Deus Machina
Member
The background here: My dad got a new apartment, and could now clean out his storage unit. I found the stock and receiver of his old side-by-side shotgun rolling around in the bed.
It had been in the storage unit for about twelve years. Florida self-storage isn't exactly kind to anything made of steel. The barrel had rusted until it was useless and the treated and case-colored receiver was the same color as the wood stock.
It was bad enough that he tossed the barrel in the storage unit dumpster, and was going to toss the receiver elsewhere; he didn't want anyone piecing it together and either getting up to no good or blowing the barrel apart in their face.
He's had that gun since he'd been able to hunt with his own dad in Illinois, and had put squirrel, rabbit, and pheasant on the table every year since he bought it until the family moved down to Florida.
He's not the sentimental type but I could tell it hurt to lose it. So I figured I had to to at least try to do something about it.
It's a Stevens 5100 in 16 gauge.
Summarizing my research: it was made sometime between 1931 and 1941.
So while I have a source of parts between the 5100's start in '31 and the matching 311's drop, I have to worry about a rusted receiver running out of spec, and general wandering tolerances within 41 years... and I have to find it in 16 gauge.
Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of the receiver before. But it was the same color and texture of your average brick.
But the old trick of WD40, fine steel wool, and elbow grease later:
Some testing revealed that everything was gritty, would catch intermittently and roughly. Loose rust and grit all over. Thankfully not from the sears, hammers, and triggers themselves--the oil on them had thickened and outright hardened into something like varnish. Blasted it out with carb cleaner and got in there with various thinners and a toothbrush. And now it works nice and smooth, aside from the expected but surprisingly little wear considering the age.
The original stock was likely tennite. This one is some darkish, vaguely reddish wood. Some kind of walnut or red oak or something.
So when I refinished it, it only darkened a little but polished up nice.
I'm not proud I used polyurethane, but it wasn't liking any of the other finishes I tested. I only sanded it enough to smooth out the big gouges and dings and scuffs that got through the old finish. A gifted woodworker I am not. And I needed a way to make the stock and forearm, which dad made, match. A couple very thin applications of Minwax PolyShades (in 'mission oak') both did that and looked really darn close to the original, just without the scuffes and with a good polish to it.
For instance, see the forearm bare, with one coat, and three coats, in order.
I would have stopped at two, like the butt, but it was made of whatever much lighter wood that dad (who was a journeyman carpenter at the time) made.
So, with three coats?
Happy with that, time to quit before I mess it up.
And he did find the original forearm, but dad used the one he made for it. The guy's 6'7" and has hands to match.
Just before Christmas, someone sent me a PM and said he had an orphaned 311 and was willing to sell me the barrel. Props to The High Road.
I was fearing it would need fitting but luck was in my neighborhood for once. The barrel clicks into place with juuust a hair of wiggle around.
So that needed a minor trip to the gunsmith or...
Exactly three light taps of a hammer right there, to knock where it flared a little and tighten that back down.
And now it locks up solid as a rock. No daylight between the barrel face and receiver.
Then down to the little parts.
The plastic butt plate got all the crud scrubbed off with soap and a toothbrush.
Every hole in wood needed filled with glue so I could tap in dowel to repair stripped holes, or just chipped and shrunken wood.
A new sight bead. Nice bright round brass piece.
A new trigger guard, versus the one dad made so he could use it with gloves.
He worked with wood remember. I got the metalworking.
I even countersunk the rear hole, then touched it up with blue.
Then everything metal got a good polish with Renaissance Wax, which is pretty awesome stuff, and now...
The best part? He thinks it's sitting in a parts box, or getting parted out to Gunbroker. He doesn't know I'm going to stop by and hand it back to him.
It had been in the storage unit for about twelve years. Florida self-storage isn't exactly kind to anything made of steel. The barrel had rusted until it was useless and the treated and case-colored receiver was the same color as the wood stock.
It was bad enough that he tossed the barrel in the storage unit dumpster, and was going to toss the receiver elsewhere; he didn't want anyone piecing it together and either getting up to no good or blowing the barrel apart in their face.
He's had that gun since he'd been able to hunt with his own dad in Illinois, and had put squirrel, rabbit, and pheasant on the table every year since he bought it until the family moved down to Florida.
He's not the sentimental type but I could tell it hurt to lose it. So I figured I had to to at least try to do something about it.
It's a Stevens 5100 in 16 gauge.
Summarizing my research: it was made sometime between 1931 and 1941.
So while I have a source of parts between the 5100's start in '31 and the matching 311's drop, I have to worry about a rusted receiver running out of spec, and general wandering tolerances within 41 years... and I have to find it in 16 gauge.
Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of the receiver before. But it was the same color and texture of your average brick.
But the old trick of WD40, fine steel wool, and elbow grease later:
Some testing revealed that everything was gritty, would catch intermittently and roughly. Loose rust and grit all over. Thankfully not from the sears, hammers, and triggers themselves--the oil on them had thickened and outright hardened into something like varnish. Blasted it out with carb cleaner and got in there with various thinners and a toothbrush. And now it works nice and smooth, aside from the expected but surprisingly little wear considering the age.
The original stock was likely tennite. This one is some darkish, vaguely reddish wood. Some kind of walnut or red oak or something.
So when I refinished it, it only darkened a little but polished up nice.
I'm not proud I used polyurethane, but it wasn't liking any of the other finishes I tested. I only sanded it enough to smooth out the big gouges and dings and scuffs that got through the old finish. A gifted woodworker I am not. And I needed a way to make the stock and forearm, which dad made, match. A couple very thin applications of Minwax PolyShades (in 'mission oak') both did that and looked really darn close to the original, just without the scuffes and with a good polish to it.
For instance, see the forearm bare, with one coat, and three coats, in order.
I would have stopped at two, like the butt, but it was made of whatever much lighter wood that dad (who was a journeyman carpenter at the time) made.
So, with three coats?
Happy with that, time to quit before I mess it up.
And he did find the original forearm, but dad used the one he made for it. The guy's 6'7" and has hands to match.
Just before Christmas, someone sent me a PM and said he had an orphaned 311 and was willing to sell me the barrel. Props to The High Road.
I was fearing it would need fitting but luck was in my neighborhood for once. The barrel clicks into place with juuust a hair of wiggle around.
So that needed a minor trip to the gunsmith or...
Exactly three light taps of a hammer right there, to knock where it flared a little and tighten that back down.
And now it locks up solid as a rock. No daylight between the barrel face and receiver.
Then down to the little parts.
The plastic butt plate got all the crud scrubbed off with soap and a toothbrush.
Every hole in wood needed filled with glue so I could tap in dowel to repair stripped holes, or just chipped and shrunken wood.
A new sight bead. Nice bright round brass piece.
A new trigger guard, versus the one dad made so he could use it with gloves.
He worked with wood remember. I got the metalworking.
I even countersunk the rear hole, then touched it up with blue.
Then everything metal got a good polish with Renaissance Wax, which is pretty awesome stuff, and now...
The best part? He thinks it's sitting in a parts box, or getting parted out to Gunbroker. He doesn't know I'm going to stop by and hand it back to him.
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