Marlin 1950 336RC Waffle Top

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jertex

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Fort Worth, Texas
I ran across this old Marlin 336 on texasguntrader.com and decided to buy it even though it had some rust issues, especially around all of the screws. What I didn't know was that this is what is called a "Waffle Top" Because of the wavy lines cut into the top of the receiver. This was only done from 1948-1952 according to my research and there is a fairly good demand for these guns among Marlin collectors. I took it to my gun club & put about 15 rounds downrange and decided that this is a very nice shooter and worth working on getting that rust cleaned off. I used a copper penny (pre-1982), household oil, & a brass brush for rust removal, with some Breakfree CLP on some of the more stubborn areas of rust. As I got into it, I decided to work on the wood a little bit since the gun was dismantled, so I went over it with some 00 steel wool, then proceeded to put on 4 coats of lemon oil (just what I had in the garage) with a light rub down of 0000 steel wool between coats. I then finished off the wood with two coats of paste wax. I tried to keep it as original as possible with exception of a stainless steel magazine spring & Ranger Point Precision aluminum, self-cleaning follower. I also had to replace the trigger guard plate support screw because I had to drill it. It would not break loose even after several days of soaking in liquid wrench. I was originally thinking about trading it but during the process, I fell in love with the gun, so I purchased a Williams FP-TK peep sight to mount to the mounting holes on the side of the receiver. I'm pretty happy with the results and I think that it has retained its vintage appeal.


Before pics (wish I had taken better ones)
IMG_4011rd.jpg
Jerry Nanson October 06, 2019 IMG_4012.JPG


After pics
Jerry Nanson October 24, 2019 IMG_4038.JPG
Jerry Nanson October 24, 2019 IMG_4039.JPG
Jerry Nanson October 24, 2019 IMG_4038-2.JPG
Jerry Nanson October 23, 2019 IMG_4035.JPG

Here is a pic of the top of the receiver for those who, like me before this purchase, don't know about waffle tops.
IMG_3293.JPG
 
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Looks real nice. I had a real similar 35 Rem waffle top with Marlin branded 4x scope and rings that I sold off. I couldn't use it to hunt in Ohio (straight wall only) and a buddy from work was retiring to Indiana and already reloaded 35 Rem and planned on doing some deer hunting there so I sold it to him for the "buddy price" and we were both happy about it. I had pulled the scope and put a williams peep on it too.

Very nice gun and cartridge once I cleaned it up and I know it went to a good home.
 
I ran across this old Marlin 336 on texasguntrader.com and decided to buy it even though it had some rust issues, especially around all of the screws. What I didn't know was that this is what is called a "Waffle Top" Because of the wavy lines cut into the top of the receiver. This was only done from 1948-1952 according to my research and there is a fairly good demand for these guns among Marlin collectors. I took it to my gun club & put about 15 rounds downrange and decided that this is a very nice shooter and worth working on getting that rust cleaned off. I used a copper penny (pre-1982), household oil, & a brass brush for rust removal, with some Breakfree CLP on some of the more stubborn areas of rust. As I got into it, I decided to work on the wood a little bit since the gun was dismantled, so I went over it with some 00 steel wool, then proceeded to put on 4 coats of lemon oil (just what I had in the garage) with a light rub down of 0000 steel wool between coats. I then finished off the wood with two coats of paste wax. I tried to keep it as original as possible with exception of a stainless steel magazine spring & Ranger Point Precision aluminum, self-cleaning follower. I also had to replace the trigger guard plate support screw because I had to drill it. It would not break loose even after several days of soaking in liquid wrench. I was originally thinking about trading it but during the process, I fell in love with the gun, so I purchased a Williams FP-TK peep sight to mount to the mounting holes on the side of the receiver. I'm pretty happy with the results and I think that it has retained its vintage appeal.


Before pics (wish I had taken better ones)
View attachment 867389
View attachment 867390


After pics
View attachment 867391
View attachment 867392
View attachment 867393
View attachment 867394

Here is a pic of the top of the receiver for those who, like me before this purchase, don't know about waffle tops.
View attachment 867401
is this chambered for 30-30?
 
It didn’t look that bad to begin with. But you did make an improvement. If you messed with the feeding gate, you might put some blue or green Lok-Tite on that screw. They can back off and give you a very small headache.
 
jertex

Nice find and great job with the clean-up and restoration! You really brought out the grain in the wood as well!

I have found a very light application of Flitz does wonders at removing light surface rust too.
 
jertex

Nice find and great job with the clean-up and restoration! You really brought out the grain in the wood as well!

I have found a very light application of Flitz does wonders at removing light surface rust too.

thanks, the wood was the easiest part. I was surprised at how nice it turned out with just a little steel wool, lemon oil, & Trewax.
 
Mmmm waffles.
Great find! Looks like a keeper, glad that old girl wasn't in too bad of shape and she cleaned up great.
Only question i got is, what was the copper penny used for?
 
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