1933 SA 1903

[mrandig]

I guess overnight the handguard decided to shed. Wasn't anything I did, a couple pieces were just laying there when I picked up the handguard this morning to inspect.

I guess problems should be anticipated whenever you buy something that's 80+ years old as "new".

Fortunately this is a minor piece, and doesn't really affect anything (you can barely see it), but I can't let it go. A repair will be in order.

Attachment 112668Attachment 112669Attachment 112670Attachment 112671

[mrandig]

To fix this, I'm just going to use a dab of industrial-grade cyanoacrylate glue (CA glue). This is what's commonly referred to as "super glue", but it sets up very slowly until the activator is applied. This way, you can get everything into position, clean up any excess, wipe off your fingers, and then lock it down tight.

Did I mention you can avoid accidently sticking your fingers together?

Attachment 112672

[mrandig]

I'm going to try to do this like I'm an old pro, with tweezers and a tooth pick, since everything is so tiny. I can be pretty ham-fisted otherwise, and I don't want to get this glue everywhere.

Once all the pieces are lined up properly, a spray of activator will finish the job.

Attachment 112676Attachment 112677Attachment 112678Attachment 112679Attachment 112680Attachment 112681Attachment 112682

[mrandig]

The instant the CA activator is spayed on, that's it. It's over. Everything locks into place once and for good.

As a finishing touch, I hit everything with 220-gain sandpaper, just to get rid of any excess, and to make sure everything was smooth and level.

Should be good to go now. Time to add another coat of BLO.

Attachment 112683Attachment 112684Attachment 112685

[mrandig]

I've decided against putting BLO on the stock for today, but I will put another coat on the "new", recently repaired, handguard. As I mentioned before, I'm applying the BLO to the wood by hand-rubbing.

It doesn't take much. I think two dabs of my finger in oil was enough for the entire handguard section. Once the BLO is applied, I rubbed it in with my fingers, my thumbs, the palm of my hand. I'm using a fair bit of pressure, as I'm trying to get this oil to penetrate as deep as possible into the grains. Once the oil is applied, let sit for 30 minutes and wipe of any excess.

Attachment 112686Attachment 112687Attachment 112688Attachment 112689Attachment 112690

That took about 5 minutes. Actually, with the 30 minute wait in-between, it was a total of 35 minutes. Next, we wait another 24 hours, then its rinse-and-repeat again.

The final pic shows where we're at as of now. I guess I could have lined it up a little better, but you get the point.

[mrandig]

Well, my plans changed.

The forecast shows temperatures will be dropping over the weekend, so that means I need to speed this up and get the oil finish, well, finished. The colder it gets, the slower things dry. If I do a coat today (Weds), Thurs, and Friday, I'm good.

Here's the stock getting its first coat of BLO. The process is the same as the handguard, except I can rub harder with my palm, as I have a lot of flat surfaces to work with. I'm rubbing the BLO in to the point where the surface is almost warm.

Attachment 112691Attachment 112692Attachment 112693Attachment 112694

Wipe off any excess after 30 minutes, and repeat tomorrow.

[mrandig]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

So more BLO on the handguard (Coat #3), and more BLO on the stock (Coat #2). Not much else is happening today.

What do you guys think about the color match?

Attachment 112718

if the new forend piece looks a little dull in this pic, it's intentional. I didn't really like the way the color was streaked and uneven, so I'm trying a little "mud-rub" on this section with 220 grit sandpaper to see if it helps. More on this topic tomorrow if it works out. If not, we'll just pretend it never happened.

[browningautorifle]

the color match?

Looks pretty good at this point.

[ssgross]

but this screw is STUCK

A little heat applied directly to the screw head should allow you to turn it out. Don't go crazy - a very little is all that is needed. When I completely tear down an old rifle for a deep clean (usually soon after purchase), I always smear a little white NLGI No.2 grease on any wood to metal contact not likely to see the light of day for another 100 years - such as on those screws and under the butt plate. I picked up the trick from the enfield armorers on that side of this forum.

[mrandig]

I picked up the trick from the enfield armorers on that side of this forum.

Don't get me started on Enfields lol. I've got another thread started on my No.4 Mk.1, which I need to pick back up once I'm done here.

I may hit it very, very briefly with the MAPP gas torch I've got hiding around here somewhere, and see if it budges any. Thanks!