Need Help with Win 1892 Project

[pastprime2]

Hi, new to posting here so if this request is in the wrong place someone please tell me where to post it...

I have a Win 1892 in pretty rough shape. I have decided to try a slow rust bluing on the rifle. I'm a gun "tinkerer" of many years but this will be my first attemp to refinish a rifle.

My question concerns the preparation of the metal..I have read here and other places that the better the polish job the better the final result, but I do not know exactly how the metal should look after polishing.

1. Should I try to get all the dark spots out??? They look like they are deep in the metal.

2. Should the metal be absolutely bright with no inperfections??? Looks like that would mean taking away a lot of metal even where the small pits are.

3. Does anyone have any pictures of gun metal polished and ready to blue that they would share???

Any info would be greatly appreciated,
Tks

 

[Kman]

I probably won't be the only one to say this but I'll be first,,,If that 1892 winny is in such bad shape that you would consider re-bluing it???? then you might want to try an easier project first,,work the bugs out on something else like an old .22 or shotgun that won't need so much attention.
P.S. If the metal looks like chrome, than blue/black chrome is what you get!

 

[rcmodel]

Zactly!

Any "Dark Spots" below the surface on the 92 has to be removed before rust bluing.
That is just deep rust that has worked down into the steel.
If you don't remove it all, it will return to haunt you later!

But, to do that, you will likely destroy the old Winchester 92, just learning how to draw-file out the pit's & rust, and polish what is left on your first attempt.

Kinda like a lot of things.

If you have to ask how to do it, or how much to bet,
you probably can't afford to gamble.

Leave it alone and start on something less valuable and historic.


rcmodel

 

[pastprime2]

I am doing this for a winter project...I enjoy taking something firearm related that looks not so good and making it look better... and especially learning in the process...I'm retired and like to keep busy but with no timeline..

Maybe the best thing would be to buy a video on how to do the polishing and rust bluing.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[rcmodel]

I didn't mean to drive you off, if that is what you felt from my first reply.

The thing is, there is only a finite number of working 1892's left on this earth, and the oldest ones are probably almost as old as you & I combined.
They ain't making any more real Winchester 1892's again, ever!

Please, start on something else for your first attempt at restoration & blueing.

That old Winchester 92 can probably be restored to it's rightful place in history, but probably not as your first gunsmithing project!


rcmodel

 

[pastprime2]

You did not

Its just that I have been typing replies and when I try to submit them I get a message that says I am not logged in and I loose what I have typed when I log in again.

Got to type faster or find out how to stay logged in.

Thank for the reply. Would like to discuss options on the 1892 with you.

Hank

 

[rcmodel]

I don't know about that.
Sounds like a local time-out on your computer, or your IT provider.

I don't think THR has any kind of time limit on typing posts before you submit them.

I'm about as slow as it gets!
I'm a "Hunt'n Pecker" typest, as they used to say about my young hot secretary before I retired!

I do have problems sometimes that some THR server somewhere hangs up for minutes at a time after I hit the POST button.

I just go chill for awhile and come back, and there it is.
Usually, sometimes!
Or there it is, TWICE!


rcmodel

 

[MAX100]

You can go into your modem software installed on your computer and change the idle time to give you more time. It is easy click start, go into control panel, look for modem icon click and the click on properties you should see it if your software has that feature.


GC

 

[Kman]

Just out of curiosity, is it a rifle or carbine? what caliber and date of manufacture? How's the wood, any cracks or deep gouges?

 

[pastprime2]

Yes

the wood is cracked on the fore end and the stock was extremely dried with several dime size chuncks missing around the butt plate. The wood had shrunk so much that the butt plate was at least 1/16" larger that the stock. Looked like the weathered boards of an old unpainted beach house.

It is a rifle with a 20" barrel; date of mfg is 1913. So far as I can tell all the parts are here except for a saddle ring.

I cannot leave the rifle in this conditon and if I work carefully and slowly I don't think I will damage it to the point it cannot be successfully restored if someone wanted to spend the money.

 

[Jim K]

If the stock is that bad, you might want to consider buying a new one. Gun Parts Corp. (www.gunpartscorp.com) has semi-finished stocks and foreends for the 1892, I think $65 for the stock, $60 or so for the foreend.

Jim

 

[JG2000]

Another way around the timeout issue is before you hit "Post Quick Reply" to highlight everything you've written, right click it, then hit copy. If it times out all you need to do is log in then paste it in the message box. Hope that makes sense. Before you start working on that 1892 maybe you could post some pics

 

[Kman]

You have a carbine, now what caliber? At the very least it's a $4-500 firearm. What condition is the bore in? any rifling? is it just dark and dirty looking even after a cleaning? The receiver tang markings, are they clearly legible, or worn completely smooth.

 

[pastprime2]

Thanks for the correction; I did not read the heading correctly when I looked up the barrel length.

The caliber marked on the barrel is 38 WCF which I believe is .38-40. The rifling looks worn but quite visible. There is quite a bit of throat erosion; similiar to what I've seem on a lot of old military rifles.

When I look down the barrel with a light it is not brilliant but it does shine with some pencil lead size dark spots. When I cleaned the barrel a lot of black fouling came out but almost no rust.

All of the lettering is easily visible at arms length. The tang area looks better than the front of the receiver (pitting/rust wise)...Possibly the rifle was carried by the receiver instead of by the stock while in use.

The cartridge stop spring appeared to have a broken tip because it would not put pressure on the stop causing mis-feeds. I have one ordered and hope that will fix the problem and allow the rifle to be cycled as intended.

I appreciate all the info...the rifle deserves to look better but I don't have the money for a full restoration...and I really don't feel like I can sell it the way it is now..

 

[Kman]

That sounds to be in better condition than most encountered. The fact that the tang markings are still legible, and you see obvious rifling leads me to believe your carbine is in need of a hands-on appraisal. If it was me I'd take it to a Winchester collector and get all the information I could before taking anything harsher than an oiled cloth to it. I know you would like to see it back in it's original glory but it may destroy it in the process. It may not be in as bad a condition as you suspect. The thing is that there are very few of these original 92's out there, lots of 94's but few 92's and even fewer carbines{they do carry a premium} and it IS a piece of history as being one of the finest lever actions made.

 

[pastprime2]

I do know a couple cowboy action shooters who can probably direct me to someone in this area who collects Winchesters that would be willing to look at the rifle for me. I will check with them next week. Thanks again for all the information.

 

[Kman]

I watched an auction of old Winchesters about two years ago, what I thought was useless junk was fetching $300-400. I saw an 1892 rifle manufactured in 1903, an octagon barrel in .32, with heavy patina and gouged wood bring $600. The rifle had no rifling left, it was useless as even a shooter. The market is kind of flat on these old guns right now but the carbines do bring more and anything that has a decent bore/barrel is probably $800+ Have as many guys look at it as possible, get all the info you can and then you can make a more informed decision.