Traditions kit Pawn Shop find

[Crowtalks]

I found a partially finished Traditions stock with all the hardware, as well as the trigger and stock at a local pawn shop for a very affordable price.

I figured I could use the parts eventually so I bought it.

Finds out the owner was one of the guys at the pawn shop and as he brought out a rusty barrel he told me the barrel had be "ruined" in a flood, but the rest of the parts were stored in an office, and that he was throwing the barrel in for free.

It took about 15 minutes on the brass brush wheel but the barrel cleaned up pretty good...good enough to see the kit is a Traditions Shenandoah.

 

[RIDE-RED350R]

I'd love to find an old kit collecting dust for a bargain. I've never done a kit but I would like to at some point.

 

[Colonial Boy]

Nice find; how’s the bore?

 

[Crowtalks]

Nice find; how’s the bore?

It appears to have a light coat of surface rust...I plan on running bore cleaner through it with a bore brush...I think "flood" was the wrong term to use...a tornado last year tore the roof off the shop and the white barrel rusted as the result. There is some discoloration, but no pitting on the outside, so I am assuming there will be no pitting on the inside also...

If you have something better to run down the bore to knock out the rust, I am all ears, as this is my first rodeo with a rusty barrel.

 

[SDSmlf]

If you have something better to run down the bore to knock out the rust, I am all ears, as this is my first rodeo with a rusty barrel.

EvapoRust will remove the rust (and any bluing it makes contact with). It will not remove any pits, but it gets rid of all the active rust.

Plug the barrel with a bolt (wrapped with Teflon tape makes a good seal) matching the nipple thread. Fill the bore with EvapoRust and stand the barrel upright and let it sit, maybe a few hours to overnight, depending on how rusty. You can save the used EvapoRust for other projects in a different container (I would not pour it back in the original container and ‘contaminate’ the unused EvapoRust). Rinse the bore out with water and see what you have.

 

[Mtman725]

Nice find enjoy the build.

 

[doubleset]

EvapoRust will remove the rust (and any bluing it makes contact with). It will not remove any pits, but it gets rid of all the active rust.

I am a huge fan of Evaporust and try to keep a gallon on hand for potential use. But I notice that it does affect the surface in a definite way and I wonder if you have any experience with that. Stuff I have soaked in Evaporust -- especially if left soaking for a number of hours -- come out with the rust gone, but the surface turned to a dull gray. I have not tried to polish that, but I wonder how deep it goes, and what exactly it is. It doesn't seem to have the appearance of pure steel, but I can't imagine it's anythinge else -- given the way Evaporust works chemically.

Any thoughts on that?

 

[SDSmlf]

I am a huge fan of Evaporust and try to keep a gallon on hand for potential use. But I notice that it does affect the surface in a definite way and I wonder if you have any experience with that. Stuff I have soaked in Evaporust -- especially if left soaking for a number of hours -- come out with the rust gone, but the surface turned to a dull gray. I have not tried to polish that, but I wonder how deep it goes, and what exactly it is. It doesn't seem to have the appearance of pure steel, but I can't imagine it's anythinge else -- given the way Evaporust works chemically.

Any thoughts on that?

There is a grey colored finish after extended soaks, put the steel polishes up pretty easily. Much easier to deal with than mechanically removing active rust.

 

[Crowtalks]

EvapoRust will remove the rust (and any bluing it makes contact with). It will not remove any pits, but it gets rid of all the active rust.

Plug the barrel with a bolt (wrapped with Teflon tape makes a good seal) matching the nipple thread. Fill the bore with EvapoRust and stand the barrel upright and let it sit, maybe a few hours to overnight, depending on how rusty. You can save the used EvapoRust for other projects in a different container (I would not pour it back in the original container and ‘contaminate’ the unused EvapoRust). Rinse the bore out with water and see what you have.

Thanks! I will try that

 

[doubleset]

There is a grey colored finish after extended soaks, put the steel polishes up pretty easily. Much easier to deal with than mechanically removing active rust.

Thanks. The other thing I've had happen with Evaporust that may require some caution was when I used it on the cast iron tables of my table saw and my band saw -- which had developed some light rust on them one summer in high humidity while sitting unused for a while. The result was that the polished sliver-colored tables took on a look similar to case hardening -- with colored swirls of different hues. Not entirely unattractive; but not what I expected.

 

[hanshi]

That was great luck finding that kit. You got yourself a nice little rifle.

 

[UndeadPoet]

Nice! And, I will add my support for evaporust. Good stuff!

‘Poet

 

[sturmkatze]

Just don't put lock springs in evaporust. I found out the hard way, it makes them shatter. A gentleman here sent me a link to an educational article on this

 

[cynthialee]

I use molasses mixed with water 1/8 molasses/water to remove rust and it works real well. Mix it up and let the rusted metal sit for a night.

 

[BlackRock52]

I am a huge fan of Evaporust and try to keep a gallon on hand for potential use. But I notice that it does affect the surface in a definite way and I wonder if you have any experience with that. Stuff I have soaked in Evaporust -- especially if left soaking for a number of hours -- come out with the rust gone, but the surface turned to a dull gray. I have not tried to polish that, but I wonder how deep it goes, and what exactly it is. It doesn't seem to have the appearance of pure steel, but I can't imagine it's anythinge else -- given the way Evaporust works chemically.

Any thoughts on that?

Is the grey stuff the rust that has been chemically converted? If one wanted to remove it ... use a bore polish like JP or Iosso? Or shoot it out and then clean, polish, and protect?

 

[doubleset]

Is the grey stuff the rust that has been chemically converted? If one wanted to remove it ... use a bore polish like JP or Iosso? Or shoot it out and then clean, polish, and protect?

I haven't investigated exactly what it is. It apparently can be polished off, but I haven't done that for the tools in question because it's not important to me. However, I'd expect that any such polishing would affect the dimensions by reducing the the surface by some amount -- even if a few thousandths of an inch. But that's just speculation.

 

[Kansas Jake]

If the inside of the barrel is just light surface rust a good cleaning with a piece of scrubbing pad on a jag or small brass bore brush with something like PB Blaster May be all you need.

I have a flintlock 36 caliber Shenandoah and after some lock tuning it has turned into a sweet little gun.

 

[Dude]

I've used cheap white vinegar from the grocery store to remove rust. Since there's no bluing to worry about, getting it on the outside of the barrel isn't a problem. An hour-long soak might be enough - often, a soft brush is all that's needed to remove the residue.