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!
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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!