A Stevens Model 315,,the early striker fired SxS from pre-WW1 design days.
This one House Branded a Worthington Special.
A friend at the gun club had it and said it didn't cock the action when the bbls were opened.
It didn't.
The bbl's opened way too far and the cocking arm skipped right off of the extension of the strikers that it was supposed to lift and cock them.
I saw that the stock had terrible splits and breaks in it and had been glued, nailed and screwed back together over the yrs.
He asked me if I could look at the cocking problem. I said sure.
That issue was a missing 'Ejector Block' as the factory called it. A block that sits in the forend shoe attached with screw coming in from the back side of the forend iron.
The block limits how far the bbls will tip down and also an extension on it pushes the extractors up as the bbls open so you can pick the rounds out of the bbls.
So I made the Ejector block looking at the pic of what Numrich offers as a replacement. I know from experience that the Numrich replacement will not drop fit or anywhere close to fit. But it gave me a good idea of the shape.
Pic (added) of the 'Ejector Block' finished, fited and in place in the forend iron shoe.
I silver soldered a small plate onto the cocking arm and fitted it to better time the cocking sequence on opening the bbls. Someone had filed that surface down at somepoint. Likely trying to overcome a hard-to open problem. But they were going in the wrong direction.
Then that stock. I just couldn't leave it like that.
So I soaked the butt stock front half in laq thinner for a few days to loosen the old glue repairs and strip old (re)finishes.
The screws came out easily. I pried the wood apart finding more cracks and damaage than I orig thought was there. Nails included.
Not much left of the head of the stock when all was pulled apart!
But trimming the contact surfaces so they would better fit together at the outside edges and also removing any old glue or finish would ensure a good repair with epoxy.
A few hairline cracks went back past the pistol grip.
I cleaned them as best I could and opening those fine cracks I glued those portions with super glue. I didn't want to keep extending the cracks futher and further back.
The main pieces were carefully glued up with epoxy and they fitted pretty tightly by themselves. Clamps were placed in the right places to hold them so the edges lined up to held in the final finishing process. The action was also in place for this. It is necessary or you can never completely get the many parts allaigned right.
There was some wood missing,,so Epoxy patches would be the replacement there.
All glued up and the action rebedded, then the outside of the mess is shaped back down.
I took it down enough to remove most all of the orig checkering which I replaced later after the shaping and sanding.
The missing wood and screw and nail holes show as the grey epoxy patches.
Finishing is an oil stain to better match the forend which was not cracked. But I stripped, refinished and rechecked it anyway so they match.
Pic (added) of the forend after refinishing and recheckering,
The finish is a simple OTC oil based polyurethane. I pour about 1/4in into a clean pill bottle. Then the same amt by eye of mineral spirits.
I added a toner (color) to this finish. Simply dip the tip of a small screw driver into a solvent dye/stain and then mix into the poly/min-spirit mix in the pill bottle.
I use Laurel Mtn wood stain for than.
Fold a 1in sq or smaller piece of cloth, tip the bottle and wet the patch with the finish. Wipe the wood in long paths up and down covering the entire stock.
It's thin enough to blend nicelt and not tact up to quickly.
Let it hang an dry for 8 to 12hrs.
I lightly scuff w/ scotchbrite and recoat.
That small amt in the bottle is more than enough for the stock and forend 6 or 7 coats. The rest will skim over and harden in the capped pill bottle after about 6 or 7 days.
Once the first coat of finish is applied and dry, the grey epoxy patches are faux grain painted to match the surrounding wood. This done with acrylic artist paint and a simple brush.
Over that more of the same dinish is applied to 'fix' the acrylic color and protect it so it's under the rather tough finish.
Those patches that fall within the checkering have to be 'dummied up' as well!.
A few of the thined washes of the same finish cover the checkering. The finish is thin enough that it doesn't build up easily and soaks into the checkering nicely.
The trigger guard and it's new screws were polished and rust blued.
Forend and buttplate screws fixed up and reblued. Can't have twisted slots.
The gun past the field test of 35+ rounds for one round of Skeet.
I like to shoot at the broken pieces on the singles and take a second shot at a missed single! so 25rds don't make it all the way around.
Nice old Stevens, it even has factory twin ivory bead sights. It just had seen some hard times.
I don't mind working on a Worthington Special.
People ask me why I would waste my time when I do restorations on Parkers and Purdeys.
....He asked, it's his gun, I can oblige.
I think he'll like it when he finally see's it.
