Almost finished with the first project... (and on the Tower Pistol in general)

[cdg]

I'm posting this mainly out of excitement. I got down with some serious wire wheeling and steel wooling today on my CVA Tower Pistol project (it was poorly made from a kit). In the meantime, I have a few quick questions:

1) For now, I'm thinking of leaving the barrel in the white. It was left white when I got it, although it had rusted over time. It's now really good looking again, and I'm inclined to leave it white for a while and enjoy shooting it. Any thoughts on leaving it unfinished? Right now I just ran an oiled gun patch over the surface of the barrel, the same way I store all my guns when I know I'm going to be away at college. Just regular Hoppes gun oil... Any other tips on keeping the corosion demons away, besides keeping it in a safe with a dehumidifier, which I intend to do too?

2) Small crack in the stock. It's right where your pinky finger would go if holding the gun, stretches from about the buttplate up to where the trigger guard begins (about 1/2 or 3/4"). It does not go through the stock. My inclination is that it's not dangerous right now, but any tips on stopping the crack, or any dangers this crack might pose? Since the crack origionated from the buttplate screw being overtightened, I filled the screw hole with some tough glue to try and hold out against the crack, which has helped in the past with a maple table I once made... I was thinking at some point maybe I could fabricate a custom buttplate to cap the entire butt up to the trigger guard of the pistol. Maybe heat it and shrink it around the butt to prevent the crack from filling out any more, but that would be some time in the future before I can devote that much energy to this project.

3) Considering the tower pistol in general, would it be more historically correct to blue it, or brown it? This is a caplock tower pistol, so I guess historical correctness probably isn't the biggest concern anyway, given that the vast majority of Tower Pistols I've seen have been flinters...

4) A more general question, but how to care for the lock? It is also unfinished. Right now a thin film of Hoppes gun oil protects it. The internals are lubricated relatively heavily as well... Any other thoughts?

5) Is there a stock wax that I could use on the pistol? I don't want to make it slippery to grip with a sweaty hand, but a little extra protection on that wood could never hurt... Can regular wood/furniture wax be used?

Your general thoughts are appreciated. I will post up pictures as soon as the nipple and nosecap come in the mail and the pistol is truly complete. Thanks, and happy (late) Thanksgiving!

 

[wszumera]

You got pictures?

As far as leaving it in the white, I have a rifle that I am going to leave white instead of the plumb brown thing. I figure if it gets brown over time then it got it honest and it will look good the more I shoot it and take it out.

I'm not a big fan of artifical aging of arms. They will get there on their own if you use them.

As far as the stock finish, how about boiled linseed oil? Don't slather it on, rub it hard, and do it over a number of days. Should look fine if you keep at it.

One of these days I'm going to build a pistol.

Clutch

 

[AeroncaTAL]

With the metal naturally rusting, sounds like it is on its way to a nice aged patina. The only stock finish I have experience with is boiled linseed oil. I cut it 50% with mineral spirits and applied it on the stock thin, hand rubbed. Have 9 coats on now on my GPR and looks great.
Scott

 

[boar]

Do a search for the vinegar&iron stain. I have some 6mos old. I used vinegar and old barb wire. You will have wait till it works awhile. You oil after you get it dark as you like. I like it. Dilly

 

[Maverick3855]

I have several in the white guns that have not aged significantly in years.
I keep them clean and have had no natural aging occur.
A gun that develops rust on it's own is not being taken proper care of.
Browning done correctly is not aging a gun.
it is a PC finish and is virtually indestructable when finished.
I brown all my muzzleloaders for three reasons. To reduce glare and to prevent rust and to put a period correct finish on them.
Once the basic finish is cured it stops all future rust unless the gun is horribly neglected.
I have a browned tower pistol that I am very fond of.
It was finished bright but with black powder and living in Pacific rain forest I finally browned for protection against rust which was the intent with original browning.
Here's a link to amy browned Tower.
I also replaced the junk lock that came with this particular gun and replaced it with a large Siler.
[url] http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-1/939783/tower2.jpg[/url]

 

[cdg]

Well, the USPS didn't give me my parts today. I promise I'll pop a picture of this gun up here if I don't get those parts tomorrow. I'm waiting on a nosecap and a nipple...

I'm not looking to refinish the stock, just give it some extra shine. I'll keep the linseed oil in mind, but at the moment all I did was some furniture polish and a terry cloth towel. This is how I keep all the stocks on my guns clean. Anyway it shined up really nice. The gun looks great.

Right now I'm leaning towards trying to keep it looking new and white. Browning might not look very good on this gun right now anyway...