Velocette Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 I got an old hammer gun from a member on here a few years ago and used is occasionally with home loaded black powder cartridges. Recently its been sitting in the cabinet gathering dust so when giving it a look over I noticed an old rust patch under the blued barrels which needed tidying up. A rub with wire wool revealed some lines which suggested that there may be something other than the fluid steel that I assumed they were made of. Its not a good picture but you can just see the lines. The barrel was rubbed down to 800 grit and then a series of etches tried to get the pattern out, starting with Boric acid then ferric chloride and finally Copper sulphate which revealed this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velocette Posted January 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 Clearly each barrel is made of a slightly different twist material and it was hard to try to reveal the LH pattern. The first rusting didn't show much but I persevered Eventually I managed to get this pattern out, not perfect by any means but I did discover that by gently steaming the barrel after the final rust and before the final carding increased the contrast somewhat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velocette Posted January 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 The effect of the steaming is I believe the partial conversion of the ferrous oxide to ferric oxide, which is black and more easily seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 Looking at the original finish, it is hard to credit what was underneath. Superb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 Lovely job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holloway Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 Is that what they call skelp ? It looks different to the usual Damascus or just a different Damascus process ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 Looks very nice, what finish did you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulinlincs Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 Lovely 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velocette Posted January 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 1 hour ago, holloway said: Is that what they call skelp ? It looks different to the usual Damascus or just a different Damascus process ? Yes I believe so, sometimes called twist as well. Its a far simpler process than Damascus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archiebald Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 Oh wow! Nice to see my old gun! Had some good times with it. It now looks amazing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velocette Posted January 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 1 hour ago, figgy said: Looks very nice, what finish did you use? The finish is just the stock oil that I mix. 2/3 boiled linseed, 1/3 turpentine and a dash of alkanet oil to give it a reddish tinge. Rub it on the barrel as you would an oiled stock and leave to set. It takes a few days to dry and definitely hardens with age. 2 minutes ago, archiebald said: Oh wow! Nice to see my old gun! Had some good times with it. It now looks amazing!! Nice to hear from you. The gun is still doing what it does best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velocette Posted January 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 57 minutes ago, archiebald said: Oh wow! Nice to see my old gun! Had some good times with it. It now looks amazing!! Just a thought,,would you like it back for what I paid for it ? I'm looking for another project now and am running out of space! I put in a new top lever spring and one firing pin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archiebald Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 21 minutes ago, Velocette said: Just a thought,,would you like it back for what I paid for it ? I'm looking for another project now and am running out of space! I put in a new top lever spring and one firing pin. Thanks for the great offer, But I'm at full capacity and no longer using black powder. I bet it would make a black powder enthusiast very happy if you decide to sell it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strimmer_13 Posted January 19, 2021 Report Share Posted January 19, 2021 The way you've finished that is simply stunning 👌 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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