The Husqvarna Club

[El Mariachi]

Alright Kidz, I think it's finally time that we had our own thread-----just like everyone else. These rifles are not only well made & gorgeous & accurate & getting scarce, but they have a glorious & colorful history dating back over 300 years. That, right there, is reason enough to start this thread. Honestly, how many other 'Marquees' have been around that long?....

Regardless, a lot of you may know that at the ripe olde age of 54 that I just got back into firearms after a 20 year hiatus. Cheaper than sailing.....but just as fun. My seventh firearm purchase this year was a commercial Model 640, in 8x57 and built in 1949. I saw it on G/B, fell in love with it immediately and 'Bought It Now'. Cheap. Why did I buy it? I haven't a frickin clue, except that it looked like a 'proper rifle'. I don't ever plan on hunting with it (my hunting resume consists of 1 dead sparrow vs. a Daisy, two huge blue sharks with my Dad's WWII 1911 in '72, a dozen quail & a large Baja jack rabbit in Mexico with a Marlin 22WMR bolt back in the 80's. But that doesn't matter 'cuz these rifles are much more than that---they're historic. Mauser designed actions, super tough Swedish metal, exceptionally talented craftsmen at FN, lovely crafted furniture in various species and a history that goes back to 1689. It really does not get any better than that.


Alright now, let's see some pics, Kidz. Dak0ta? You're the most recent Husqy owner, so you need to go first.......

 

[dak0ta]

Alright I'll go first. Here's my newly acquired Husqvarna Model 640 in 8x57 IS. I'm in the process of cleaning her up, will post updated pics later.

 

[Moose458]

Sporterized from a milsup Husky in 6.5x55 Swede what else?.

 

[303tom]

Here is one of mine.

 

[dak0ta]

Here are those pics of my rear and front sight El Mariachi.

 

[obx]

Does this qualify me?

And although I am embarrassed to ask, does anyone have any idea what model this is? I inherited it and know embarrassing little about it except that it was built in '53. I do know that it is scary accurate at the range and I used it to take my first deer last year at a little over 200 yards.

 

[El Mariachi]

Yups......

 

[dak0ta]

I decided to give my stock a nice lift, so I went over it with some 0000 steel wool and hand rubbed 2 coats of BLO, looks good so far! How many coats till it is nice and shiny like those classic Mauser sporting rifles from the 1950's? (Addendum: This is a Mauser from the 1950s (1952)

Before:

After:

Ding blends in much better now!





Any ideas what these cartouches mean?

 

[El Mariachi]

TW is 'Tradewinds' (the importer) I believe.

The roundish mark with the three 'fingers' sticking up at 11, 12 and 1 o'clock is the Husqvarna insignia----'sposed to resemble those front military style sights.

And like I told you over on Gun Boards.....linseed oil the crap out of that stock. With wet & dry sandpaper. Trust me, steel wool just sucks on wood.But bronze wool is ok. You can usually find that at West Marine stores......

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Trust me, steel wool just sucks on wood.

I always use 0000 steel wool when finishing new stocks or refinishing old stocks. It works great.

 

[El Mariachi]

I just like the bronze stuff better, Jimmy, mostly 'cuz if you get a tiny, lost 'hair' of it in the grain.....it won't rust out and leave an ugly mark or stain like steel will.......

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I use dry compressed air to make sure that doesn't happen. As far as Husqvarnas are concerned,I gave my nephew a my High Standard/HVA in .270win for his 16th birthday and haven't gotten another one.....yet. I do have a Colombian 98 large ring in 30.06 with a Husky M640 barrel...does that count?

 

[El Mariachi]

1949 Husqy model #640, 8 x 57, FN 98 large ring action, steel floor plate, beech stock, nine 'kill' marks, 100,XXX serial number, imported by KEBCO sometimes in the 70's, came with a Bushnell Banner and a hard case, pretty decent condition......and all for waaaay under $400.00. I love this gurl....

 

[dak0ta]

How many coats of BLO should I put on to get a high luster? Also, how many a day can I put on? I put 2 on in about 1 hour, rubbing it all in, then using a blow dryer to open the wood pores to soak more in, rub it in again. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then resume with another coat and repeat. The wood seems to soak up the oil really good and fast. I assume down the road, the wood will become saturated and less oil will be absorbed? That's the sign to stop?

Also, once you're finished applying BLO, what kind of wax do you use? Does furniture wax work? Do you put on 1 coat only?

 

[El Mariachi]

I'd do no more than two thin, quick coats of linseed oils every 24---36 hours. Let it soak & let it dry. Then repeat. And the reason we were taught to use wet & dry sand paper was because the 'sawdust' would mix in with the oil and help fill the pores quicker, thereby building up a smoother surface more rapidly. Kinda like poor man's sanding sealer. Start with 320 and work your way up to maybe 800 or so.


And good old fashioned Carnuba paste wax works very well.......

 

[dak0ta]

How many coats of BLO are on your Husqvarna? And how many coats of Paste wax?

Also, for the barrel channel, magazine area, and trigger area, do you keep applying BLO there as well (20 coats), or just 3-4 and it should be good there?

 

[El Mariachi]

1). Sorry for the confusion Dak0ta but that Husqy isn't oiled. When I got it it had a couple thin coats of high gloss varnish on it, that was kinda flaking off & worn here and there. So I just dismantled the parts, sanded the stock down until I could see just a hint of the first coat of varnish in the wood, then applied three coats of Hi Gloss Varathane (mixed & thinned with some teak oil to dull it down a bit). Trust me, I did not spend a whole lotta time on this----but I got the look that I wanted. Looks pretty, is semi-glossy, with a bit of patina and some real cool character marks. Just what I wanted.


2). Ok, here's the JC Higgins shot gun that I did oil a couple months back----not with linseed but with Tip Top Teak oil. I think I applied maybe 5-7 coats on this one, then hit her with some cheap spray furniture wax. Again, I didn't spend a bunch of time on this one either, but a few more coats of oil and it wood have sealed the pores some more and would look even better;
















3). As far as the unseen areas of the stock go (notches, bedding, slots, etc), yeah, I oil them at least thrice. You really want not to have any unsealed bare lumber on your stock.....

 

[dak0ta]

Awesome work. It's inspiring, I hope my turns out that nicely!

 

[dak0ta]

I noticed that your Mauser says Mod 98 on the left receiver. What year was yours produced? Is it a war time receiver?

 

[El Mariachi]

1949....

 

[El Mariachi]

OBX, click on this website and scroll down to 'Repeating Rifles'. I double checked your serial number and it's actually a 1956. On this list you'll find about 6 or 7 or 8 different models that could be yours. You can then deduce & reduce the numbers of models that could be yours by reading the descriptions in the right side columns. For instance your rifle has the following;


Fancy walnut stock with cheek rest.

Facette ground bolt.

Swept back bolt.

Checkered pistol grip.

Black & white accents.

Monte Carlo stock with jacaranda (black) fore-tip.

.270 Winchester. Etc etc etc.


As you can se there are a few variables. My suggestion would be to remove the stock, get a magnifying glass and look around for more numbers. You may find the letters 'TW' somewhere (like Dak0ta's gun) and a model number. On my 1949 I found a very small stamp that says 'M640', which obviously means Model # 640. Good luck and let us know whatcha can find....


http://www.skydevaaben.com/allhvamodels/info.xml

 

[obx]

I took it apart and this is all I found. D'oh.

 

[El Mariachi]

Didja remove the stock and look at the underside of the barrel?.....

 

[obx]

Yeah, I had the stock off when I got that image of the underside of the receiver. That was the only stamp I could find anywhere. I couldn't find a "TW" on the stock either. Unfortunately, the only mark on the barrel itself was the hatch mark that aligned the barrel and the receiver. I appreciate all of the help so far, my apologies for highjacking the thread.

 

[El Mariachi]

Dude? How can you hijack a Husqy thread with pics and questions about a Husqy? Keep it going.....