To remove the action from the receiver you remove the take down pin and pull down and rearwards on the lever
The springs still have plenty of strength, so it doesn't appear they were damaged by the heat. We have some rusty parts to contend with though.
I removed the butt stock, using a 1/2 deep well socket and extension. The butt plate is toast, but the white spacer could be salvaged.
The wood is definitely not walnut, must be birch, beech or some other hardwood
The steel inner magazine tube took some coaxing to get out. I might replace it with a new brass one.
I removed the pin on the mag tube mount and used a piece of wood and a hammer to get it out. It wouldn't budge. So I used the wire wheel to clean up the metal, then using my torch I heated the metal slightly and pressed a wax candle to it. The hot wax finds its way between the two pieces of metal and breaks the mechanical bond.
Once out I could remove the forearm
the forearm is held in place by this plastic bushing that fits in a dovetail on the barrel, it is in perfect condition...
Next is the barrel, it is held in place by a threaded spanner nut. It didn't want to move either, so a little heat and candle wax and I got it to break loose.
Getting the barrel out took heat, candle wax, a piece of pine board and some gentle persuasion from a hammer
Once we got the barrel separated we got a look at the rifling from the breech end, it doesn't look too bad (getting a clear picture is next to impossible), I think we can save it.
I then worked the barrel over on the wire wheel to see how bad the pitting is
It is not as bad as I thought.
and the pitting is pretty much concentrated on the muzzle end, none to be found near the roll marks and proof stamps, which will make the sanding go much quicker
I started with the front sight
The I started on the front half of the barrel, 100 grit emory cloth sanding both fore and aft and cross ways (shoe shine style)
and worked my way up to 600 grit
I then used the buffer to blend the areas
No comments:
Post a Comment