About Me: A certified yet non-professional gunsmith learning the trade through trail and inspiration

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Old Fashioned Gun Porn June 2019




These first two come from Custom Shop in Hamilton Montana, they specialize in high end rifles and revolvers, check out their website here




I really like the look of this, the leather adds a classic touch



This one is from the legendary Turnbull Restoration Co








Just one of the many works of art from Infinity Firearms


This custom engraved Ruger Bearcat Shopkeeper was done for the Ruger Owners and Collectors Society (ROCS), see their website here









This unique Marlin is from the folks at Ronin Armory







This one could also be the work of Turnbull Restoration, not sure




The pictures above were found freely on the world wide web and are used under the guidelines of Fair Use, per Title 17 of the U.S. Code. Where possible the source has been credited. If you own the copyright to any of these images and wish them to be credited or removed, please contact me immediately. 

Monday, June 24, 2019

Chemicals that might remove bluing part 2


Last year I did an experiment to see if some chemicals that have been said to remove bluing from steel actually do.

If you didn't know bluing is actually black oxide, which is red rust converted to black rust by the application of heat. After multiple layers are formed on the steel, it takes on a deep black/blue appearance.

Last time we tried the following chemicals


  • Nail Polish Remover
  • Citristrip (wood finish remover)
  • Brake Fluid
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Comet 
  • Brasso

None of them affected the bluing at all. See the test here

This time I will try some of the other items on the list including:


  • Bleach
  • WD-40
  • Coca-Cola
  • Brake Cleaner
  • PB Blaster
  • Windex


The barrel was a used 10/22 barrel with some slight rust, but other wise the bluing was still there, so this test could show us it the chemicals remove rust and bluing.



I slathered on the chemicals and let them sit for more than an hour

then I rinsed the metal and removed the tape, here are the results

Bleach: there was no discernable divergence, it didn't seem to do anything


WD-40: I have used WD-40 as a water displacing oil after bluing and had never seen it damage bluing in anyway, still people think that a penetrating oil designed to remove or loosen rust will remove bluing. In this case it did nothing


Coca-Cola: I can't even count the number of times people have stated that the acids in Coke will remove rust, but in this case it did nothing, I suppose it might have done better if we soaked the barrel in Coke.


Brake Cleaner: More than a few people have stated that Brake Cleaner removes bluing, so we included it in this test. This is the non-chlorinated stuff, not sure if that matters. The bluing did appear to lighten a little before I rinsed it, but after rinsing and removing the tape, you could tell no difference.


PB Blaster: A member on a national gun forum swore up and down that PB Blaster was to blame for his bluing being destroyed, so I decided to buy a can and give it a shot. Just like the brake cleaner, the metal appeared to have changed from blue to gray, but after rinsing there was nothing removed.....it might have just been the stuff drying on the surface.


Windex: While I had never heard of windex removing bluing, it does contain ammonia which can be corrosive to some metals, but blued steel is not one of them


So this round was a bust as well, I guess it is just Like Abe Lincoln said...you just can't trust what you read on the interwebs…...



Thursday, June 20, 2019

Guest Post: Unwrapping an M1D Sniper Rifle



Another guest post by a local forum member, the rest of the words (italicized) are his:

I was recently able to acquire this rare bird, It's a mid 90's DCM Lottery rifle with all the accessories as issued and all still sealed. Until now....

I purchased it with no intent to unwrap it, until the degrading condition of the plastic that sealed it and the concern for any problems I could not see changed my mind.

After opening the plastic I am glad that I did. It had a small spot or rust on the clip release that would have gotten worse had I left it in the wrap.
The bore is pristine, the scope that was inspected and packaged in 1969 is beautiful with clear glass and no flaking inside which tends to happen to the old M84 scopes.

It was quite an experience opening those packages, I assure you, I just wish I had gotten better pics and video. This was a rare opportunity to document the opening of sealed packaging from an all original and documented M1D Sniper.

I will mount the scope and the T-37 flash hider, but the rifle is completely dry of lube from the Arsenal and I wont be changing that.

It will not be fired by me, I am just the custodian of this rifle and I only intend to preserve it.