Argentino M1879 Rolling Block. Is it worth restoring?

[Patrick Chadwick]

["Where do you keep that thing, your bathtub?"
- No, but I had to build a special carrying case to fit into the boot of mycar.

"We used to joke that the real name of Sarco was “Shallow Water Storage” but I think you’ve got them beat by a mile."
- I think someone "privatised" it when new, as there are no unit markings on it at all, so it never got to a regiment, let alone a soldier. And also none of the dings that appear even when a rifle is just shunted around an arsenal. Woodworm and rot. The privateer must have stored it in his barn or roof for the next century, lying on the side that looks so impressively archaeological. Fortunately he plugged the bore before hiding and forgetting it.

"The owner of the rifle accepted my offer and I’ll pick it up Monday."
Great news!

"I would like to get the stains out of the stock and put some oil on it. What would get them out and what oil would approximate the original that Remington would have used?"
Whoa! Not so fast! That is cosmetics, we are going to checkout the barrel first.

"The action will probably need to be completely taken apart and all of the rust killed."
Yep, you can be sure of that.

" I was thinking of using Evapo-rust..."
Don't know that stuff. What is the chemical basis?

"... or making my own electrolytic rust killer with a DC power supply and baking soda. Any body used either of these? "
Yes, in combination with an ultrasonic cleaner that will free up the backsight without brute force being required.

"Either way the metal will end up in the white and very prone to rust. I’ll need something that works good to stop any additional rust."
True, but no problem if you follow what Grandpa says, without cutting corners!

"Would it be ok to refinish as long as I stayed true to Remington’s original finishing methods?"
I don't know what those methods were, but I will be posting a list of things you should have for a start. Your cash expenditure will be low. The time will be considerable.

More later (the shopping list). Off to the range now, with one of the world's first purpose-built small-bore .22 trainers - take a look on the 22 forum!

Patrick

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[killforfood]

I’ve been doing some digging and found a site that has spare parts if I need them.
They sell a reproduction cleaning rod that I definitely do need.
Untitled Document

I also found a couple images that would indicate that Remington was Color Case Hardening during this era. I wish I had the time and money to learn CCH. It’s such a beautiful art.





I also found this exploded view that should prove helpful.



I still don’t know how Remington treated the stocks but I’m guessing linseed oil.

It’s hard not to get ahead of myself; you would think I was having a baby. Is it Monday yet?





Patrick,

Very impressive what you accomplished with that old and rusty 1871. I would have loved to have seen the fancy Frenchman’s faces when you nearly swept them with it.
Reminds me of my friend that likes to beat up on all of the high dollar over-under crowd at the trap club. He uses an old rusty 870. The last time I stopped by to pick him up for some trap shooting, he just tossed the old beater into the bed of my pickup and it bounced around back there all the way to the club. He only missed one clay that night and out shot everybody.
I have another friend up the street with an FFL. He handles a lot of estate sales. He’s going to keep an eye out for old rifles just like your old 1871. I told him that if Bubba hasn’t totally trashed them that I’d buy the junkers.

Evapo rust is just one of many rust removers that rely on the Chelation process.
I found many references about good old Molasses doing just as good a job though.
Here’s a quote from some Australian chemist that explains it pretty well.

Question
I have a friend who uses molasses to clean rust off old iron items collected from the bush. The rusty iron article is placed in a jar of molasses solution (nine parts water, one part molasses) and left for two weeks. After this time, the article comes out clean and almost shiny. What is happening here?

Answer
“Molasses contains chelating agents. These are made of molecules that are shaped a bit like the claws of a crab--the word chelating comes directly from the Latin word chele, meaning claw. They can envelop metal atoms on the surface of an object, trapping them and removing them. Molasses owes its properties to cyclic hydroxamic acids which are powerful chelators of iron.

More of these compounds are found if the molasses is derived from sugar beet rather than cane sugar. The plants from which molasses is made presumably use these chelating agents to help them extract minerals from the soil. Interestingly, there are aerobic microorganisms that use similar cyclic hydroxamic acids to scavenge iron. So plants and microbes appear to use the same chelation strategy to obtain their daily ration of iron.

The same process is at work when you clean old coins with vegemite or cola. The power of chelating agents also explains why the insides of tomato tins need to be lacquered. The citric acid in the tomatoes would dissolve the metal of the container if the lacquer were not present. Household cleaning agents, especially detergents and shampoos, also rely on chelation. These soften water to make it more effective during the cleaning process.

Chelation has its uses in medicine, too. EDTA or ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid is used as a chelating agent to control levels of calcium in the body and can reduce the effects of mercury or lead poisoning.”

Ben Selinger, Department of Chemistry, Australian National University. Ben Selinger is the author of Chemistry in the Marketplace and Why the Watermelon will not Ripen in your Armpit (Allen & Unwin)

That’s all fun and interesting but I can cobble together an electrolytic rust remover for next to nothing and probably achieve similar results without attracting a house full of flys.

I don't know what those methods were, but I will be posting a list of things you should have for a start. Your cash expenditure will be low. The time will be considerable.

Looking forward to it!
By the way, one of my friends calls me “Hand File”. I’ll spend all day hand shaping a part rather than pay the parts man a nickel.
I’m all about “Your cash expenditure will be low. The time will be considerable”.

Is it Monday yet?