CaptainBeaky Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Hi all I bought this late last year from a member here, as a winter project, with a view to sprucing it up and possibly selling on. However, I discovered I liked shooting it, so... Made in 1922 by WW Greener in Birmingham: Lots of battle scars on the woodwork Chequering in a right old state - mostly worn almost flat, and not actually very even. A vertical crack through the head of the stock appeared to have been glued before, but without de-oiling, so hadn't held. De-oiled, drilled, pinned and glued. Many years worth of cack inside the action was gently removed. The safety was really stiff to use, due to the aforementioned cack, and had worn almost smooth, making it even more difficult. Serrations recut with needle files, cleaned and lubricated - much smoother now. The safety actuator rod was also worn - a piece had been brazed on sometime in the past to repair it, but this had also worn down, so I removed the repair, making it a manual-only safety. I will return it to auto the next time I have the tig welder out. Re-chequered and refinished with Tung oil. Apologies for the poor mobile phone photos - new phone arriving soon, hopefully! Thanks for looking Peter Out and about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy bingo Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 done a crackin job there mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Well Done! I love to see old English guns sympathetically restored and given a new lease of life! Just one small criticism....in my opinion that recoil pad looks out of place (awful) on an English gun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBeaky Posted March 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 You're right about the pad - it's an old Pachmayr White Line, possibly late 70s/early 80s. It's on the list for replacement with something more in keeping, but at the moment, it fits fairly well, and I want to get out and shoot with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 that is just up my street ...nice and honest looking boxlock.....as you say ...loose the but pad when you can....then check the balance...midrange ?...loosing the pad will make a lot of difference....has the butt already been drilled and weighted ?....will the replacement wood bring it back to balance ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBeaky Posted March 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 I was planning on replacing it with a Silvers pad or similar, rather than grafting on a replacement wooden section, so it shouldn't change the balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 (edited) How easy is it to do chequering. I have a old hammer gun that could do with a bit rechequering. Edited March 23, 2015 by rimfire4969 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBeaky Posted March 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Be patient, have a steady hand, keep the tool clean, and be very patient! If you are recutting worn chequering, go over all the lines lightly before you start cutting to full depth. If you cut all the lines in one direction first, you may find you lose some of the lines going the other way :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 A Silvers pad would be much more in keeping. https://www.alanrhone-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=946 Well Done! I love to see old English guns sympathetically restored and given a new lease of life! Just one small criticism....in my opinion that recoil pad looks out of place (awful) on an English gun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBeaky Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 The stock is actually cut for a pad with the top nib, like the Silver's No4, although this would require a bit more grinding down to fit. Am I going to get a lot of stick if I choose a black pad? Not keen on the red option, and the "Best London Orange" looks hideous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 you could always make a leather butt pad , have a look on youtube , a bit of faffing but they look fantastic , if you need the leather just drop me a pm and ill send you a suitable colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 The stock is actually cut for a pad with the top nib, like the Silver's No4, although this would require a bit more grinding down to fit. Am I going to get a lot of stick if I choose a black pad? Not keen on the red option, and the "Best London Orange" looks hideous Actually they look garish when in the packet but when fitted and shaped they look 'normal' and 'in keeping' but I suppose its a matter of personal taste! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBeaky Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 you could always make a leather butt pad , have a look on youtube , a bit of faffing but they look fantastic , if you need the leather just drop me a pm and ill send you a suitable colour. There's an idea - just had a look on YouTube, and it looks relatively easy to do. I have some metallic grey goatskin left over from another job which would easily re-stain black, so I'll have a try with that over a solid pad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBeaky Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Post script: I finally got around to shooting this gun yesterday (I've been a bit busy...). Reasonable scores on clays (for me), but the stock is working loose. Tightening the action screws helped slightly, but there is still an appreciable rocking movement up and down. I suspect this may be due to the wood at the stock head having swollen by being soaked in oil, and soaking all the oil residues out has caused some shrinkage. I like to think I know when I'm out of my depth, so regrettably, it will have to be a trip to see a professional, as per the Gospel of St Harold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Hi CaptainBeakey, I am in the process of putting a leather covered recoil pad on an old 16 bore SxS non ejector, having seen Larry Potterfield of MidwayUSA on Youtube showing how it's done. It is fairly straightforward, but my first attempt was with leather that was slightly too thick and consequently ended up not being able to stretch it over the pad without slight wrinkles at the toe and heel ends, so going to try with thinner leather next. Recommended 25 thou thick and I was using something in the region of 35 to 40 thou. I have sussed out how to put the two lines near where the pad meets the stock. These are purely aesthetic and serve no purpose but do look good and finish it off well. I took the cutting wheels from copper cutters (the larger type)and mounted them on a wooden block with a thin bolt ( a screw will do, providing that the cutting wheels still turn but do not move up and down). Trial and error, on a spare bit of leather will tell you how much pressure to exert without cutting into the leather but merely marking it. The spacing of the lines can easily be adjusted by the addition of washers between and underneath the cutting wheels. Sorry about the description where a photo would be better, but haven't mastered the art of photo bucket yet ! Hope that this helps and look forward to seeing the gun with a pad in keeping with the gun. Best of luck with getting the stock tightened, sorry cannot help with that one, far too technical for my amateurish ability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBeaky Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 If the leather is wet, but not saturated, a blunt edged wheel will mark a groove without cutting - the sharp edge risks cutting some of the fibres, which will then start to tear as the leather fruits and shrinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 I take your point, but as I said, the pressure applied is the important thing and so far it has worked for me and has not cut into the leather, just marked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.