Haven't got a clue what to do here...........

[Bob - The Beagle Master]

A friend of mine just brought me an old rifle that he got through the mail and it's a mess. Unfortunately he wants me to clean it up for him and make it look "good". It's one of the old rifles that they found in storage in Nepal and I think it's a Lee-Metford short lever rifle.

It looks like it's covered in old dirt and cosmoline and the buttstock has a big split across it which looks like a dog leg. The only saving grace to it is the fact that the action does seem to work well.

I'm thinking mineral spirits and steel wool will get the crud off, a 20 gauge brass cleaning brush and a gallon of Hoppe's might clean out the bore and a re-blue job might make the metal look good but I haven't really got a clue on the stock. The split is about 1/16th wide and pretty much goes the length of the butt stock.

I tried to talk him into just sending it back since he had approval rights on it but he says it's too cool to let it go. Suggestions greatly appreciated here.

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[Patrick Chadwick]

1. There's no such animal as a short lever Lee-Metford. Do you perhaps mean a short lever Martini-Henry?

2. Using steel wool to remove dirt will also wreck any original surface that may be left. Use gentler means. Take it easy - more time, less damage!

3. An expert wood restorer may be able to fill in a split with a splint - if the split is fairly straight. Filling with wood filler is probably a) ineffective, as the filler does not have enough shock resistance b) looks lousy. But in the end, the buttstock is not a piece of antique furniture worth 1000s, just a kind of specialist tool handle. It would be quicker, cheaper, and a better mechanical solution, to carve a new buttstock, using the old one as a template.

4. If you are not bothered by historical accuracy, you might be able to adapt a Leed Enfield butt to fit. It will probably require a wood fillet glued on top of the neck to match the M-H action, but you can obtain that fillet when you carefully saw off the verstigial pistol grip on the LE butt.

Patrick

[Bob - The Beagle Master]

Sorry but I know nothing about old Brit rifles since I only collect US. Also, this is my first time over to the Milsurps side since CSP came over here in March. Back to the issue at hand, I misled you. He doesn't want me to restore this rifle, he wants me to "fix" it so that he can hang it on the wall in his restaurant with the other junk rifles he's got there so it will look "good". I just wasn't able to find a forum that said "Slap The Crap Together And Hang It On A Wall" forum which is the one where this poor old rifle probably really needs to be discussed.

But back to the issue at hand, it looks like one of those rifles in the movie "Zulu" except for the absence of the cocking indicator that was on the right side of the receivers on those.

What I really am trying to find out is what to do about that huge crack so that he can hang it up and it will look fairly good. If it was a US rifle I would simply re-stock a rifle with a stock in this shape but I have no idea where to find one and he certainly isn't willing to pay to have one made for a rifle he paid $250 for.

The wood is so dried out from storage that I don't think I can pull the stock together and pin it with copper pins and I'm not really sure that the wood will draw down if I try to screw it together because of the dryness of the wood. It might just reach a point where it stripped out the threads that the screw was cutting. Should I try soaking the wood and seeing if adding moisture would make it more flexible?

[louthepou]

From what I can understand Bob, what I would try to do is:

1. Disassemble the rifle.
2. Clean all grime and stuff with paint thinner. Like Patrick said - be gentle.
3. The cracked wood - if both sides of the crack can meet properly, I'd use West Epoxy System for the repair. I would make it as invisible as possible. Then, it's a question of how to refinish the damaged area, but I don't know what finish is on it, or how involved I'd want the refinishing process to be.

Lou

[Bob - The Beagle Master]

I know how to make the stock a uniform color even if I use a filler. It's called "Raw Umber" and it's a tinting color that paint stores use to tint paints. The raw umber is a deep brown and it will soak into filler and wood equally to give a rich, almost walnut, color to the stock. Works great on US birch stocks and European Beech stocks and it very closely resembles a US walnut stock when you put linseed on it.

Thanks for the advice.

[Jim Tarleton]

To remove the rust and crud after cleaning with MEK, use a carding brush, or a VERY fine SS wire brush to remove the rust and crud that MEK won't remove. It will NOT remove the original finish, which was a rust blue, but will actually enhance it. Use it as though you were polishing your shoes (back and forth with little downward force). 0000 steel wool will work, but it is too slow for most people. 0000 steel wool will not remove the original finish either. You can touch up rust blue, as I have done it often, and I am doing a Chinese Legation Officer's custom M1917 rifle right now (stock made in China) where a cat peed on the muzzle. I use Pilkington's typically, but depending on original color, Niedner or Zischang blue or other mixes may be required. For the M-H, I suspect Pilkington's will suffice.

Remove the stock, use epoxy, white glue, Gorilla glue, or whatever fine fish glue you prefer, and clamp the stock in a vise to close the crack - no screws required. Be sure to use leather or rubber (I use conveyor belt strips) to pad the vise. Let it set up while clamped together. Then refinish as required.

Jim

[Patrick Chadwick]

So cat pee removes rust blue eh? So next time I want to strip a piece for refinishing I just have to point the cat in the right direction? Is any particular breed of cat recommended?

Patrick

[Jim Tarleton]

Feline urine will severely pit a barrel exterior in just a matter of days if in a warm location. This cat ruined two rifles and four loose scopes (steel tubed scopes).

I suspect any breed will get the job done. Feline urine contains uric acid, abscorbic acid, as well as various volatile fatty acids and salts (hydroscopic), all very destructive to metals.

Need any?

Jim

[Patrick Chadwick]

I'm really sorry you had such trouble Jim.

We had a coolbox for the car that had spent the winter on the cellar steps. Unfortunately these steps seem to be on the patrol route of a local tomcat. When I picked it up, I nearly gagged. I hosed it, washed, scrubbed it, and did it all again. We still didn't take it on holiday with us!

Patrick

[gunner]

Not bad idea ! Gonna ask my cat. But as long i´ll use coke against rust that works well and it smell´s alittle better.