Freudianfloyd
Member
So I picked up this old rifle this past summer, and while it is had true wear on it, which normally wouldn't bother me, it also had some long obsolete scope mount screwed into the side of the receiver. I tried to find the missing scope mount pieces, but couldn't find any information on this particular one. Apparently they went out of business decades ago. So I removed what was there and tried living with the 4 threaded holes.
On a separate note, I have been learning the rust bluing process, and have set up a nice little work station in the basement to give me something to do this winter.
I figured now was the time to repair that model 94 for good.
Here is how it looked when I bought it.
And here are the holes...
After tearing the gun down, I started with plugging the holes and taking the screws down as close to flush as I could.
Then made the mistake of attempting to fix the holes with my MIG welder as my TIG was not accessible. This led to some porosity that I wasn't expecting. I knew TIG was the proper way to go but figured MIG would be quicker, thus less heat in the metal. My mistake.
So that all had to be fixed. I took the receiver to work, and fixed the welds with the TIG. Then polished them down. (Got a little too aggressive in a couple spots though and had a bit of a low spot form.
Then using some red dykem, went to draw filing to make the surface as level as possible.
After that, it was a complete sanding of the gun and all components.
I made a mistake and polished the receiver before bluing, and after 6 or 7 rounds of bluing, boiling, and carding, it turned bronze with very little color.
So I stripped it down again and stopped at 400 grit. I also tried a bluing trick I read about where the guy said to cold blue first and then do the rust blue. The thought was it gave the rust blue something to bite into.
So I went to bluing and did as many cycles as I could before I was out of the bluing agent. The small parts all looked great, but the barrel and mag tube still looked dull and grey to me. I had no choice however and had to neutralize the bluing agent and soak the parts in oil. Then I went to bed.
The next day when I got home from work, the first thing I did was go check on the parts. I was blown away, the oil darkened the bluing to black as night. All the parts looked better than original. I couldn't believe it.
On a separate note, I have been learning the rust bluing process, and have set up a nice little work station in the basement to give me something to do this winter.
I figured now was the time to repair that model 94 for good.
Here is how it looked when I bought it.
And here are the holes...
After tearing the gun down, I started with plugging the holes and taking the screws down as close to flush as I could.
Then made the mistake of attempting to fix the holes with my MIG welder as my TIG was not accessible. This led to some porosity that I wasn't expecting. I knew TIG was the proper way to go but figured MIG would be quicker, thus less heat in the metal. My mistake.
So that all had to be fixed. I took the receiver to work, and fixed the welds with the TIG. Then polished them down. (Got a little too aggressive in a couple spots though and had a bit of a low spot form.
Then using some red dykem, went to draw filing to make the surface as level as possible.
After that, it was a complete sanding of the gun and all components.
I made a mistake and polished the receiver before bluing, and after 6 or 7 rounds of bluing, boiling, and carding, it turned bronze with very little color.
So I stripped it down again and stopped at 400 grit. I also tried a bluing trick I read about where the guy said to cold blue first and then do the rust blue. The thought was it gave the rust blue something to bite into.
So I went to bluing and did as many cycles as I could before I was out of the bluing agent. The small parts all looked great, but the barrel and mag tube still looked dull and grey to me. I had no choice however and had to neutralize the bluing agent and soak the parts in oil. Then I went to bed.
The next day when I got home from work, the first thing I did was go check on the parts. I was blown away, the oil darkened the bluing to black as night. All the parts looked better than original. I couldn't believe it.
