahhh]

For my money, rust bluing is the only way to go on a Krag. I have seen too many Krag receivers come out plum colored from hot caustic salt tanks.

[webradbury]

Still inletting. I've got the action, trigger guard and butt plate fitted. The butt plate was a pain in the butt! And as usual, no woodwork would be complete without me stabbing my palm with a sharp object. 112142112143112144112145112146112147

Pics showing the fitting of the butt plate. Took me two hours. Getting the right fit at the 90 degree bend in the plate was tough but worked out. One pic of the bare wood shows pencil lines where the plate fits. It shows the extra wood that needs to be sanded off.

Going to be slow the next week...foot surgery tomorrow. Another shop accident...dropped a threading tool bit at my lathe and tried to catch it with my foot. I was wearing crocs and it landed like a little guillotine and cut my tendon in two. Now I can't raise my bigtoe. Did I say I was clumsy?

[Artful]

Wow, nice work on the rifle - I don't have the patience anymore - what the heck are you doing wearing croc's in a shop?

[M-Tecs]

Thanks great work!!! --- looking forward to the next installment.

[webradbury]

Got a little done today. I've been sanding the forend to get the lower barrel band fitted and it dawned on me that I needed to take about 1/8" off the top of the stock.

Decided to start fitting the sideplate and here are some picks. Too a little too much wood off the top right corner which I'll have to fix. No biggy. 112811112812112813112814

[webradbury]

More sanding and shaping. Trying to work out the stock misalignment issue at the muzzle. I've got it to within 1/8" to the left. I can pull the stock in with a little finger pressure and the barrel band will hold it. I'm going to let it be and see if it affects accuracy.113000113001113002Looking more like a rifle. I was sitting on the front porch sanding while my son played with his remote controlled car...he gets bored in the shop. BTW, the trees in the middle background are 600 yrds from where I'm sitting. 113003

[webradbury]

Well, I'll be starting back work on it today (after cutting the wretched grass). I also got a PM from Buckshot saying my custom, one-off, super cool, special Krag action nut was ready and shipping out! A BIG SHOUT OUT TO HIM FOR HIS SUPERB, TOP-NOTCH, SECOND TO NONE MACHINING ABILITIES!!! The piece of stock he used turned out to be 4140 carbon steel. He said he found this out when his HSS end mill went to a better place after the first cut. It is going to come in handy, especially since I just picked up ANOTHER Krag project. I think this one is going to be a shameless Griffin and Howe knock-off (or rip-off, however you want to look at is), but that's another project thread, another day.

Anyway, haven't gotten much done due to my son being out of school for the summer and he gets completely bored to the point of drooling when I am working in the shop and he has to be out there with me. I have to keep and eye on him or he disappears and the next thing I know, he is writing his initials in the lawn with RoundUp or trying to set the dogs on fire, etc.

[webradbury]

New action nut thanks to Buckshot. This thing is awesome! 114782

Finished rusting all of the small parts today. It should start progressing fairly quickly now. I hop to have it done by October.

[QIDPlb]

I love this project.

[webradbury]

Got the barrel installed and headspaced today.114860114861

Won't get another free day for a week. By then the new stock should be in.

I couldn't get the stock/barrel/receiver to line up well and finally pulled a string down the center of the stock. Yep...crooked. A call to Boyds and a few emailed photos later and the are shipping a new stock. They agreed the first on was not straight. It starts going wacky in the barrel channel before the first barrel band. Boyds has been great and replaced it even though it was past the 90 day warranty by two weeks!

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Man, that stinks to find that out after all that work. Only good thing is you'll have learned from your mistakes working on the first stock and your second one will be better.

[prsman23]

Dude. You rock. Seriously. Can't wait to see the other project started :)
And bad luck on the stock, but more practice right? You get the new one setup in no time.

[lbaize3]

Many, many, many years ago I had a 98 Krag carbine that was a joy to shoot and was pretty accurate (from my memory). Even had a sealed cloth bandolier of 30-40 (30 US Government) that was issued near the time of WWI. Somehow, in my youth, I wanted something else and traded it off. Needless to say, I have long regretted that decision. And I have long looked for another Krag.

So, I am enjoying this thread and appreciate your masterful work.

[webradbury]

Still haven't got the new stock so I decided to work on the handguard. I had this piece of walnut hanging around the shop since the days I used to turn wood and decided to put
It to use. Layout was pretty simple. 11603511603611603711603811603911604011604111604211 6043116044

I used another rifle I just bought to shape the handguard. I left it a little oversize for final fitting to the other gun.

[webradbury]

Here it is with mineral spirits wiped on...I don't think it looks too bad.116045

[prsman23]

Looks terrible. I'll have to take it off your hands.
:)

[webradbury]

Thanks. I can't wait to get to work on the Krag I got from you! Hopefully it'll be done before next years deer season.

[webradbury]

Got the new stock and its a lot straighter!116446116447
Didn't take a lot of pics but worked on it for four hours today. Shouldn't be to long and it'll be at the range test firing!

[Buckshot]

...........You sure do nice work, and it appears you have considerable experience doing it. I have a nice 1898 Krag. It has a wonderful original military barrel that slugs .301" x .308" with a .310" throat. At some time in the past a PO cut the stock off in front of the rear band to 'Sport-ster-ize' it :-) Looked to have been a nice piece of wood with strong cartouches:

http://www.fototime.com/D0D7166B1E9D8B1/standard.jpg

I too bought a stock and handguard from Boyds, but that was probably 4 years ago. No sense in rushing into anything. I'm curious to see how you handle the handguard clips and rivits. I've heard of people using hacksaw blades or the blued steel pallet straps for the clips. If you mentioned it I missed it, but did you have the action and other metal polished and re-blued?

