Protecting metal under the wood?

[oldwood]

Easy principle to understand.....wood doesn't play well with iron. They fight each other unless Isolated , one from the other. Above are dozens of ways to keep these two antagonists apart. Wood finishes for the wood , and cold blue , browning , and waxes for the iron. You got this.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Did they use shellac back in the day?

Barrel channels on old rifles were left unfinished.

 

[jimhallam]

Middlesex village arms contracts with India and makes smoothbores many that are unusual compared to Discriminating General, Loyalist, Veteran Arms.
I never did any business with Middlesex so have nothing to say about them.
Indian repos vs Italian has been kicked around ad nauseum
However Middlesex has some interesting stories to tell.
They bought an officers fusil and took it apart to copy. The gun had been shortened in the past, and the ramrod pipes randomly moved so is now uneven. The gun converted from flint to percussion via drum. The lock was lost
The barrel was brown and only decorative. feature was bands at the breach.
They pulled the barrel and found…. A clean blue bottom. Original barrel had been blued, just via neglect had browned on the exposed.
Inspite of neglect the underside had stayed pretty pristine
I bet it was waxed when finished and hadn’t been out of the wood till Middlesex dissembled it

"A clean blue bottom" --- not often found in CA ;-)

 

[jimhallam]

Me too. If you can find some, water pump grease is great.

There is a good article on the Research Press website about the care and feeding of Enfield muskets that mention grease under barrel.

Water pump grease is perfect -- - and a LOT cheaper than buying "branded" stuff from specialist suppliers ! For a percussion firearm fit a long plastic tube to the nipple / cone and you can boil out the crud witthout getting water under the barrel. Flinters are obviously more tricky, but with a replaceable vent making a similar device is easy.

 

[oldwood]

I have an original Potzdam musket I'm restoring. If you look closely ,the entire wood finish is a faded midnight blue. The other ones I've seen are the same , at least on the exterior.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

For what it's worth, I have a Marlin Model 1889 that was manufactured in 1890. The exposed metal has turned brown, and in general the rifle looks like it's about 130 years old. However, the metal underneath the forearm is still blue and looks like it was made last week.

 

[Coinneach]

I never remove pinned barrels from stocks, and never will. Totally unneeded.

Absolutely agree with you, everyone one my pinned stocks have never been removed.

IMO people need to realise that in the 18-19th century pinned barrels werent routinely removed from stocks to clean, it was all about sealing the barrel from moisture, and protecting the weapon from the wet weather whenever practical.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

I finish barrel channels and under butt plates, lock mortise etc. there is No reason not to IMHO. It is a simple thing to do. Moisture can get into any of these areas easily. You do not have to be out in the pouring rain for moisture to attack your firearm. High humidity etc can also do it. Wood is like a big 'sponge" and will absorb moisture if it is left in a humid environment. ever have a door in your house swell a bit and stick? So, my firearms get all "bare" wood areas treated just because, to add one more layer of protection. I find that "hoping" rust doesn't happen to be a poor plan!!

 

[BigAl52]

I don’t remove barrels at all from any of my guns including the Hawkens that I own. Just don’t see the need to do that.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

I don’t remove barrels at all from any of my guns including the Hawkens that I own. Just don’t see the need to do that.

I only remove the barrel on my GPR's because they are keyed with a hooked breech, so it is easy. I do not remove any barrels on "pinned" firearms. However, they have all had the wood treated in channels ,lock mortise etc., and the barrel has a 'wax" on it, so they are protected as best I can.

 

[Pukka Bundook]

What Widow's Son says above.

I have used deer tallow, or plain grease. Water pump grease will last forever.
Bill Curtis and David Minchall reccomended water pump grease on the Enfield rifles. P '53 etc.

 

[BigAl52]

I only remove the barrel on my GPR's because they are keyed with a hooked breech, so it is easy. I do not remove any barrels on "pinned" firearms. However, they have all had the wood treated in channels ,lock mortise etc., and the barrel has a 'wax" on it, so they are protected as best I can.

Mr Snake I use to do that also with the Hawkens. I now use one of those nipple fittings to tubing for cleaning. It works great. I also use a turkey baster to fill the barrel with soap and water. I have been doing it this way now for several years with great results. Thats why I dont remove the Hawkens barrels anymore

 

[Snake Pleskin]

Mr Snake I use to do that also with the Hawkens. I now use one of those nipple fittings to tubing for cleaning. It works great. I also use a turkey baster to fill the barrel with soap and water. I have been doing it this way now for several years with great results. Thats why I dont remove the Hawkens barrels anymore

I have one of those "fittings" too. However, it is so simple to pull the barrel on these ML's that I just do it , because then i do not have to be as careful etc when I am cleaning. If I ever had a ML kit or bought one again. I would have mine "keyed" with a hooked breech. To me, it makes life so much easier!

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Trouble is, with rifles like the P '53, they take quite a few shots to bed again, before good shooting is possible. in their case, the water pump grease protects everything, both wood and metal.