.458 winchester silk purse from a sows ear project

[ChrisG]

Well I didnt do much more on the barrel today because I got my new teardrop bolt handle in! Time to cut 'n TIG!

First to go was the old bolt handle. My dremel made short work of that.

Prep and rigging for TIG welding. The cloth is wet and stuffed into the rear of the bolt to keep the cocking cam raceway from losing its heat treat. They are usually glass hard and this one was no exception. My file skipped right over it. So the rag keeps everything from overheating. TIG setup was 3/32" tungsten, 25 cfh Argon, #12 Furick cup and 150A pulsed with the pedal.

Welding went very well. It took a couple tries on the tack to get it right where I wanted it, then go slow. It took a long time for the size of the weld as I couldnt let things get too hot. Quick get in-get out weld, then wrap in the towel to let it cool.

I filed it just enough to get it into the gun to check angle, and position. It came out perfect in relation to the trigger!

I am going to finish filing and shaping it tomorrow. I'm beat for today.

 

[ChrisG]

Chris, before you resort to pure elbow grease, try using some Kroil and 0000 steel wool. Fellas our age need to work smarter, not harder. LOL I've cleaned up "dark" bores with this. Trust me it works.

I will give it a shot. I need to remove enough metal to get the pits less noticable. I do have a sandblaster, but I am tring to avoid that as I never quite know how its going to come out and once you hit one spot with the blaster, youve committed.

 

[Aaron N]

I will give it a shot. I need to remove enough metal to get the pits less noticable. I do have a sandblaster, but I am tring to avoid that as I never quite know how its going to come out and once you hit one spot with the blaster, youve committed.

can you elaborate on that? I was wondering myself why you wouldn’t blast it, but I’ve never stripped the finish off a rifle

 

[425SCHADE]

Started sanding down the barrel to expose the pitting a little with some 320 grit sandpaper.View attachment 408088

Its not really bad, but its gonna take some elbow grease.

I quickly gave up on the paper and went to a file for this one. You'll get there but,

 

[degoins]

Are you going to install a wing type or model 70 type safety?

 

[ChrisG]

Are you going to install a wing type or model 70 type safety?

It is going to be a M70 style from Pacific tool and gauge.

 

[degoins]

Cool!!! You will end up with a very classy and functional rifle.

 

[ChrisG]

can you elaborate on that? I was wondering myself why you wouldn’t blast it, but I’ve never stripped the finish off a rifle

Sandblasting is like using an ax where you might otherwise do a better job with a scalpel. I could bead blast it, but I dont have a blast cabinet so... glass bead is very expensive and since I wouldnt be able to reclaim it very well, it would be a waste. Media blasting it will produce such a rough serface, even a low pressure, that I would need to sand it anyways.

All that is ignoring the fact that I really like the low gloss luster of rust blue after sanding to a 600 grit polish... so I still would want to do that.

 

[ChrisG]

I quickly gave up on the paper and went to a file for this one. You'll get there but,View attachment 408280View attachment 408279

I have definitely done that before. It works well on flat surfaces but smoothing rounded surfaces is going to be tough... i may give it a try though.

This was a previous project.

Before

After

 

[Shootist43]

Chris G, this isn't your first "project" rifle. Judging from your previous results your instincts and skills are pretty good. Please let us / me know how the Kroil and 0000 Steel worked out for removing surface rust.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Sandblasting is like using an ax where you might otherwise do a better job with a scalpel. I could bead blast it, but I dont have a blast cabinet so... glass bead is very expensive and since I wouldnt be able to reclaim it very well, it would be a waste. Media blasting it will produce such a rough serface, even a low pressure, that I would need to sand it anyways.

All that is ignoring the fact that I really like the low gloss luster of rust blue after sanding to a 600 grit polish... so I still would want to do that.

