Freischütz
Member
Check out "Anvil 049 : Don't terminate your 1887 with a wire wheel" on YouTube.
Basically the gunsmith treats the rust like rust bluing.
Basically the gunsmith treats the rust like rust bluing.
Some Thing Make You Want To Cry
- Thread starter 22lrfan
- Start date
If you spent some time rubbing it down with some bronze wool and Kroil oil I bet it would come out looking pretty nice. I was given a rifle by a guy I work with that had sitting in his parents basement for 40+ years. It was completely covered in orange fuzz. I took it out of the stock, picked up some 0000 bronze wool and spent a couple of nights slowly working on it rubbing off the rust. I was amazed at how nice it ended up looking when I was done. Fortunately there was no pitting and under all that rust there was still a nice blued finish.
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Let me get this correct. Husband gone on a trip and wife bought this TL at a garage sale. right so far? And husband is not home to see the treasure his wife bought. Wow! I have had some great wives but nothing to compare to this lady. I hope he gives her a good soaking when he gets home.
More than like. Mandatory reading.
29aholic
Member
Evapo-Rust works well too
Muley, soak the TL, shower with the wife. Sir, have you no romance?
THAT was excellent. Incredible how much of the old finish was brought back with a simple boil and polish.
Thanks for sharing!
P.S. Watching him work on it and looking at the bag-o-parts also showed me how close to the original my Chinese reproduction actually is (pretty darned close as far as I could see).
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I also use the super fine carding wheel.
BUT:
Drive the bit into the screw slot ???????? What a great way to bugger the screw slots instantly, and spread the slots with straight tapered tips.
Always clean the slot first and use hollow ground screwdriver tips which match the straight walls of the screw slots.
And those long shanked screwdrivers suck. Notice how often the tip slips out of the screw slot on the forearm screws and bounces the sharp tip off of the wood.
Oh sure, I know the 6-1/2 inch was offered on other TLs. That's why I said a "clue" not "proof".
On a triple lock, not even a clue. Since 455s were made with 5" barrels as well. The front sight height could be a clue.
That was the only thing I did not care for. I thought the boiling idea was a great way to preserve the finish, but his method for screw removal left me cringing, have I tapped on a few screws to get them moving yes, but not to the point of deforming the slot, unless all other methods failed as a last resort.
FWIW, it looked to me like the bits he was using were hollow ground, and the screws didn't look like they suffered any damage. He also demonstrated cleaning the slot with a pick first, at least in one section of the video.
While that technique may not be one that everyone should try, it seemed to work well for him - at least in that particular video. As always YMMV.
Hollow ground screwdrivers are not all equal. If the hollow grind does not extend far enough up the tip of the blade, the blade will not reach the bottom of the screw slot! The damage to the screw slot edges is as bad or usually worse than a tapered tip. I have to fix those "short" ground HG tips by grinding the Hollow further up the tip.
Jack Flash
Member
I'm not following. The TLs that were sent to England in 1914-1915 had 6-1/2 inch barrels, didn't they? This one has a 6-1/2 inch barrel. That is one more indicator that it may well be a .455 HE I.
I was just trying to tack the barrel length on to Alan's (MurphyDog) list of evidence that it could be a .455 TL.
I don't want to go on and on about this. I will hold my peace unless / until the OP gives more information regarding markings and / or caliber checking. I'll bet there are a broad arrow, a crown, and some crossed pennants on it.
Jack,
No worries. You're right the 6 1/2" barrel is a clue, I wasn't implying that you said it was proof.
I won't take that bet, you're more than likely to be correct. Until we know of any commonwealth markings and/or caliber marking (if any) the jury is still out.
There were maybe 40 or so misc. TL 455s manufactured usually preceding and out side of the UK contract.
No worries. You're right the 6 1/2" barrel is a clue, I wasn't implying that you said it was proof.
I won't take that bet, you're more than likely to be correct. Until we know of any commonwealth markings and/or caliber marking (if any) the jury is still out.
There were maybe 40 or so misc. TL 455s manufactured usually preceding and out side of the UK contract.
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Eddie Southgate
Member
Soak it for a few weeks , bronze wool it , oil it and shoot it . That's what I would if nothing is busted. I'd like to find that at a yard sale .
Eddie Southgate
Member
OP
22lrfan
Member
I finally got a chance to see it today and got the full story on it. His wife was at a neighbors yard sale and the neighbor mentioned the gun to her. The neighbors husband had died many years ago and she found it in a box in the garage. She had no idea how long it has been there but at least 15 years. His wife didn't buy it but brought it home as a project for him to clean up for the neighbor. He soaked it in oil and gave it a very light cleaning with bronze wool. Said he only wanted to clean it enough to read the markings and didn't want to damage any remaining finish.
I think the finish is beyond saving. The surface is rough and has some deeper pitting in some areas. The closeup photos make it look worse that it really is. The good thing is that the chambers and bore look great. It functions fine and locks up tight. I couldn't find any caliber marking on it. I took a round of .455 Webley with me and it dropped right in the cylinder. The serial number is 844 and it matches on the butt, grips, barrel, cylinder, crane and ejector star. It has the crossed flags marking on the rear of the cylinder and on the left side of the frame at the forcing cone area. Interarms is stamped on the left side below the cylinder. It may have some other markings but it will need a little more cleaning to see them.
Now the big question. See wants to sell it and he's not interested in it. She has asked him to come up with a value for it and he asked me what I thought. Of course I want to get it as cheap as possible but I don't want to take advantage of an old lady. So do y'all think $500 would be a reasonable value for it? I definitely plan to shoot it if I get it. I already load .455 for a Colt New Service so finding ammo is not a problem.
I think the finish is beyond saving. The surface is rough and has some deeper pitting in some areas. The closeup photos make it look worse that it really is. The good thing is that the chambers and bore look great. It functions fine and locks up tight. I couldn't find any caliber marking on it. I took a round of .455 Webley with me and it dropped right in the cylinder. The serial number is 844 and it matches on the butt, grips, barrel, cylinder, crane and ejector star. It has the crossed flags marking on the rear of the cylinder and on the left side of the frame at the forcing cone area. Interarms is stamped on the left side below the cylinder. It may have some other markings but it will need a little more cleaning to see them.
Now the big question. See wants to sell it and he's not interested in it. She has asked him to come up with a value for it and he asked me what I thought. Of course I want to get it as cheap as possible but I don't want to take advantage of an old lady. So do y'all think $500 would be a reasonable value for it? I definitely plan to shoot it if I get it. I already load .455 for a Colt New Service so finding ammo is not a problem.
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