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When to refinish?

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Acker

32 Cal
Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Messages
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So,new guy here..Certainly not new to guns or shooting..I was lucky to buy several 1870's percussion pieces at an auction a few days ago..One was a 12 gauge shotgun...All the metals in good shape,but the stock is awful.
It's literally destroyed between the hammers and the barrel,literally,nothing holding it together but the trigger guard,the barrel tang,and,no kidding,a piece of a tin can..
Now,I'm more than a little talented,I replaced some wood,made custom plugs from walnut for the screw holes,got it back in one piece..
Now my dilemma..There are other damaged areas that don't affect the ability to shoot it,but I've already glued it together like a broken toy,sanded the wood I added,and honestly,the buttstock looks like it was tarred with a broom..
Should I preserve what's there,or fix it all and refinish it?
 
That's a tough one. I can only relate to when I used to do remodeling work in my younger days. Sometimes it's just easier to rip everything out and start from scratch.
 
That's a tough one. I can only relate to when I used to do remodeling work in my younger days. Sometimes it's just easier to rip everything out and start from scratch.
Well,I'm not so much thinking about what I'd want,but is historic preservation what's best for the gun? It is 150 years old.I have every reason to believe it's a gun built by some blacksmith..Every part has 3 notches in it,no markings or proofs...If I refinish it,is some purist gonna slap me? LOL!!
 
I agree with mooman76. If it was rare or had historic value, the one would need to proceed carefully. If it is a common gun that has seen hard use and is able to be put back in service, then I think proceeding is fine.

fixing-up-a-scabby-old-trade-musket.121000

The above link to the gun building thread here may give you some ideas.

I saw somewhere? while researching it,someone called it a "Saloon Gun"..I think in the condition the wood is in I'm gonna go ahead and do a light restoration on the stock,replace the missing wood,ETC,get it looking half decent...
 
Well,that clinches it..I just took a razor blade and scraped the awful looking buttstock to see how thick the finish is..The black part that looks like it was painted with a broom is,in fact,bare wood!!!
 
I have what some people call a hardware store rifle. Very plain Jane rifle. 39" barrel, 32 cal and 1 1/16 at the flats. Weighs a ton. You can see where it has been reworked and repaired over the years but still in good shape. There is some wood lose around the powder drum where it burned from firing allot. The powder drum looks like someone mad it by hand with a file. Still shoots great. Clover leafed at 50y.
 
Moonman76,
That rifle has all the earmarks of a chunk gun, to be fired prone off a chunk of wood at an X target. It could be a table rifle using the same target as a chunk gun. In general one of these chunk guns or table guns are quite similar being very plain, small caliber, very heavy and shot a lot. Come across the river to Bloomsdale, Missouri. The shoots were very popular.
 
Well..If you wanna see pics..Here's a before..And no,I'm not crazy,it's actually back together and looking good..LOL!! I replaced all the damaded missing stuff with walnut..The triggers were hinged in the stock,I'm silver soldering metal plates on the trigger plate to upgrade that..I'll post more pics tomorrow..
 

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From what you show, and already done, I wouldn't hesitate to do a restoration, wether you try to shoot it/them or not. There doesn't appear to be much, if any, historical value that would be hurt. They would be a good project and nice wallhangers.
 
Is it okay to post Facebook links on here? I have a page where I have the restoration covered,and some of the other crazy stuff I build..
 
From what you show, and already done, I wouldn't hesitate to do a restoration, wether you try to shoot it/them or not. There doesn't appear to be much, if any, historical value that would be hurt. They would be a good project and nice wallhangers.
Mark,that's exactly the conclusion I arrived at yesterday after talking to you guys..I'm somewhat of a fanatic with preserving the past,but this poor guys past is best forgotten,LOL!!
 
I don't think they allow direct links but you can post the information for someone to search. Leave off the .com
I'm "Iron Lou" on Facebook..Hope that's Okay..I do a lot of wild stuff,Guitars,guns,trains,RC cars,antiques..I'm 64,life long competition shooter,IDPA,PPC,IPSC Master class shooter,CMP expert....
 
Id had holes drilled in it,two countersunk at a try to hold it together,then two more that were screwed into a piece of tin that was screwed across the triggerguard to hold it down,LOL!! I made custom walnut plugs to fill them..
 

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Pieces missing inside replaced..
 

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Left side of the lock area was okay,right side and the front were destroyed..I blew the whole thing out with a Dremel,replaced everything..I used water thin Cyanoacrylate to soak all the wood at the repair..NEVER break again,the core is basically a solid piece of plastic now..Every flaw more than a crack was replaced with wood..
 

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