ChrisG:
This is a really cool project and am following it with interest. If one wanted to coat the metal surfaces with Cerakote or another type of coating, would that seal the rust and/or fill in the pitting? Just asking for future reference. Thanks!
CEH

 

[ChrisG]

ChrisG:
This is a really cool project and am following it with interest. If one wanted to coat the metal surfaces with Cerakote or another type of coating, would that seal the rust and/or fill in the pitting? Just asking for future reference. Thanks!
CEH

It would hide the pitting pretty well as cerakote is typically matte texture. The rust would need to be gone though as any rust left under the cerakote wouldn't allow it to bond well. Phosphoric acid will chemically attack and remove the rust without harming the metal wheras other acids (HCl being the main culprit) will bond will form ferrous chlorides with the steel underneath and, though initially it will remove the rust, it will rust worse next time and faster.

But I prefer bluing as it converts any rust left over to Magnetite. There shouldn't be any rust left after sandblasting however.

 

[mdwest]

another great thing about cerakote, duracoat, and other similar finishes.. is that you can apply multiple thin coats and they will fill in pitting, scratches, etc pretty well and leave you with a nice, clean, "flat" (or round) surface and hide/disguise the pitting damage really well..

This is why I went with a duracoat finish on a SR Mauser project I completed a few years back.. the action and barrel were in excellent functional shape.. but the external part of the action and the bottom metal had some pretty ugly pitting on them.. It took 2 coats of duracoat on all metal parts, and then 2 additional thin/light coats in the pitted areas.. but now you cant see any evidence of the previous rust damage at all..

 

[ChrisG]

another great thing about cerakote, duracoat, and other similar finishes.. is that you can apply multiple thin coats and they will fill in pitting, scratches, etc pretty well and leave you with a nice, clean, "flat" (or round) surface and hide/disguise the pitting damage really well..

This is why I went with a duracoat finish on a SR Mauser project I completed a few years back.. the action and barrel were in excellent functional shape.. but the external part of the action and the bottom metal had some pretty ugly pitting on them.. It took 2 coats of duracoat on all metal parts, and then 2 additional thin/light coats in the pitted areas.. but now you cant see any evidence of the previous rust damage at all..

I've never played with duracoat. Is it something you can easily do at home or does it require special ovens and equipment?

 

[mdwest]

Duracoat does a lot better if you can bake it on.. but it will set up naturally at room temps if you dont have an oven option.. it just takes about 24 hours between coats if youre air drying at room temps to harden enough to be handled.. and you probably want to give it several days of cure time when youre done before you really mess around with it..

Personally I prefer a Cerakote finish.. but IMO Duracoat is 80-90% as good as Cerakote.. and as long as you take your time and actually apply the finish correctly.. Duracoat is EASY to do at home (all you need is a $5 disposable aerosol can and time).. where Cerakote really needs an airbrush, large ovens that are very accurate, etc..

 

[ChrisG]

Ibordered the stock today from Richards microfit. They are 8-12weeks out currently so I have some time to finish up the rifle itself. I can fit the stock, I will need to get the 3 position safety. I toyed with the idea of using the safety mechanism that is already there, but extending it by welding a length to it and making a tang safety from it.... we'll see... I like that the 3 position physically stops the bolt from moving... thoughts?

 

[degoins]

3 position.

 

[Shootist43]

+ 1 on the three position safety.

 

[marcosfal]

I quickly gave up on the paper and went to a file for this one. You'll get there but,View attachment 408280View attachment 408279

More information on this rifle please.
I have also draw filed barrels to remove the built in safety brochure on them.

 

[marcosfal]

I have definitely done that before. It works well on flat surfaces but smoothing rounded surfaces is going to be tough... i may give it a try though.

This was a previous project.

Before
View attachment 408338
After
View attachment 408339

I have draw filed round barrels as well as octagonal. I read about how to do it in an older general gunsmithing book. I first practiced on a piece of round stock I had laying around. You can then chuck it in a lathe to finish it by hand with some of the sanding cloth that comes in a roll that is about an inch or so wide.