Project update!
Somewhere within the chaos of daily life, I've managed to make a little progress on the ol' Bulldog.
After numerous dips, the trigger guard started looking a little weird...
But it cleaned up well enough!
The frame developed a few rings around the screw holes that showed up after carding. They may have been cause by residual oil in the screw threads, but since I had degreased them very carefully & thoroughly after the go-round with the cylinder & barrel, I wasn't sure. I decided to try boiling, per a suggestion that came after I commented about the similarity with rust bluing.
It didn't seem to change anything, but then again, it didn't seem to hurt anything, either. And if it had been residual oil, I surely boiled it away! (Or maybe just distributed it more evenly...)
Anyway, back in the soup! I dipped it twice more.
Given the delicacy of the blackening effect on brass, I carded with a soft toothbrush instead of the wire carding brush. Although the process is similar to rust bluing, the result does not seem to be as deep, so I went lightly with the abrasive step.
The result was acceptable, so I went ahead and oiled 'em up after the last carding.
While they hung there soaking up oil for a few days, I took inventory of the remaining tasks. I realized I'd forgotten something.
The grip panel retaining ferrules are also brass. So...
In they went. They came out fine after a couple baths, but the picture didn't. They're oiled & set aside now.
So, the barrel shortening, butt rounding, steel bluing, and brass blackening are "complete" (until I'm posessed by another whim, that is), and the hammer, trigger, & arbor pin are polished and ready for some kind of color treatment. I have the arbor pin quick-release retainer about 70% complete in steel and, since my brass bar stock came in, I have the option to make a brass one if I want. While I like the idea of a blade front sight, I've already blued the barrel and don't want to muck that up by trying to cut my first dovetail into it, so I think I'm just going to fabricate a front sight post out of brass or steel and drill & tap it into the barrel. I may use a fat post, flatten the sides, and round over the top in homage to the original 1858 style front sight. I have to finish stripping & refinishing the walnut grip panels (turns out I didn't have any citrus strip leftover after all). Then of course I'll have to reassemble it and test function before the first range trip.
But other than that, it's basically done!
Or so I tell myself.
Here's how it looked before Santa made his rounds last night:
It's hard to believe that's a brass frame & trigger guard! I doubt the finish will be very durable, but it's very attractive short-term lipstick on a
pig Bulldog.
And it's been a heck of a lotta fun so far.
Merry Christmas!