Well it was just too much of a pain in the butt to try and clean off the multiple layers of epoxy paint that was on the metal. A friend of mine has a bead blast cabinet in his garage, so I decided to try this and three hours later the work was done. The locks/hammers will be blued by me and everything else will be cerakoted in a matte black finish. Click on the pic to straighten it out.
Attachment 303666
Attachment 303667
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Old Footman
So glad to see you rescue this rifle. I hope the final product comes out nice.
Cleaned up nicely.
For what you started with that looks great. I can't wait to see how it looks when you are done.
A vote for anyone other then the conservative candidates is a vote for the liberal candidates.
Finished detail stripping, cleaning, and bluing the locks with hammers. One of the hammer screws would not come off even after soaking in acetone/transmission fluid. I did not want to damage the screw or the tumbler so bluing was the answer (3 coats) for me. After assembling and thinking about it, I thought the bluing shows off the engraving better.
Attachment 303716
Old Footman
I own a .50/50 version of that rifle. Bought it new from Cabela's back in the 90's.....it also had lead in the butt stock, which I promptly removed. My take is that it was put there to provide some sort of recoil dampener......I can fathom no other imagined purpose......I'd note that I would remove such material from any piece I came into as that lead WILL ultimately create a problem with you stock via corrosion and I have seen photo's of guns so fitted that had split stocks therefrom.Originally Posted by Old Footman
Far as the gun itself.........mine is a very well made piece, accurate with the proper loads and it is my go to piece for our Florida BP season.........I shoot only black and maxi balls myself it proved itself a keeper on it's first outing...........heavy, but gets the job done!
Dogrunner,
I agree with your points on the lead being there for recoil. Since you did remove your lead plug, how did you get it out? Drilling?
Old Footman
OF, as I recall the stuff was simply precast and fitted to the guns hollowed out section..........course my gun was new at the time and removing posed no problem....as I recall I then melted the stuff and used it for bullet material......if that weight is stuck you'll likely have to drill it for a fairly large thread wood screw and use that as a pull point... Mine had no adhesive or mechanical fitting as I recall but it was closely fitted.
As an aside, those are damned good guns and well fitted. Mine. at 50 yards will print the first shot low out of the right bbl, the left to the point of aim then after that first fouling round both rounds print within an inch of each other near point of aim.........thats with 90 gr's of 3f Goex and the maxi ball, lubed with TC's chicken grease.
Meant to mention that I also fitted mine with Musket nipples........lot's easier to handle in cold weather.......dunno if it helped ignition as I have never had a failure to fire in mine with the #11's.
Last edited by dogrunner; 08-31-2022 at 08:11 AM.
OF,
I would suggest that you glue in a wood plug when you get the lead out to maintain structural integrity of the stock. It might add a little weight back to the stock but not much. Can't wait to see how it turns out when you're finished refurbishing this rifle.
On some rifles that I drilled the stock to lighten it up a bit.
I would fill the void with Spray Expanding Foam to make the stock feel more solid.
Do not use the High Expanding foam.
And wrap the stock in masking tape when you are applying the spray foam.
I also used the expanding foam on Hollow plastic Stocks.
It made them feel more solid.
But voids left in the stock , could cause structural failures like cracks.
Working the stock. I used Goof Off and Citristrip to soften the paint which I scrapped off. Along with this and chasing the checking this took hours to finally get all the paint off the stock. You will notice the stain on the butt end, this was caused by a slip on recoil pad that was on the Kodiak. The owner painted the recoil pad, but not that section of the stock. When I was at the of shop of "725" he showed me a stock he did in red mahogany which really looked good, so I decided this will be the finish for the Kodiak. Click the pics to straighten them out.
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Old Footman
Can't beat red mahogany on walnut! Just a beautiful final result.
Sometimes you just cannot figure out what some people do with their firearms and this is one of them. Here is the painted slip on recoil pad. Right now the stock has received some coats of red mahogany. The portion of the stock where this recoil pad was on will be a bit darker. I tried to sand it out, but it was still there especially on the right side of the stock. Looking forward on getting the cerakoted parts back from my dealer.
Old Footman
Last edited by Old Footman; 09-01-2022 at 02:16 PM.
The stock now has multiple coats of red mahogany and it's hanging up in the shop of "725". He has been helping with this and after the stock dries it will be rubbed out.
Old Footman
This is turning out good! Keep at it!
Night & day! What a difference.
Gorgeous. A noble rescue!
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Was that lead ballast original or a modification someone made? If it’s original, I wonder why you want to remove it. If you do remove it, be sure to put a good plug into the space to reinforce the stock.
You are right about plugging the stock "if" the lead can be removed. If the lead can be removed I will measure everything and have a plug made to fit the hole and glue it in place. Thanks for all the comments. Take care.
Old Footman
Some great news the "lead plug" has been finally pulled!! This afternoon I went up to the shop of "725" to pick up the Kodiak stock. "725" added some additional coats of red mahogany and it was hanging up in his shop to dry. The stock came out great, so the conversation came up on how we were going to remove the lead and the answer was to "drill". "725" suggested that we drill down deep enough to fit a lag bolt and try to pull it out. So between the two of us with me securing the stock and "725" drilling, he drilled 1 3/8" down into the bar and the drill bit dug into the lead which broke the lead loose from the stock fibers. When that happened he was able to pulled out the lead plug. The lead plug was 6 3/4" long with a diameter of .880" which weighed 1.6 pounds.
Following up on "GregLaRoche" comment "be sure to put a good plug into the space to reinforce the stock" and that's exactly what we did. "725" had a piece of hickory in his shop so off to the lathe he went. He made a great plug with multiple grooves so the Titebound wood glue would hold well inside the stock. I suggested we leave a 1/2" recess so I could place two spare stainless steel nipples in a very small zip-lock bag. I ordered some new ones the other day from Midway USA. Click the pics to straighten them out. Take care.
Take care,
Old Footman
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