New wood for an old Marlin
- Thread starter Ian
- Start date
Ian
Notorious member
Thanks for the kind words, improvement was the goal, not perfection, but it still bugs me that could have been a lot better. It actually has functional gription now and I got rid of all the spray finish that was soaked into the checkering. Now I can sand the rest of the finish off (which will also take care of most of the over-runs of the checkering) and put a proper hand-rubbed oil finish on the whole thing to fill the open grain and really show off the grain pattern.
Still thinking about doing the antler inlay in the center of the forearm diamond, but I can do that at any point, even last.
Still thinking about doing the antler inlay in the center of the forearm diamond, but I can do that at any point, even last.
Ian
Notorious member
Now to re-engineer the forearm mounting and magazine tube to be a solid unit with no pressure points while making the rifle appear original. Sort of.
Made a 1/4" sleeve out of O-1 steel drilled for a slip fit of the band pin and fitted it to the band.
Then I enlarged the barrel notch to fit the sleeve and deepened the top of tje barrel band to compensate for the larger sleeve.
Then I relieved the sleeve and magazine tube so they fit together with no pressure.
Made a 1/4" sleeve out of O-1 steel drilled for a slip fit of the band pin and fitted it to the band.
Then I enlarged the barrel notch to fit the sleeve and deepened the top of tje barrel band to compensate for the larger sleeve.
Then I relieved the sleeve and magazine tube so they fit together with no pressure.
Ian
Notorious member
Next step will be to file the screw hole in the forearm slightly to line up with the band sleeve, put two wraps of electrician's tape at both ends of the forearm location on the barrel, and then bed the sleeve to the forearm. This is why I cut grooves on the outside ends of the sleeve. The forearm has already been floated with about a .005" gap to the barrel. Then I will permanently bed the magazine tube to the forearm and non-permanently (with mould release) the forearm to receiver with black RTV silicone with the tape still in place on the barrel.
After that I'll make another screw sleeve for the muzzle band and screw, notch the magazine tube and barrel for the sleeve, and fit all that together to lock the tube to the barrel under recoil without stress or binding and without re-configuring the original band and front sight arrangement on the rifle.
Next I'll bed the head of the buttstock to the action, then make a steel sleeve for the tang screw, drill the stock hole oversize and bed the sleeve to the stock.
After trimming the bedding and final profiling of the stock, it's stock refinish time.
Then on to metal cleanup (the receiver shaping appears to be the work of an intoxicated babboon and a 60-grit grinding wheel), polish, and hot-water rust blue.
After that I'll make another screw sleeve for the muzzle band and screw, notch the magazine tube and barrel for the sleeve, and fit all that together to lock the tube to the barrel under recoil without stress or binding and without re-configuring the original band and front sight arrangement on the rifle.
Next I'll bed the head of the buttstock to the action, then make a steel sleeve for the tang screw, drill the stock hole oversize and bed the sleeve to the stock.
After trimming the bedding and final profiling of the stock, it's stock refinish time.
Then on to metal cleanup (the receiver shaping appears to be the work of an intoxicated babboon and a 60-grit grinding wheel), polish, and hot-water rust blue.
Ian
Notorious member
Little change of plans. I decided to go back and use the original magazine tube because it was thicker and fit better. It also didn't have the screw relief notch in the wrong place. The only problem was filing out all the pipe wrench marks from where someone wormed it out of the gun without removing the middle band screw, and removing the "vintage" pinch-on sling stud base that likely the same someone beat on tje tube with a claw hammer. So three hours of filing and sanding later I cleaned up the part that shows and trued up the middle band screw notch.
Then I turned and drilled a sleeve for the muzzle band and filed the barrel and magazine tube to accept it, then relieved the band for a snug slip-fit. The sleeve will not only lock the magazine tube in place under recoil but will prevent over-tightening and crushing of the peanut band.
