Good, Bad, Ugly?
Is it rational to hunt for a rifle in this muck?
Or could it be a classic case of bought new in 1950 per under barrel date, shot until it stops running, and then was put away for 70 years. The end result being lack of care preserves condition and prevents excess wear? Only the Shadow knows. Well, maybe we do!
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Two parts found so far in sludge of powder fouling and old oil.
Update 1:
Removed barreled receiver from walnut stock in a complete intact rifle and have the receiver and barrel all done. Takes forever. The top two bits in photographs were the first metal removed from the bottom of the receiver. What ever they are. The rest of the rifle is/was the same. Big 45 pad removed all slight surface corrosion from barrel and receiver without hurting bluing except for a single pencil eraser size spot. Thar be hope!
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Bolt assembly has been in submerged in Lacquer Thinner for a day. Ate through my zip lock. Wife wants to know what the fluid running across garage floor is.
Update 2:
Four and one half hours of steady work later the bolt assembly was stripped to loose parts, cleaned with a carbon cleaner, and reassembled. Just the bolt assembly. Shoulder hurts. Stuff was burned on and carbon cutter barely got it all off. Bore Tech C4 Carbon Remover.
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Update 3:
Very plain unsanded walnut coming along nicely. It had enough scrapes in the plain brown varnish and enough dings through the varnish into wood to need a new finish. I prefer not to sand stocks. Unsanded, a linseed oil finish looks the nicest and hides way more damage than a new shinny varnish finish. So BLO. Tested several dye combos and this replicated the original color, +/-.
Will linseed oil for a finish pop any grain? Maybe. Stain did not.
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Update 4:
It was a Win74 sitting neglected in the junk corner of a shop with a dated tag noting a long stay and a price tag three times its then worth. Looking past the powder fouling, dust, closet paint, and for a sensible$, it followed me home and even avoided the mistress of the checkbook.
Update 5: Parts at home again:
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Update 6:
This was the worst mess of neglect I have seen in memory. But everything under the crud is bright and shinny and un-corroded. Metal is now all clean. Working on stock. A lot of the metal goes in the stock. Barrel/receiver reassembled and all works without any visible wear. Thank you for the encouragement!
Update 7:
Plain walnut, zero sanding, some hand rubbed oil, good enough.
![Image]()
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Drat. 11 photos.
Update 8:
Almost time to reassemble.
Is it rational to hunt for a rifle in this muck?
Or could it be a classic case of bought new in 1950 per under barrel date, shot until it stops running, and then was put away for 70 years. The end result being lack of care preserves condition and prevents excess wear? Only the Shadow knows. Well, maybe we do!
Two parts found so far in sludge of powder fouling and old oil.
Update 1:
Removed barreled receiver from walnut stock in a complete intact rifle and have the receiver and barrel all done. Takes forever. The top two bits in photographs were the first metal removed from the bottom of the receiver. What ever they are. The rest of the rifle is/was the same. Big 45 pad removed all slight surface corrosion from barrel and receiver without hurting bluing except for a single pencil eraser size spot. Thar be hope!
Bolt assembly has been in submerged in Lacquer Thinner for a day. Ate through my zip lock. Wife wants to know what the fluid running across garage floor is.
Update 2:
Four and one half hours of steady work later the bolt assembly was stripped to loose parts, cleaned with a carbon cleaner, and reassembled. Just the bolt assembly. Shoulder hurts. Stuff was burned on and carbon cutter barely got it all off. Bore Tech C4 Carbon Remover.
Update 3:
Very plain unsanded walnut coming along nicely. It had enough scrapes in the plain brown varnish and enough dings through the varnish into wood to need a new finish. I prefer not to sand stocks. Unsanded, a linseed oil finish looks the nicest and hides way more damage than a new shinny varnish finish. So BLO. Tested several dye combos and this replicated the original color, +/-.
Will linseed oil for a finish pop any grain? Maybe. Stain did not.
Update 4:
It was a Win74 sitting neglected in the junk corner of a shop with a dated tag noting a long stay and a price tag three times its then worth. Looking past the powder fouling, dust, closet paint, and for a sensible$, it followed me home and even avoided the mistress of the checkbook.
Update 5: Parts at home again:
Update 6:
This was the worst mess of neglect I have seen in memory. But everything under the crud is bright and shinny and un-corroded. Metal is now all clean. Working on stock. A lot of the metal goes in the stock. Barrel/receiver reassembled and all works without any visible wear. Thank you for the encouragement!
Update 7:
Plain walnut, zero sanding, some hand rubbed oil, good enough.
Drat. 11 photos.
Update 8:
Almost time to reassemble.
