Shotgun Refurb - Blue the Barrels, Fix the Action, Repair the Stock

[Castle]

I was left with a slightly darker grey barrel that, initially, was not entirely uniform. I then started the process again. And again. And again. In total I did 7 treatments, 1 per day each day for a week. Most of that time was spent with the barrels hanging over the bath (my wife was not that pleased.)

 

 

 

 

When it was dark enough, I cleaned it really thoroughly for a final time then painted it with engine oil. I have heard that people use old engine oil to get a blacker colour but that seemed like a lot of faff. I used new oil, liberally applied. I then left it dripping in oil for 48 hours.

 

 

After that time I cleaned it up, oiled with gun oil and polished the bores which were looking grotty but not rusted. I attribute this to always taking the barrels out of the water when they were still hot enough to quickly dry themselves.

 

As a finishing touch I wrapped the threads of the bead in masking tape and then gripped them in the chuck of an electric drill. I put some Brasso on a duster and then spun the bead on the duster until it was shiny and smooth.

[Feltwad]

Your method of blueing is simular to mine which is my own recipe and I have used for more than 50 years known has Birmingham Black ,Always remember when using this methord always plug the muzzle and breech of the barrels once they are decreased. I use artist large brush dipped in the solution and to get a good even rust you need a long strokes of the solution from the muzzle to the breech, short stroke of the brush gives you a patchy finish allow 12 hours for a good rust and cover with boiling water and let stand till black .Remove with a soft coarse cloth and repeat if a deeper colour is needed

Feltwad

[sandspider]

Nice work, thanks for sharing. Encouraging that it's a more "basic" process ("I could probably manage that") than some seen on here, but still a good result

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Well done a thoroughly interesting thread, my son loved the Belize link and has been asking about my time there in the early 1990s.

[Castle]

PART 10

 

SHOOTING IT

 

Once assembled I took it to a range, donned Kevlar gloves, eye protection and a thick jacket. Keeping my face away from the stock (in case it split) I fired off a dozen cartridges and then inspected it for any signs of cracking. Everything looked fine so I carried on. In total I fired 200 rounds that first day with no issues at all.

 

That was two years ago and I have put thousands of rounds through it since then with everything looking ship shape. I love it more than any other gun I own (probably because of the time invested in it). It shoots PoA/PoI rather than the pattern sitting above the bead like my other guns. This makes it awkward swapping between them but apart from that it’s a blast.

 

I cannot stress how little experience I have with this but having the gun for free encouraged me to give it a go and I am delighted with how it turned out. If anyone has any questions then please ask.

 

 

 

 

[Esca]

looks great, nice job

[Newbie to this]

Looks a cracking job, well done

[Lampwick]

Well done. Those barrels look great!

[sishyplops]

superb well done that man

[EMT]

One if the best threads I have read in a while. Well done, cracking job.

Edited May 18, 2017 by EMT

[belly47]

Thread of the year candidate I reckon

 

Well done thoroughly enjoyed reading this

[CaptainBeaky]

Good job, sir!

[Hendrix's rifle]

Looks a nice shotgun That, good job!

[wisdom]

Looks really good.Well done to you for having a go and persevering.Just love this forum for threads like this.

[welshwarrior]

Well done the wood filler is a shame for a really good Refurb at home

[Castle]

Thanks everyone. I am really pleased with the way the metal turned out and I can tolerate the woodwork. I hope that this thread is of use to people in the future; I certainly spent a long time trawling through the depths of this forum to glean advice from other people that have done things before.

[JDog]

Thread of the year candidate I reckon

 

Well done thoroughly enjoyed reading this

Agreed.

[Jbob]

Im inspired. I have a little SxS that needs TLC and this thread is exactly what I want to do to it. Think I have a project for my new workshop now

[rovercoupe]

Thanks for the great thread, I have a stash of old air rifles that need some work and will give the bluing method a go, it seems alot better than cold blue and less effort!

[PDF]

Great read and fantastic job. Loved the reference to double bagging!

[Blackpowder]

Very well done .

 

Blackpowder

[vampire]

Great read that and can't believe how good those barrells look,that's the method to use in future.

Well done,that's the third rebuild i have read tonight.

[nagantino]

Super job. It's a pleasure to see an old gun restored.

[buze]

Lovely job! @castle, where did you buy the screwdrivers? I was pondering making a set using cheap screwdrivers, removing the hardening, grinding + re-hardening...

 

Also, why did you remove the checkering, was it too worn?

 

The barrels blacking process sounds fascinating tho, however most of the pics don't work in the forum post ! Would you fix that, it's very interesting!

[Mr.C]

Lovely job! @castle, where did you buy the screwdrivers? I was pondering making a set using cheap screwdrivers, removing the hardening, grinding + re-hardening

You'd be much better off starting from scratch buze, there's no telling what grade of steel "cheap" screwdrivers are made of.

A nice piece of silversteel bar, cherry red and hammered into shape, dressed with a fine file and wet and dry, hardened and tempered. It'll last.