Latest Single Shot Project

[LAGS]

I was wondering which thread this would be best displayed in.
It is a Single Shot, but it is also a Rimfire, and I plan on doing some restoration and maybe some Customization on it, so it could go in the Gunsmithing threads too.
It is a Sears " Ranger " 103-8 22 S,L, LR single shot made back in the late 30's or early 40's
It is Made by Marlin and is a Trade Name gun of the Model 100 Marlin
I bought it to test the 22 reloads that I am doing.
The bore is fairly good, but the outside is kind of rough.
I plan to refinish the stock and Slow Rust Blue all the metal.
And to go with the 22 reloading, I may plan on turning it into a Survival Rifle of some sort.
IE, Ammo and Survival gear stored in the buttstock, maybe a Scope or better sights.
Any Suggestions ?
The plastic Trigger guard is broken, and I cant find a new one, so that will be custom made out of metal
I already made a new firing pin spring and stripped the finish off the stock , and bead blasted the barrel.
Parts can be found, but I will probably make the parts I need if any.
It has no real collector value, so turning it back into something useful, makes more sense than a costly Restoration.
I have shot it, and it is still fairly accurate out to 50 yards.

[marlinman93]

I've repaired some of those old plastic trigger guards with epoxy, and then sprayed them satin black. It keeps them looking original, and easier than a new one.

[Paul5388]

Numrich http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ has new plastic trigger guards. It seems that they fit from serial numbers starting with "AR" on up.

I looked again and also found the one for "AR" and prior, $17.95. http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/HarringtonRichardson-33274/Shotguns-36451/SingleBarrelSeries-40892/88-41991.htm?page=7

[LAGS]

Thanks paul5388.
I ordered a replacement trigger guard from Gun Parts.
It is a generic replacement and First or Wisner didn't have one either.
Plus this rifle like my two Winchester 67's don't have serial numbers.
Maybe the Marlin models did.
But by the parts style , it is a late version.
So made past 1938 to 1941 when they stopped making them for sears because of the war that went into full swing.

[LAGS]

I may just make a trigger guard out of wood like the original , then make a plaster of Paris mold and cast a new one out of epoxy.
Or if I get adventurous , cast one out of Brass , Zinc or Aluminum.
That is what makes this hobby so fun.
I get to play with all kinds of ideas.
What do you think I use the Zinc Wheelwright for ?
I cast parts out of them like Butt Plates

[LAGS]

I had stripped the finish off the stock with paint stripper.
Then I took an Iron and wet towel and sweated out most of the Dents in the stock.
But there is one Gouge, that is an actual Nick, that will not steam out.
I steamed it as much as I could.
Then I cleaned it with Acetone, and filled it with Wood Putty.
My intention is to sand the Nick out completly.
But if you fill the nick with wood putty first, then when you sand the stock down, you are staying on a flatter plane, and the sanding block does not follow the nick to make a low spot.
I will sand the stock with 100 grit sandpaper untill the wood putty is almost gone, but sand the entire forend to reduce the wood equally and not just sand the dent.
Then I will switch to a finer sandpaper and finish sanding the stock down untill the wood putty is all gone.
But if the gouge is too deep, or you dont want to reduce the thickness of the stock too much, you then have the option to stop sanding, and leave some of the filler in the gouge.

If you sand first, then decide Filler is in order, you can end up with a bigger depressed area than origanally intended when you have to try and sand the filler to match the wood surface.

[roadie]

That gouge and the surrounding area looks fairly deep. Are you handy enough with chisels to make an inlay of some kind?

I quite often will save any sanding dust from a stock and mix with clear glue or epoxy to fill small gouges, fairly easy to get a good color match.

[LAGS]

@ rodie.
I do have the skills to inlet something either wood or things like metal medalians into the stock.
But it is in a location on the forarm that would really look out of place.
Be careful when mixing Saw Dust with Glue to fill dents.
It does make a fine filler, but the sawdust has to be totally clean or the dirt, and grit from the sandpaper will make it not match very well.
Plus , the patch, because of the glue binder will not accept any stain if you color the stock, or the finish will not cover the same as the bare wood.
Wood Putty seems to be able to be the lesser of two evils since it was made for just this purpose.
But I do experiment with other options, before commiting to what I use.
But one other reason I chose not to use the sawdust mixed with glue was,
What I am going to be sanding off the stock would be wood that was previously stained a light walnut.
That sawdust would , even if clean ,end up Darker than the base wood of the stock.
The sawdust method I have found works best when you are working with totally New Wood like when building furniture.
Also , sanding the stock just to refinish it and not reshape it , generally does not generate enough clean usable sawdust to fill large gouges , But it is great for filling things like old screw holes like from old sling swivel studs.