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

[M-Tecs]

webradbury thanks for the great post. Nice work.

[webradbury]

Thanks to all. Buckshot, the plan for the handguard clips is the pallet strap material you mentioned unless I think of an alternative between now and then. The metal finish is polished and rust blued with Mark Lee's express blue...good stuff!

I got a lot done since the last post but unfortunately, have no photos due to my camera sustaining a catastrophic collission with a hard flat surface.

Bur now, the trigger guard, lower band, sling swivel and buttplate are inletted. I have to finish shaping the left side opening for the sideplate and then its final shaping/sanding and finishing.

[Buckshot]

"..........the plan for the handguard clips is the pallet strap material you mentioned unless I think of an alternative between now and then."

I'd sure be interested in seeing photos of that, so get a new camera, would ya? :-)

" The metal finish is polished and rust blued with Mark Lee's express blue...good stuff!"

​Does that require any special equipment?

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

[webradbury]

Not at all. After polishing to 320 grit, degrease completely and start rusting. I do in the kitchen with a cheap aluminum turkey roasting pan. Mark Lee's express blue is a lot fast than the other rusting agents. When you wipe this stuff on it begins rusting immediately. Just follow the instructions. Boil in distilled water only! Card with OOOO steel wool. A small carding brush from brownells works great too for the nooks and crannies.

[Buckshot]

Not at all. After polishing to 320 grit, degrease completely and start rusting. I do in the kitchen with a cheap aluminum turkey roasting pan. Mark Lee's express blue is a lot fast than the other rusting agents. When you wipe this stuff on it begins rusting immediately. Just follow the instructions. Boil in distilled water only! Card with OOOO steel wool. A small carding brush from brownells works great too for the nooks and crannies.

Thanks!

Buckshot

[webradbury]

I've made a lot of progress but still don't have a way of photographing. I finished inletting and assembled the rifle on bare wood.

Side note: since I began working on the new stock, it has finished drying out and warped worse than the first stock! The muzzle end bends down and to the left about 5/8" in both directions. I guess Boyd's is carving the stocks before they are down to the optimum moisture content...I don't know. All I know is I got the stock and it was straight and worked on it a little and put it inside the gun safe. Came back to it about four days later and it's crooked.

Figured out that the bend was under where the magazine of the rifle rests...right in the cradle of the stock...and didn't bend until I cut the sideplate portion out. I think this probably had something to do with it.

Well since I found the spring in the wood, I decided to straighten it, by golly! I wrapped the portion to be heated with cloth and slowly poured hot water on the rag for about 2-3 minutes. Secured it in a quick made jig and let it set for close to 48 hours. It's straight now!!

Put it all together today and headed for the range and it has been a successful endeavor! It didn't rearrange my face and shot three in 2.5 inches at 50 yards.

Now a little finish sanding and on goes the Danish oil!!! I promise I will get a camera or some other means of posting photos.

[gnoahhh]

Whew! The second stock warped too? Glad you got it resolved.

Did I miss you saying what you'll finish the wood with? Straight linseed oil as per original, or something a little more waterproof? How does that blue finish compare to the original Armory finish color-wise? (It's a shame there's no way to duplicate the original receiver finish in a Krag restoration, short of re-carburizing it.)

[webradbury]

Whew! The second stock warped too? Glad you got it resolved.

Did I miss you saying what you'll finish the wood with? Straight linseed oil as per original, or something a little more waterproof? How does that blue finish compare to the original Armory finish color-wise? (It's a shame there's no way to duplicate the original receiver finish in a Krag restoration, short of re-carburizing it.)

I don't think I have ever seen an original finish so I couldn't say. I will say that I couldn't get the metal to go any darker. It still shows a little brown in the bright sun. Maybe the composition, I don't know.

As far as the wood, I plan to use Watco Danish oil and wet sand to fill the grain. Not really going for originality, just a good looking shooter.

[Comrade Mike]

Looks beautiful so far! Keep us posted

[taco650]

Now that you've successfully straightened the second stock, do you think you could have done the same thing to the first one?

[webradbury]

Absolutely! After the replacement stock warped and I had to straighten it, I didn't feel guilty at all about putting the first stock back together, which I did the other day.

[webradbury]

Well its done. Except for the Handguard clips.... But since I have to redo another handguard, I will wait. Yes I screwed up this handguard when I cut the sight hole wrong. But it will do for now.

Sorry for not posting any more pics of the progress but I just got the computer/ camera issues sorted out.
118935
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118938

It shoots very well also!

The finish is Watco Danish oil. The stock was sanded to 320 grit, de-whiskered, oiled up really well and the first two coats were wet sanded with 400 grit to fill the grain, which didn't want to fill easily.

[gnoahhh]

Well done. Bravo!!

[webradbury]

I gave it to my father today and he loved it. We shot it a few times and it shoots sweet!

[Buckshot]

............I'm still waiting to hear about how you got the handguard done. Don't hold out on me now!

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

[prsman23]

Well done! Sick of krag projects yet??? :)

[webradbury]

............I'm still waiting to hear about how you got the handguard done. Don't hold out on me now!

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

Buckshot, I still haven't made the clips. I messed up when cutting the hole for the rear sight so I'm planning on carving another handguard this winter so I just postponed the clips. The current handguard is held on by the rear sight right now and it actually stays put quite nicely. The clips should be easy enough to bend and shape...its the rivets I'm worried about!

[webradbury]

Well done! Sick of krag projects yet??? :)

Not at all, but my wife is definetly sick of it!!