Remington M1917 New Addition

[RC20]

Just a general thought on stock treatment.

Do you clean them up or leave them as is?

Currently I am just leaving them based on the idea once you clean them you can't go back, but you can always clean them up latter.

Is it really part of the history and should not be or does not matter?

I have no answers but I think good question to ask.

I have seen too many that were sanded down and then refinished and thats depressing

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[Patrick Chadwick]

Do you clean them up or leave them as is?

Clean - Yes
Because grime, grease, "earwax" and the like are not "part of its history" but dirt. Get it off. That is just proper maintenance, not falsification.

Refinish - No
Because the original finish was an integral part of the rifle, put there for a purpose, not to look pretty. Dings do not affect performance.

Repair
Something like a split stock, caused by wood becoming dry and fragile over the decades or improper handling can also be repaired, as that also fall in the area of proper maintenance.

What do I mean by "proper maintenance"?
Whatever would have been done in service to keep the rifle functioning, not to pretty it up. As a lot of our old service rifles have suffered a lack of proper maintenance over the last century or so, we have to make up for that in order to keep them functioning properly.

[jsmosby]

I finished cleaning this up without total disassembly as I mentioned before having taken some photos to share. I'm quite pleased. Eagle/number are all Remington as well as a capital "R" correctly. I found my bore scope and the rifling is beautiful. Sorry for the poor photo... Can't wait to shoot it! Interesting to see the wear on various parts: barrel band, tang adjacent to the safety release, bolt release and magazine bottom plate. Interested in your comments. If you need additional, just ask.
Thanks and enjoy,
John

[RC20]

The 2 R means its the two grove Remington that did not work out and you should ship the stock to me ASAP before someone finds out!

Not a clue. Have not seen a number on a stock like that, I have seen some blanks and a few other marks for replacements (agnostic apparently).

Looks good. My Eddystone is similar with the OEM finish. A bit more wear hear and less there but overall close.

[jsmosby]

[QUOTE=RC20;252906]The 2 R means its the two grove Remington that did not work out and you should ship the stock to me ASAP before someone finds out!

Probably a typo (I'm very experienced), does "grove" = groove? Which grooves are you referencing? Does that help to better define the window of assembly?

Thanks,
John