My first Lever Action Restoration. Pics!! Help needed.

[longdayjake]

Okay, so I have a buddy that had a basement flood about 10 years ago. His model 94 winchester ended up taking on water and looked pretty sad. For 10 years the gun was soaked in oil that somehow turned into a mixture of mud and oil. Though he knows that I like to restore rifles, he failed to mention it to me until about a couple weeks ago. I told him I would see what I could do and he brought it over. I forgot to take a before picture of the wood, but trust me when I say that it was in very very sad shape. Now it looks pretty good. I didn't have a big enough tank to parkerize it so I cold blued it with Van's Instant Gun Blue. I don't like the smell much but it gives a really good finish.

Anyway, the gun showed up without the hammer screw and the screw that tightens the barrel band onto the handguard. If you guys know of anywhere I can find those screws please let me know as the rifle is pretty much useless without them.

 

[Murphys Law]

Nice Job! Maybe Numrich can help at http://www.gunpartscorp.com/

What did you use to clean the rust off of the receiver?

 

[Schofield3]

Wow, looks great!

 

[Nick5182]

That's a great looking resto right there.

 

[longdayjake]

What did you use to clean the rust off of the receiver?

I used glass bead and a sandblaster. I already tried Numrich and couldn't find the screws.

 

[ammoeater]

Beautiful job, well done! Looks like Winchester Bob might have what you need:
http://www.winchesterbob.com/model94.htm

 

[1KPerDay]

Nice job. Maybe I'll send mine to you. LOL

 

[hotlead]

How did you do the stock? Looks great!

 

[paducahrider]

The smell of instant blue!!

Howdy!
Ah yes!
I love the smell of SELENIUM in the morning!!
That's the same groundwater constituant that polluted a lot of the farmland in Southern California.
Interesting stuff, that SELENIUM.
Thanks for your time.

 

[dovedescending]

^^^^^

 

[rcmodel]

Winchester 94 parts

http://www.winchesterguns.com/customerservice/partsservice/index.asp

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/mid=113/schematics/Winchester_

http://www.wisnersinc.com/rifles/winchester/win_start.html

rc

 

[longdayjake]

How did you do the stock? Looks great!

The stock had a ton of dings and grime in it so I first put it through the dishwasher to kind of clean and steam the dings out. Then I sanded everything but the checkering. Then I did one thick coat of boiled linseed oil to give it that nice red color. Lastly I used one coat of Tru-oil to finish it off and give it a nice soft and smooth feel.

 

[Al Thompson]

How durable do you think the bluing will be? I have a beater Marlin I need to do. Your work looks great - would you recommend stripping off the old finish on the steel, or can you blue over it?

 

[Geno]

ldj:

Congratulations! That really looks nice. Isn't it a great feeling to start out with something that resembles junk, and restore it to a prized possession again?! You're a good friend.

Geno

 

[Handgunner]

Your buddy owes you a beer or two.

Nice work.

 

[longdayjake]

How durable do you think the bluing will be? I have a beater Marlin I need to do. would you recommend stripping off the old finish on the steel, or can you blue over it?

I would definately recommend stripping the old bluing off if you want it to look even. The original finish had a very high polished luster and the new finish is more matte. It would be like the difference between a matte finish and a gloss finish on a leupold scope. You can try to mix the two but it will be highly obvious.

As far as durability, I don't really know. Before I greased it up and added some heat to the grease I could easily scrub it off with a brillo pad. I don't know how easy it would come off now because I didn't want to have to start all over again.

Also, let me just say that this isn't something you should try if you have never done any kind of refinishing of metal and wood before. To get an even solid color takes practice and in my case a lot of redoing. I only did this for my friend because I was confident in the final result. If you have never done any small parts before DO NOT start with an entire receiver. Also, I do not recommend buying the rust/blue remover. In my experience it is a waste of money. It never really gets rid of the blueing and rust and you just end up with a stinky mess. Also, take off any silver rings you may be wearing as they will end up just as black as the receiver. Don't ask me how I know. Lastly, if you decide you want to do it anyway, make sure that you apply the bluing to the steel when it is too hot to touch. I put the receiver and barrel in the oven and broiled it for 10 minutes before I applied the solution. Obviously an oven mit was required for that step.

 

[W.E.G.]

Rifle looks very nice in the pics.

In my experience, cold-blued metal rusts almost instantly when exposed to moisture.

 

[longdayjake]

In my experience, cold-blued metal rusts almost instantly when exposed to moisture.

Yeah if you don't keep it greased it will definately rust. It will rust immediately after bluing if you don't grease it at all. But then again so will parkerizing.

 

[longdayjake]

Okay, just fyi but I had to get the hammer screw from winchester. The price for the screw was $1.50 and the price for shipping was $8. Don't lose your screws!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dentite]

That looks really awesome...that is really nice looking wood.

 

[Handgunner]

The price for the screw was $1.50 and the price for shipping was $8

That's ridiculous.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Nice looking rifle.

Reminds me that I need to get a "Finger Lever Pin Stop Screw" for my saddle-ring carbine. It's been a safe queen way too long.

 

[grubbylabs]

Nice looking gun there Jake.

 

[paintballdude902]

wow. im very impressed.