Dave Wallis
36 Cal.
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Antique Fair Pistol
- Thread starter Dave Wallis
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64Springer
75 Cal.
Very cool.
Drown it in Kroil.
Curious as to what the lock internals look like.
Drown it in Kroil.
Curious as to what the lock internals look like.
Let us know how the restoration goes.
interesting late flint. May even have WR or VR on the lock. Surprised it wasn't converted. Very cool relic.
Sam squanch
69 Cal.
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I never find stuff like this, it’s not…..FAIR…….
Wow. Needs a load of sympathy, I think. But might be an interesting challenge to see if it's possible.
I was thinking a battlefield pick- up/uncovering. Kinda cool. The pommel is interesting in that it has a recess rather than extending stirrup on the sides. Having some historical background on it would have been great.
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does it smell like smoke? i have seen guns that look like that come out of house fires.
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Looks like somebody took the de-farb too far. 
I guess I would put a towel on my lap and use a very soft brass brush and some old shop cloths to clean it up a little while I watched gunsmoke on tv. Might take awhile.
I guess I would put a towel on my lap and use a very soft brass brush and some old shop cloths to clean it up a little while I watched gunsmoke on tv. Might take awhile.
Nice gun!! 
Dave Wallis
36 Cal.
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- Dec 20, 2015
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Well, after some research, I decided to go down the electrolysis route. I filled a plastic tub with water and soda crystals, made a couple of anodes and immersed the complete gun, connecting the lock to the negative side of a 12v battery charger and linked the anodes to the positive side. Bubble, fizz etc....
I re filled the tub 4 times due to the water getting very mucky.
The barrel removed ok, the tang screw was missing.
Appearing on the lock and barrel, were 'E. BAKER & SON, which was nice...usual pair of proof marks, plus a GR with Crown.
The 2 lock screws turned, the front one coming undone, but the rear shearing in half as it was so corroded; the remnant of the screw came out the back of the lock with a little heat. I then soaked the lock for 3 days in WD40.
Heating the lock, allowed me to remove the ****, frizzen, frizzen spring, with no issues. **** jaws came apart, also with a little heat.
The lock inside looked grim, to put it mildly! The mainspring was broken, as was the sear spring. Surprisingly, the screws in the lock all came undone, again with heat.
I found and modified a mainspring and a sear spring (among all those bits I've been stashing away over the years). The lock is now working, and shows little wear.
The stock was very soft, so I drowned it in Ronseal wood hardener, which has improved the strength of the wood. The pins holding the trigger guard, trigger and barrel came out , again with no problems.
The cracks and holes in the stock, I filled with pure Beeswax, which I have a very large block of, from my Grandparents farm. I break a bit off, warm it in my hands, roughly squash it into place and then shape/melt with the solder attachment on my little Dremel gas torch. The wax sets very hard, but has a bit of 'give' which works well. (It also allows anyone better than me at wood repair to undo any of my filling, in the future).
I finally made a piece to replace the missing bit of trigger guard, again the screw came out the wood with no problem
I'm quite pleased with the result.
I re filled the tub 4 times due to the water getting very mucky.
The barrel removed ok, the tang screw was missing.
Appearing on the lock and barrel, were 'E. BAKER & SON, which was nice...usual pair of proof marks, plus a GR with Crown.
The 2 lock screws turned, the front one coming undone, but the rear shearing in half as it was so corroded; the remnant of the screw came out the back of the lock with a little heat. I then soaked the lock for 3 days in WD40.
Heating the lock, allowed me to remove the ****, frizzen, frizzen spring, with no issues. **** jaws came apart, also with a little heat.
The lock inside looked grim, to put it mildly! The mainspring was broken, as was the sear spring. Surprisingly, the screws in the lock all came undone, again with heat.
I found and modified a mainspring and a sear spring (among all those bits I've been stashing away over the years). The lock is now working, and shows little wear.
The stock was very soft, so I drowned it in Ronseal wood hardener, which has improved the strength of the wood. The pins holding the trigger guard, trigger and barrel came out , again with no problems.
The cracks and holes in the stock, I filled with pure Beeswax, which I have a very large block of, from my Grandparents farm. I break a bit off, warm it in my hands, roughly squash it into place and then shape/melt with the solder attachment on my little Dremel gas torch. The wax sets very hard, but has a bit of 'give' which works well. (It also allows anyone better than me at wood repair to undo any of my filling, in the future).
I finally made a piece to replace the missing bit of trigger guard, again the screw came out the wood with no problem
I'm quite pleased with the result.
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Sam squanch
69 Cal.
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Pictures!!!!!
Dave Wallis
36 Cal.
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The state of the lock and wood. **** removed. E. BAKER & SON on the barrel. Inside the lock...Gnarley!!
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Dave Wallis
36 Cal.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2015
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- 114
- Reaction score
- 168
GR stamp. Detail of the top of the jaw, showing a locating pin for the screw, which came out!
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Dave Wallis
36 Cal.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2015
- Messages
- 114
- Reaction score
- 168
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Very cool recovering work! Any idea of age yet? Perhaps even a model?
Also, could you take some pics of the butt cap? It’s interesting in its shape.
Also, could you take some pics of the butt cap? It’s interesting in its shape.
Dave Wallis
36 Cal.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2015
- Messages
- 114
- Reaction score
- 168
Dave Wallis
36 Cal.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2015
- Messages
- 114
- Reaction score
- 168
no, smells like rot....
Dave Wallis
36 Cal.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2015
- Messages
- 114
- Reaction score
- 168
I think age is approx 1796-1830. It's very similar to the English New Land Pattern pistol, maybe private purchase gun? I'll do some butt pictures..... I'm assuming that the GR stamp would make it pre 1830?
Wow- you got it working!
Ya scared me though. It looked like you were going to trip the sear with nothing in the jaws
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