Let's see some Restorations

[nate392]

Hey everyone, well one of my favorite things to do is buying a beater upper, handgun or rifle, and restore it. I think there's something really gratifying when working with the gun, just to get it how you want, you know?
I would love to see some of the restoration pics or stories you all have done on firearms older or newer, handgun or rifle. Lets see some amazing transformations here guys, let's hear some techniques too.

 

[.45Guy]

Here's a couple of Czech Mausers my buddy Jeff and I did when I was still at New River. We bought them both on impulse, on the way back from a shooting trip at the Croatan forest. They both started out with zero blue, and zero finish on the wood. The blonde one was mine, and the dark was his. We traded off when I EASed.

 

[Hemicuda]

The top rifle is a Mod. 95 Mauser, bought as a bare action, and built by my father, it is a .243 Winchester, with a Fajen Plainsman stock, Bueller safety, and Timney trigger, a one piece steel Williams mount, and a 4-16x40 Burris scope...

the middle one was bought as a Mod. 95 barrelled action, and built by my father and I, the barrel was removed, the back end shaved, and the threads extended (barrel set "back" in the action.) and the chamber recut to .284 Winchester, a Bueller Safety, and a Bold trigger, and a custom "cock on open" kit. it wears a steel Williams mount and a Leupold Vari-x 3 scope... the stock is a bishop military "C" stock, for a Mod. 98 mauser, refitted to the .95 action, and with the full length forend cut to "semi-Manliccher" lenght...

the bottom Mauser is ALL my work, and is a Mod. 98 action, bought as a barrelled action, NOW rebarrelled and chambered in 25-06, with the Bold trigger, and a bueller safety, it wears a one piece steel Redfield mount and a Swarovski scope (in the pic, the 8MM barrel is still in it, and it has weaver scope bases on it) The stock is a Fajen Plainsman, bought "in the rough" it has rosewood for the pistol grip cap, forend, and burttplate, with some VERY "white" wood spacers between them... and the stock is shaped and fitted to ME... it wears over 200 coats of hand-applied tung oil, and looks like you can reach in and grab the woodgrain...

 

[jrfoxx]

Sorry, I've never been smart enough to take "before" pics (except for the M1 Garand), but here are some "afters".You'll have to trust me that the improvement was VERY much noticeable.

CMP Greek field grade M1 Garand before

after


1893 Turk Mauser


Swiss K31


Russian M44

 

[edman79]

JR Foxx what did you do to the Garand to improve it? Did you do anything to the metal? I'm thinking of getting a Garand and always looking for ideas.

Eddie Ed

 

[nate392]

Awesome job on the Mauser, I've still had on my mind getting one of those cmp garands, nice,.. good restoration on the wood as well

 

[Notch]

Here is a K31 I refinished. I would not have done so but the previous owner had put 3 or 4 thick drippy coats of shelaq on it. It was really horrible. Stripped, BLO rubbed in repeatedly over a series of days then waxed with a beeswax/BLO/mineral spirits mixture. Just nice prety wood.

 

[Geronimo45]

"I would not have done so but the previous owner had put 3 or 4 thick drippy coats of shelaq on it."
Is the previous owner the whitish chappie in the background?

 

[jrfoxx]

edman79-
For the M1, all I did was get all the oil/dirt/grease etc out of the stock with "Purple Power" cleaner, clean all old oil/grease of the metal, re-oil/grease metal, then used BLO and Tung oil on the stock.I didnt re-parkerize the metal as all but the last few inches of barell and gas tube were in really good shape still.

 

[DMK]

1970 Finnish M39 Mosin Nagant

Before

After

 

[Vaarok]

I cringe at the word Restoration, becuase usually it's doing something drastic to something that didn't need it, but I did do one that genuinely was.

Three years to get the parts.

 

[DMK]

Wow, that's really nice Vaarok.

What is that an M28?

 

[Vaarok]

M-27 in a M-28/30 stock. Three years and I didn't even get the right parts. But close enough.