A welcome back gift when he returns.
This one House Branded a Worthington Special.
A friend at the gun club had it and said it didn't cock the action when the bbls were opened.
It didn't.
The bbl's opened way too far and the cocking arm skipped right off of the extension of the strikers that it was supposed to lift and cock them.
I saw that the stock had terrible splits and breaks in it and had been glued, nailed and screwed back together over the yrs.
He asked me if I could look at the cocking problem. I said sure.
That issue was a missing 'Ejector Block' as the factory called it. A block that sits in the forend shoe attached with screw coming in from the back side of the forend iron.
The block limits how far the bbls will tip down and also an extension on it pushes the extractors up as the bbls open so you can pick the rounds out of the bbls.
So I made the Ejector block looking at the pic of what Numrich offers as a replacement. I know from experience that the Numrich replacement will not drop fit or anywhere close to fit. But it gave me a good idea of the shape.
Pic (added) of the 'Ejector Block' finished, fited and in place in the forend iron shoe.
I silver soldered a small plate onto the cocking arm and fitted it to better time the cocking sequence on opening the bbls. Someone had filed that surface down at somepoint. Likely trying to overcome a hard-to open problem. But they were going in the wrong direction.
Then that stock. I just couldn't leave it like that.
So I soaked the butt stock front half in laq thinner for a few days to loosen the old glue repairs and strip old (re)finishes.
The screws came out easily. I pried the wood apart finding more cracks and damaage than I orig thought was there. Nails included.
Not much left of the head of the stock when all was pulled apart!
But trimming the contact surfaces so they would better fit together at the outside edges and also removing any old glue or finish would ensure a good repair with epoxy.
A few hairline cracks went back past the pistol grip.
I cleaned them as best I could and opening those fine cracks I glued those portions with super glue. I didn't want to keep extending the cracks futher and further back.
The main pieces were carefully glued up with epoxy and they fitted pretty tightly by themselves. Clamps were placed in the right places to hold them so the edges lined up to held in the final finishing process. The action was also in place for this. It is necessary or you can never completely get the many parts allaigned right.
There was some wood missing,,so Epoxy patches would be the replacement there.
All glued up and the action rebedded, then the outside of the mess is shaped back down.
I took it down enough to remove most all of the orig checkering which I replaced later after the shaping and sanding.
The missing wood and screw and nail holes show as the grey epoxy patches.
Finishing is an oil stain to better match the forend which was not cracked. But I stripped, refinished and rechecked it anyway so they match.
Pic (added) of the forend after refinishing and recheckering,
The finish is a simple OTC oil based polyurethane. I pour about 1/4in into a clean pill bottle. Then the same amt by eye of mineral spirits.
I added a toner (color) to this finish. Simply dip the tip of a small screw driver into a solvent dye/stain and then mix into the poly/min-spirit mix in the pill bottle.
I use Laurel Mtn wood stain for than.
Fold a 1in sq or smaller piece of cloth, tip the bottle and wet the patch with the finish. Wipe the wood in long paths up and down covering the entire stock.
It's thin enough to blend nicelt and not tact up to quickly.
Let it hang an dry for 8 to 12hrs.
I lightly scuff w/ scotchbrite and recoat.
That small amt in the bottle is more than enough for the stock and forend 6 or 7 coats. The rest will skim over and harden in the capped pill bottle after about 6 or 7 days.
Once the first coat of finish is applied and dry, the grey epoxy patches are faux grain painted to match the surrounding wood. This done with acrylic artist paint and a simple brush.
Over that more of the same dinish is applied to 'fix' the acrylic color and protect it so it's under the rather tough finish.
Those patches that fall within the checkering have to be 'dummied up' as well!.
A few of the thined washes of the same finish cover the checkering. The finish is thin enough that it doesn't build up easily and soaks into the checkering nicely.
The trigger guard and it's new screws were polished and rust blued.
Forend and buttplate screws fixed up and reblued. Can't have twisted slots.
The gun past the field test of 35+ rounds for one round of Skeet.
I like to shoot at the broken pieces on the singles and take a second shot at a missed single! so 25rds don't make it all the way around.
Nice old Stevens, it even has factory twin ivory bead sights. It just had seen some hard times.
I don't mind working on a Worthington Special.
People ask me why I would waste my time when I do restorations on Parkers and Purdeys.
....He asked, it's his gun, I can oblige.
I think he'll like it when he finally see's it.
A welcome back gift when he returns.
Last edited:
