Western Field 740 A-EMN Reblue x3 part 1

I have been sitting on this blog post for a while, looking for the right opportunity to post it. This month we are focusing on lever action rifles, so I thought this was the perfect time to post.....

This time we are restoring the finish on a Ward's Western Field model 740 A-EMN Rifle. The model 740 was made by Marlin for Montgomery Ward's Department Store. This one was made in 1964. The gun is essentially a re-branded Marlin model 336 and is of course chambered in 30-30 Winchester.

I originally blued this rifle for my friend back in 2013. The bluing didn't turn out as nice as I had hoped, so I gave it to him to look over and decide if he wanted me to reblue it again. A short time ago I realized I still had the bolt, the internal parts and screws in a box. To be honest I had forgotten about the project.
So I contacted him and he brought the gun back for round two. Round two didn't go so well either, so I ended up rebluing it a third time (hence the name of the project).

Here is what the gun looked like before we started this journey:

Here is the gun after polishing

As per my SOP I blue several guns at a time

I got a rusty film on the parts (which happens sometimes)

I somehow forgot to take pictures of the gun after I cleaned it up. The bluing had some shadows or cloudy areas, but was otherwise a pretty decent job.

Here is what the gun looked like when he brought it back to me after two years. I am not sure how or where he stored the gun, but it got moisture on it and some rust developed

Time for the naval jelly, with the bluing removed we can see the extent of the pitting

I started with 220 grit and quickly realized that wasn't getting it done, I stepped down to 100 grit

When I had most of the pits removed, I went back to 220 grit

Then 280 grit

Then 320 grit

Next came the 400 grit

Then 600

Then 1000

Then 2000

Then 2400 grit crocus cloth

Then I repeated the process on the other side

I thought this was funny, the outline of the receiver in metal dust on the towel the gun was sitting on:

I then turned my attention to the barrel, starting with 220 grit, then 320, 400 and finally 600 grit. I alternated polishing in a shoe shine and length wise fashion.

I did the same to the magazine tube

I then taped off the polished areas and sand blasted the top of the received and the lower tang with medium grit aluminum oxide

 after

 I will give the sides a once over with crocus cloth before cleaning with soap and water

Then I disassembled the lever and lower tang and then polished the sides

Somehow during the two plus years between messing with this rifle, the trigger was misplaced. So I found a new one on ebay, this one is stainless steel. I will polish it up so it matches the bolt.

As my luck has been lately, the barrel and receiver did not turn out too well. The color is splotchy...... the metal is smooth though!

There is no point in getting angry, these things happen, you just need to learn what you can from the mistake(s) and move forward....

On the bright side all of the small parts turned out great!

Stay tuned for round two where I strip the metal again and reblue this rifle for the 3rd time.