[marlinman93]

I've never had much lick with fillers matching when stained. Filler rarely takes the stain the same and often ends up being lighter in the end.
Surprised that Numrich mentioned the trigger guard as being for a certain serial number range, as most (like yours) didn't have a serial number at all before 1968.

[LAGS]

If you play with the fillers, like mix lighter fillers with dark ones, then try out your stain using a scrap piece of wood, you can get it to match better.
What you saw in the picture is Oak Filler with a little Walnut Mixed in to darken it up to match the Pecan.
We will see how close I got it after I stain the stock.

[Paul5388]

http://www.nramuseum.com/media/940941/serialization-date%20of%20manufacture.pdf has the serial numbers for 1940-1982 H&Rs They also have the modern serial numbers including many manufacturers.

[LAGS]

Thank you Paul5388
I have a collection of old H&R's also.

This is the stock on one of my Winchester model 67's built back in the 30's
The Bottom of the stock was broke off because it had no Butt Plate and somebody must have dropped it.
It was missing a hunk 1" tall and about 2 1/2" long.
I made a pattern of the area that was missing, then drew lines on the template that showed the lines of the grain on the stock.
Then I placed the template on a piece of walnut , and lined up and area that the lines on the template matched up with the grain in the replacement block.
Then I cut out the piece that I needed, and glued it on the bottom of the stock after sanding both surfaces to match.
Can you see the replacement piece on the stock after the stock was shaped and finished ?
Since the rifle was the shorter Youth Model, I found an old Winchester Recoil Pad and fit it to the stock to lengthen it out for me.

[Paul5388]

Yes, I can see the repair in the first picture, but that's because I knew there was one to see.

[LAGS]

It is not to hard to get one side to match up pretty close
But to get both sides to line up perfectly especially on a curved surface, that is impossible.

[LAGS]

I sanded down the filler, and the color dry looks pretty close.
The gouge is about 80 percent gone, so it looks like I might be able to sand it out completly.
But next question for you guys.
The Nose of the stock ?
I never have liked a Prow, swooped up nose like this stock has.
I am considering rounding it over a bit on the barrel channel edge.
But what about adding a Nose Cap and reshaping it.
I have blocks of Zebra Wood, Mesquite, Walnut, Maple and a block of Ebony.
I am planning on staining the wood a little darker like maybe a medium Walnut, or a Redish stain like the Model 67 has on it.
But that was a Winchester, and the color is similar to the old Winchester Pre 64 color on a light walnut wood.
Any suggestions ?

[LAGS]

I decided to do the nose cap in a piece of Zebrawood , With a line spacer made from some Ironwood Root.
I decided to go on an angle to display more of the straight grain of the Zebrawood, and not have the spacer at a 90 degree contrast.
If i would have used the Ebony, I probably would have done the Classic Sqiare joint with no colored spacer.
The rifle is old, but not what I call a Classic.
So, I feel a little Creativity is in order to dress this one up.

[LAGS]

The nose cap is roughed on.
Now to start shaping and inletting the barrel channel

[LAGS]

Well I havent had much time because of work and other guns that I have been doing.
But I did get the Nose Cap shaped and now it is time to start on making a new trigger guard and bluing the barrel

[pietro]

But I did get the Nose Cap shaped and now it is time to start on making a new trigger guard and bluing the barrel





Once upon a time, I did much the same thing with a .22LR Winchester 121 single-shot rifle.

I opted for a California custom, stripping the stained Birch stock down to blond, adding both a Rosewood grip cap & a like-angled Rosewood forend cap to it, and inletting the strap metal TG into the bottom of the stock.

It was a big change for little dollars & a little elbow grease.

I hope you'll be as satisfied with how your project turns out, as I did with mine.


.

[LAGS]

I may make a Ironwood Root grip cap to extend the grip for my big hands.
The thing about doing your own work, even on a Low Cost rifle like this is, If you are not satisfied, you can always do it over again.
And you will also know what looks and combinations fit your taste, before doing it on a more expensive, or Customers gun.

[LAGS]

I wasnt happy with the look of the original bolt handle.
And I intend on making an Over Center of Bore scope mount for the rifle.
Since the bolt handle was replaceable, I made the complete bolt handle replacement so I can put the original back on if I wanted to.
It looks kinds Bubba'ed at this point, but I havent finished shaping it yet.

