43 Maltby

I picked up an all matching 1943 Maltby 303, it has no "England", 2.222 or 18 Tons stamping marks anywhere on it.:madsmile:
After taking the wood off, I found matching number on the barrel that is the same as the rest of the rifle. :thup:
It has a "0" bolthead, I was happy to find a shiny 2 groove after I cleaned all the cosmoline out. :cool:
I fired 150 grain handloads, 180 factory and some 225 grain gc cast out of it, the only difference is a bit of vertical stringing between shooting the light jacketed versus the heaviest cast.:wave:
Everything shot out of it can be used out hunting with a small sight hold difference, moose are big enough to not have to worry about it.:D
After about 60 rounds down the tube, took it home and gave it a good bath with hot water and soap pads, no sanding was done.!!:nono:
I have applied 4 coats of BLO so far, I am going to add until it stops soaking in. :dancingbanana:

Hot water and soap pads??

The stock is better treated with raw linseed...

Photos would be nice if possible.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Richard Hare

Hot water and soap pads??

The stock is better treated with raw linseed...

Photos would be nice if possible.

---

There was so cosmoline and accumulated crud that linseed wouldn't take it all off. I didn't remove any stamps, I found a bunch after the grime and stuff was gone.
I am going to take pics when we get more sunshine.:D

>303,

Sometimes raw linseed cut with turpentine will also clean wood, if you use it with #0000 steel wool. This product is about as soft as regular wool.
Look forward to the pictures!

We have had sun, but no Heat yet. Still freezing of an eve.

Richard.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Richard Hare

Sometimes raw linseed cut with turpentine will also clean wood, if you use it with #0000 steel wool. This product is about as soft as regular wool.

---

Try Richard's approach. If necessary, use rubbing alcohol and #0000 steel wool -- it does an excellent job dissolving old linseed oil. You can always escalate to ammonia or varnish remover if necessary. Stay away from sandpaper, unless you revel in removing the wood's beautiful patina and any faint stampings.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Seaspriter

Try Richard's approach. If necessary, use rubbing alcohol and #0000 steel wool -- it does an excellent job dissolving old linseed oil. You can always escalate to ammonia or varnish remover if necessary. Stay away from sandpaper, unless you revel in removing the wood's beautiful patina and any faint stampings.

---

The "soap pads" are 0000 steel wool with soap in them, they were the only things that cut through all the gunk and cosmoline.
While I was shooting, the oil was seeping out while the rifle was heating up, it was like trying to hold onto a fish with wet hands.:D

I have to say that until a few months ago I have never really been ferocious with wood but I put a few totally oil soaked Bren butts (see thread - 'Take two bren butts' on Bren forum) and just put them straight into a trichloretylene vapour bath. On the basis of nothing ventured, nothing gained. They came out after a short length of time totally clean, oil free and as they say in the Armourers shops, as dry as the padre's ......., er..........., testicles! Anyway.

As you'll see from the state of them, it was a ferocious way of doing things but after repairing the splits etc etc and patching, they came up really well. The wood glue took to the 'new' clean and dry wood and afterwards they boned down, sopped the linseed up and came up as good as anything you'd expect of a working gun. In fact I polished one with some linseed and wax polish and suprised myself.

Maybe someone with a really oil impregnated or varnished fore-end ought to try this tac. A totally alien concept to my apprenticed Armourers way of thinking but it worked for me as you can see by the results

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

trichloretylene vapour bath.

---

As in suspended above the liquid? In an airtight space?

You can get trichlor over there ? I have had good results soaking oily stocks in Acetone. Expensive at $16+ a gallon but gets the job done. Acetone evaporates very fast in open air so have to keep the soak tank covered up real good.

Peter - is this the sort of device you used?
Don't know if these exist any more in Canada, but years ago I used a vapour phase degreaser. Large tank with solvent. The solvent was heated, producing vapour. Above the solvent the vapour condensed. In this layer the objects to be degreased were suspended. The vapour condensed on them, flushing away grease and oil. This filth dripped down into the solvent. Because the solvent was being vaporized, the parts were always being flushed with clean vapour. Battered, oil soaked wood being processed through one of these devices came out looking like battered clean new wood.

That's it Tiriaq. These vapour tanks are not really PC now ....... But you know how things are! We had one at the big tank workshop that would devour a Centurion engine block. So my MGB GT V8 engine, gearbox, front suspension crossmember.........., well everything, came out clean and as dry as...... ready to be rebuilt.

But the wooden butts did come out clean and dry. As I said, the finished axamples were as you see them and suprised me.

I expect that environmental and workplace safety issues would make these devices pretty uncommon these days, at least the ones with which I was familiar. Look down into the thing and the solvent would be boiling with this cloud hanging over boiling surface. The one I used at work was in the plating shop at Electric Autolite (Prestolite) back in the '60s. Manufactured automobile electrical parts - sparkplugs, alternators, starting motors, ignition sets and 2.75" folding fin rocket warheads for export to the US during the Vietnam war. Ran most of the machine tools on that line. Long time ago, but the contract was for either 30 or 50 thousand units a month, line ran 24 hours a day. The other degreaser was in an electric motor rewinding shop that a friend owned; same period. There are times when I would love to have access to one of these machines.

I really can't see what the problem was with the large vapour degreasing tanks was. It was a vapour that condensed back into liquid, turned to vapour again and............. At night it was switched down and covered so evaporation was at a minimum. The actual quantity of liquid tricho. in the tank was very small so cleaning the dirty sludge was done by an outside contractor - who also collected up the stuff that fell off the hooks or out of the big basket! VERY effective. I understand that a few small engineering places still have a small vapour system that they use as and when............

I took an old MGB crossmember in so that I could rebuild a complete unit and do a straight exchange/swop-over. After a few mins in the tank it came out hot and as dry as a bone and completely grease/oil free. But still covered in old dirt. Until the operator swung it over and hit it with a mallet - when every but of dirt just fell to the floor as dust! I took all the smaller parts to the Armourers shop and left them there to collect later. Lo and behold, when I came back a few days later they'd all been sent through 'the system.........'. bead blasted, phosphate and paint and............ Good days and noone died as a result of the vapour tank but it cost me a lot of the usual workshop currency................

Sorry to go off at a tangent.........