Then I bedded the middle band sleeve to the forearm and barrel so the forearm is locked to the barrel in just one place. The magazine tube does not touch the middle band sleeve or screw, so it is allowed to float everywhere except the muzzle attachment point. Maintaining single, positive contact points should prevent POI shift as the barrel heats. I will bed just the rear face of the forearm and end of the magazine tube to the receiver with RTV silicone to eliminate the few thousandths of wiggle. When I mounted the magazine tube I made sure it had about .005" clearance to the receiver face so it wouldn't bind as the barrel heated.
Now, when it's all back together, it looks original (except for the sling stud on the middle band and having the more modern forearm shape with checkering).
I have a lot of metal polishing and rebluing to do now. Oh, and I checked the receiver tang against two other rifles and it is indeed bent upward a little, so I have to figure out how to fix that without breaking it before I can final fit and bed the buttstock.
Then I turned and drilled a sleeve for the muzzle band and filed the barrel and magazine tube to accept it, then relieved the band for a snug slip-fit. The sleeve will not only lock the magazine tube in place under recoil but will prevent over-tightening and crushing of the peanut band.
Then I bedded the middle band sleeve to the forearm and barrel so the forearm is locked to the barrel in just one place. The magazine tube does not touch the middle band sleeve or screw, so it is allowed to float everywhere except the muzzle attachment point. Maintaining single, positive contact points should prevent POI shift as the barrel heats. I will bed just the rear face of the forearm and end of the magazine tube to the receiver with RTV silicone to eliminate the few thousandths of wiggle. When I mounted the magazine tube I made sure it had about .005" clearance to the receiver face so it wouldn't bind as the barrel heated.
Now, when it's all back together, it looks original (except for the sling stud on the middle band and having the more modern forearm shape with checkering).
I have a lot of metal polishing and rebluing to do now. Oh, and I checked the receiver tang against two other rifles and it is indeed bent upward a little, so I have to figure out how to fix that without breaking it before I can final fit and bed the buttstock.
Ian
Notorious member
Hot-water blued the magazine tube and muzzle band this afternoon in a 25 mph gusty gale.
The setup:
After heating and applying the solution (3rd cycle iirc):
After a 5 minute boil:
After carding with degreased 4-0 steel wool:
I did this heat/coat/heat/coat/boil/card cycle about ten times. The parts are curing in my parts washer right now, will let them rest for a few hours and oil them up.
The setup:
After heating and applying the solution (3rd cycle iirc):
After a 5 minute boil:
After carding with degreased 4-0 steel wool:
I did this heat/coat/heat/coat/boil/card cycle about ten times. The parts are curing in my parts washer right now, will let them rest for a few hours and oil them up.
Ian
Notorious member
It did eventually take a giod color. So did the tube and the two buggared screws that I fixed. Unfortunately there was something like old varnish in the bottom of the cup I soaked the small parts in and it completely ate the fresh bluing off of the back edge of the muzzle band in a few places and one spot on the side of the band screw head and mag tube plug screw head. Grrrrrr. Anyway, at least the tube turned out ok and the bluing almost matches the original color of the rifle.
Part of this was a grand experiment. I finished the mag tube with 120-grit sandpaper to mimic the scratches left on it originally and wanted to see how this rust process compared to the hot caustic bluing done at the factory regarding smoothing out the scratches. I think 180 grit would be a better choice now but it ain't too bad. Another part of the experiment was leaving some original bluing on the tube and going right over the top with this process. It blended in real nice so I could actually do the whole rifle without stripping it and the bare spots would blue-up just the same and the OEM bluing would take on the new sheen.
Part of this was a grand experiment. I finished the mag tube with 120-grit sandpaper to mimic the scratches left on it originally and wanted to see how this rust process compared to the hot caustic bluing done at the factory regarding smoothing out the scratches. I think 180 grit would be a better choice now but it ain't too bad. Another part of the experiment was leaving some original bluing on the tube and going right over the top with this process. It blended in real nice so I could actually do the whole rifle without stripping it and the bare spots would blue-up just the same and the OEM bluing would take on the new sheen.
fiver
Well-Known Member
it's trying to highlight the high spots.
unless you go to indirect or filtered lighting and a proper back round color your not gonna show anything but the light reflections.
that's why guy's like JW made a living taking pictures of stuff.
there's enough on the light and dark edges to see the color match is a pretty good one, if maybe even a bit deeper than the one they did.
unless you go to indirect or filtered lighting and a proper back round color your not gonna show anything but the light reflections.
that's why guy's like JW made a living taking pictures of stuff.
there's enough on the light and dark edges to see the color match is a pretty good one, if maybe even a bit deeper than the one they did.