[LAGS]

The Original Trigger Guard was broken, and I could not find a factory replacement.
Next best thing, Make a New one.
I still may make a cast aluminum or Brass trigger guard that looks like the original.
But this will suite my needs for the time being

[LAGS]

I got a little time to get the bolt handle roughed in a bit.
Only had to reshape the notch in the stock a little for the lower bolt handle.
So if I want to reinstall the original bolt handle, it wont be very noticeible

[shafer44]

looks very good

[LAGS]

The project is going a little slower than I had originally figured .
Not because of anything with this gun.
But with Work and I was making some parts for another rifle that I could not find the replacements , or the cost for simple parts would add up to more than the rifle is worth.
Why Buy , when you can Build is what I say

[nekshot]

your my type of fella! Yup, looks great.

[LAGS]

I stained the stock in a medium walnut, but was not happy with the color.
So tomorrow, I will sand it or strip it and try something else.
But the Zebrawood nose cap looked Hot.

[Catshooter]

That looks like fun LAGS. And you do nice work.

You're reloading .22 Long Rifle? Do tell me more. I know it's possible, just never talked to anyone who did it.


Cat

[LAGS]

@ Catshooter
There should be some mention in the Rimfire section about reloading the 22 rimfires.
It is more of a novelty and a "What If" kind of thing, and will not totally replace Factory ammo, but they do shoot and cut your cost for Plinking or blasting ammo.
Thanks for your comments on the work I do.
It is just a Passtime for me.
Take old ****, make it nicer or better Or Unique
More like a Firearms Recycler, than a gunsmith.

[armoredman]

Very nice, considering the brass trigger guard look, I am thinking for your "supplies lockers" on the stock perhaps something like brass patch box covers would be classic and rust resistant. Could you fit a full box of 22lr in the stock somewhere, or a custom deal, plus perhaps a WWII style string cleaning kit. :)
Nifty!

[LAGS]

The thought of a patch box storage for ammo and gear did cross my mind.
And yes I already have a couple of brass patch boxes laying around.
But tonight I embark on doing the stock in a Tiger Striped Fiddle back pattern
That too is from my muzzle loading experience.
That stock just looks too plain and I wasn't happy with just staining it darker.

[LAGS]

BTW.
That Brass trigger guard might just get Powder coated in Matt Black along either the complete Bolt.
The barrel and action might still be slow rust blued.
Mostly because I don't have an oven long enough to fit the barrel in to bake the Powdercoating.

[LAGS]

Started on the Faux Fiddleback Tiger Striping on the stock

[LAGS]

Well the Faux Fiddleback was a Flop on this stock.
I burnished the dark striping to feather it out and blend in the edges.
But when I put on the Overstain which was much lighter, it washed out almost everything.
Except on some spots of the stock, which the wood is softer and more open grain.
Those areas retained the striping , but as hard lines.
It looked like a 5 year old went crazy with a brown magic marker.
I have done this exact type of staining on Muzzle loaders in the past.
But I guess the wood on those stocks was of better quality and consistant hardness that it worked out much better.
Well, time to strip it down again, and try something different.

[725]

Keep at it. I like your work.

[LAGS]

@ 725
Thank You

[LAGS]

I am not afraid to show you guys my failures.
It might prevent others from making the same mistake.
Or better yet , I might get suggestions from some of you the prevent me from making the mistakes in the first place.

[nekshot]

Lags, I totally get your failure with that stock. I found 2 ways to get decent finishes with that type wood. First one I put heavy coat stain on and took the torch to it moving with grain to give it grain like look and that worked nice. Another I used Rust Oleium Traditional Cherry stain and after wipe down and still to pale put another lite coat on and gently torch it and wipe off with steel wool till desired look. Lord have mercy if I ever need to spot in a scratch on some of my stocks with some of the convoluted finishes I have come up with on ugly wood! But it keeps me outa trouble.

[LAGS]

Funny you mentioned the Cherry stain and Burnishing it down.
That is what I am doing on my girlfriends kitchen table top that we are refinishing right now.
That might work on this stock too.
Her table is Birch and also not a really heavy grain pattern.
For Faux Striping on stocks I did a couple where I wrapped 1/8" cable or copper wire around the stock and then lightly burnt the whole thing with a torch.
When the wire was removed , it left the lines of natural wood where the wire was blocking the flame.
The lines were light and the pattern was darker where it was toasted.
But that was opposite of what I wanted on this stock.