I recently picked up a rifle, antique, VG, never sanded or reblued. The only major issue is the upper handguard is cracked. The repair for the crack isn't as obvious as it normally should be, because the crack was caused, possibly, in the original assembly or repair of the rifle.
I have been able to determine that the rear sight is not numbers matching, and I hypothesize the "new" sight block was slightly larger than the original sight. When they tried to clip the handguard back on, it clipped further back, and went over the receiver ring that it otherwise would have been flush with, causing it to split all the way down the center.
The clips are still holding the two pieces together and to the rifle.
The only two repairs that I can come up with would either be to cut the handguard's sight relief cut deeper or cut the handguard shorter on the receiver end. I'm afraid to have the repair done because of the high original condition of the rifle. However, the damage was caused by a non matching part, and the pressure that broke it is still being exerted on it. The handguard is irreplaceable if it breaks all the way.
Thoughts?
I have been able to determine that the rear sight is not numbers matching, and I hypothesize the "new" sight block was slightly larger than the original sight. When they tried to clip the handguard back on, it clipped further back, and went over the receiver ring that it otherwise would have been flush with, causing it to split all the way down the center.
The clips are still holding the two pieces together and to the rifle.
The only two repairs that I can come up with would either be to cut the handguard's sight relief cut deeper or cut the handguard shorter on the receiver end. I'm afraid to have the repair done because of the high original condition of the rifle. However, the damage was caused by a non matching part, and the pressure that broke it is still being exerted on it. The handguard is irreplaceable if it breaks all the way.
Thoughts?