Ian
Notorious member
After I fix the receiver tang and bed the buttstock, that's exactly what's gonna happen. I really want to clean up the barrel and receiver and re-blue the whole thing....but I'm starting to get disgusted again. Most of the work I've done to it this round (round three of major gunsmithing and general de-flucking of previous owner's damage in the eight or so years I've owned it) has only turned out about 90% of what I really wanted, and it may be getting close to stopping the turd polishing for a bit. After getting it mechanically sound this time (hopefully) I may just put it away for a while and deal with round four of final refinishing another day.
Anyone have any tips for putting about three degrees of bend back in a Marlin tang without snapping it off? I'm thinking about heating it with a torch to about 400F checked with an IR thermometer, clamping it in a bench vise with wood-faced jaws, and giving it a tweak.
Anyone have any tips for putting about three degrees of bend back in a Marlin tang without snapping it off? I'm thinking about heating it with a torch to about 400F checked with an IR thermometer, clamping it in a bench vise with wood-faced jaws, and giving it a tweak.
fiver
Well-Known Member
that's pretty much how they re-shape levers and such.
only other option is to heat it and bend it around a mandrel and hold it there till the metal sets.
unfortunately you'll most likely stretch the metal if you just heat it and bend it.
to shrink it you have to heat it and apply some stress [light and backed hammer blows] in the hot spot then let it cool to shrink the metal just a bit.
it's an old body working trick they used on the large sheet metal quarter panels and such when they'd get wobbly.
only other option is to heat it and bend it around a mandrel and hold it there till the metal sets.
unfortunately you'll most likely stretch the metal if you just heat it and bend it.
to shrink it you have to heat it and apply some stress [light and backed hammer blows] in the hot spot then let it cool to shrink the metal just a bit.
it's an old body working trick they used on the large sheet metal quarter panels and such when they'd get wobbly.
Ian
Notorious member
400F is the beginning of tempering so I figure if I spot-heat the root of the tang no more than that it will relax the molecules and make the metal less susceptible to cracking but won't temper the action. It didn't crack when bent the first time, but I'm not so sure it won't when being forced the other direction. There's really no way to peen on this without screwing up the finish.
fiver
Well-Known Member
you could C-clamp it [to a shaped board or around a mandrel at the point where the bend is] then de-stress the metal with the torch and put the new angle in place with a couple of turn of the clamp to allow it to take the new/old angle.
you might have to do a spot then move slightly and hit it again.
you might have to do a spot then move slightly and hit it again.
Ian
Notorious member
Ok, got it, glad that's over because it was a little scary. I considered making a jig or just using the bottom metal and tang screw, but I figured I could feel the "ok quit now" point better by hand. Ended up hitting either side of the hammer slot with the OA torch and giving it several long tweaks. The tang is extremely springy and flexed a lot without permanently deforming (which is what we expect from receiver steel, right?)
The third heat did it, got it to a little over 500 on the surface and it didn't lose any perceptible spring but DID finally flex that little bit more and yield slightly. I held pressure until I had an arm cramp but it wouldn't sizzle spit at that point so I think we're good. I got it 90% of the way perfect and I can squeeze it the rest of the way with thumb and one finger so I quit while I was ahead.
The third heat did it, got it to a little over 500 on the surface and it didn't lose any perceptible spring but DID finally flex that little bit more and yield slightly. I held pressure until I had an arm cramp but it wouldn't sizzle spit at that point so I think we're good. I got it 90% of the way perfect and I can squeeze it the rest of the way with thumb and one finger so I quit while I was ahead.