kh54
45 Cal.
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2021
- Messages
- 714
- Reaction score
- 1,148
Hi All. I thought I would show a couple of recent projects, in part to share my experience but also to see if others might have tips or suggestions that would improve the quality of my work. So feel free to comment, criticize, praise, condemn...or just ignore.
A few years ago I bought an early Italian 1851 Navy clone with a brass frame in .44 caliber that Todd Watts defarbed and engraved to mimic a CSA Schneider & Glassick. It turned out very nice and I decided that I wanted another, but in the correct .36 caliber. I watched for a .36 1851 brass frame with a smooth cylinder for a long time but never could get one for what I wanted to pay. I finally decided just to get one with the engraved cylinder and see if I could remove the engraving myself. I found a 1974 C.O.M. - I think I got it on Gunbroker. I don't have a lathe but I was able to chuck the cylinder into my drill on a wood dowel and with only two or three battery recharges and wet/dry paper I was able to remove the engraving and the deep turn line. I did leave the finish with some shallow sanding scratches, as I thought that was appropriate for a gun that might have been manufactured imperfectly in the South in wartime conditions. I also cleaned up the bolt so it wouldn't scratch the cylinder like it had before. Finally I removed all the manufacturer's marks on the barrel and frame (lots of filing and wet/dry sanding) leaving only the serial number, then I re-blued the steel components, except for the loading lever.
I also acquired recently a Pietta Griswold & Gunnison that I wanted to "defarb." I only planned to remove Pietta's awful markings and a lot of dings from mishandling, and not necessarily add correct CSA markings, at least not by myself. Again, lots of filing and wet/dry sanding on the barrel, stripping the bluing on the cylinder, polishing the brass, then re-bluing.
I have cold-blued the steel because I haven't yet built myself a bluing tank. I don't mind my imperfect results - they impart an antique-ish patina. On the G&G I applied the bluing but removed most of it with steel wool for the effect that you see. On the S&G I left the bluing as deep and smooth as I could get it.
Below are pics of before, during and after results. I haven't yet sent the S&G to Todd Watts but that's in the near future.
Sooooo, any thoughts??
A few years ago I bought an early Italian 1851 Navy clone with a brass frame in .44 caliber that Todd Watts defarbed and engraved to mimic a CSA Schneider & Glassick. It turned out very nice and I decided that I wanted another, but in the correct .36 caliber. I watched for a .36 1851 brass frame with a smooth cylinder for a long time but never could get one for what I wanted to pay. I finally decided just to get one with the engraved cylinder and see if I could remove the engraving myself. I found a 1974 C.O.M. - I think I got it on Gunbroker. I don't have a lathe but I was able to chuck the cylinder into my drill on a wood dowel and with only two or three battery recharges and wet/dry paper I was able to remove the engraving and the deep turn line. I did leave the finish with some shallow sanding scratches, as I thought that was appropriate for a gun that might have been manufactured imperfectly in the South in wartime conditions. I also cleaned up the bolt so it wouldn't scratch the cylinder like it had before. Finally I removed all the manufacturer's marks on the barrel and frame (lots of filing and wet/dry sanding) leaving only the serial number, then I re-blued the steel components, except for the loading lever.
I also acquired recently a Pietta Griswold & Gunnison that I wanted to "defarb." I only planned to remove Pietta's awful markings and a lot of dings from mishandling, and not necessarily add correct CSA markings, at least not by myself. Again, lots of filing and wet/dry sanding on the barrel, stripping the bluing on the cylinder, polishing the brass, then re-bluing.
I have cold-blued the steel because I haven't yet built myself a bluing tank. I don't mind my imperfect results - they impart an antique-ish patina. On the G&G I applied the bluing but removed most of it with steel wool for the effect that you see. On the S&G I left the bluing as deep and smooth as I could get it.
Below are pics of before, during and after results. I haven't yet sent the S&G to Todd Watts but that's in the near future.
Sooooo, any thoughts??