Dave McCracken
March 29th, 2003, 05:52 PM
I fielded a query about this off line. It was one of those "I've got an old shotgun and I'd like to fix it up" questions.
I'm certainly neither a smith nor an appraiser of fine antiques. What I do know is this.....
Sometimes an old firearm is best kept the way it is, regardless of condition. Back during the Civil War Centennial,an acquaintance took an ancestor's 1849 Colt Pocket revolver(In original fitted case with mold,flask,etc) and had it redone in a modern blue. While it looked better to some, a lot of history and market value went south.
Sometimes, a using shotgun or other firearm benefits from a bit of touchup blue,dents removed, the checkering redone,and so on. Sometimes...
Wear marks on a shotgun add character, or are pictographs of a personal history. The original forearm wood for the oldest 870 here has a scar from a misadventure in a rock quarry. It's on Frankenstein now, and serves as a reminder of both my youth and the futility of trying to climb loose gravel.
But there's lots of shotguns out there that the owners wouldn't mind seeing fixed up a mite, and even a pragmatic Jeffersonian Democrat like me likes pretty guns.
So where's the line drawn in the sand?
Wear marks like those on pump gun magazine tubes can be lived with. Sure, they can be eliminated with a good reblue, but they start coming back the first shot.In theory, a tube can be rebent until there's no marks, but I've yet to see it.
Thin bluing like that seen on many old Model 97s, Model 12s, A-5s and the bottom of the action on many old doubles where they're carried is best lived with if possible. A good and frequent coat of oil, SLIP or CLP helps things not degrade further.
Once steel turns into rust, the metal's gone forever. No amount of bluing and polishing will turn the clock back. And, quite often the polish job means that the lettering and engraving needs to be redone because the polishing takes off the sharp corners.Top engravers and surgeons have similar hourly rates.
Case hardening oft fades over the years. It can be brought back by re-casehardening, but this is not cheap.Also,since it is a form of heat treating to harden the surface metal, it COULD tend to make strong steel brittle.
OTOH, the wood parts can oft be prettied up or replaced with new stuff without ruining the value or history of a good shotgun.Home done, restrained versions of a oil finish can be accomplished by many folks. Much old wood has dry rotted near the receiver, some judicious glassing can keep old wood working and looking OK for a long while, but it's not universal.
And, some old shotguns, especially smaller gauges and bores, have dainty stocks. A little necessary sanding and refinishing can take those pixie dimensions down to the threshold of pain, even on a 28 gauge. Go lightly here....
Some old stocks were varnished or stained rather than oil finished, so having an expert look the thing over before committing makes lots of sense.
Old stock with oil finishes can SOMETIMES be easily redone by cleaning off the old surface, then applying new layers. But, I'd go carefully here, fools rush in and so on.
On old shotguns with some value but with bad or ill fitting stocks, new wood from Wenig's, etc, can turn a relic into a using shotgun and keeping the old wood means the market value,if any, is uncompromised.
HTH, questions and comments are welcome...
I'm certainly neither a smith nor an appraiser of fine antiques. What I do know is this.....
Sometimes an old firearm is best kept the way it is, regardless of condition. Back during the Civil War Centennial,an acquaintance took an ancestor's 1849 Colt Pocket revolver(In original fitted case with mold,flask,etc) and had it redone in a modern blue. While it looked better to some, a lot of history and market value went south.
Sometimes, a using shotgun or other firearm benefits from a bit of touchup blue,dents removed, the checkering redone,and so on. Sometimes...
Wear marks on a shotgun add character, or are pictographs of a personal history. The original forearm wood for the oldest 870 here has a scar from a misadventure in a rock quarry. It's on Frankenstein now, and serves as a reminder of both my youth and the futility of trying to climb loose gravel.
But there's lots of shotguns out there that the owners wouldn't mind seeing fixed up a mite, and even a pragmatic Jeffersonian Democrat like me likes pretty guns.
So where's the line drawn in the sand?
Wear marks like those on pump gun magazine tubes can be lived with. Sure, they can be eliminated with a good reblue, but they start coming back the first shot.In theory, a tube can be rebent until there's no marks, but I've yet to see it.
Thin bluing like that seen on many old Model 97s, Model 12s, A-5s and the bottom of the action on many old doubles where they're carried is best lived with if possible. A good and frequent coat of oil, SLIP or CLP helps things not degrade further.
Once steel turns into rust, the metal's gone forever. No amount of bluing and polishing will turn the clock back. And, quite often the polish job means that the lettering and engraving needs to be redone because the polishing takes off the sharp corners.Top engravers and surgeons have similar hourly rates.
Case hardening oft fades over the years. It can be brought back by re-casehardening, but this is not cheap.Also,since it is a form of heat treating to harden the surface metal, it COULD tend to make strong steel brittle.
OTOH, the wood parts can oft be prettied up or replaced with new stuff without ruining the value or history of a good shotgun.Home done, restrained versions of a oil finish can be accomplished by many folks. Much old wood has dry rotted near the receiver, some judicious glassing can keep old wood working and looking OK for a long while, but it's not universal.
And, some old shotguns, especially smaller gauges and bores, have dainty stocks. A little necessary sanding and refinishing can take those pixie dimensions down to the threshold of pain, even on a 28 gauge. Go lightly here....
Some old stocks were varnished or stained rather than oil finished, so having an expert look the thing over before committing makes lots of sense.
Old stock with oil finishes can SOMETIMES be easily redone by cleaning off the old surface, then applying new layers. But, I'd go carefully here, fools rush in and so on.
On old shotguns with some value but with bad or ill fitting stocks, new wood from Wenig's, etc, can turn a relic into a using shotgun and keeping the old wood means the market value,if any, is uncompromised.
HTH, questions and comments are welcome...