An ill-used Zouave in the house

[BillinOregon]

Actually, it is not that bad -- the bore is sound and most of the barrel bluing is intact. It came to me with one of the old Tasco brass 32-inch "Civil War" scopes with steel crosshairs in good condition with nice patina, and a small vernier tang sight that didn't make much sense. The previous owner beat the heck out of the tang screw, gouging the tang and the stock at the tang in apparently fruitless attempts to remove it. I gave it some Kroils and then got it out with drilling and "easy-outs." New one coming from Dixie. The stock is doing the backstroke in CitriStrip this evening in the garage, wrapped with Glad plastic wrap and soaking in the heat.
Will clean everything up and try to figure out a decent stain and finish for the wood --likely beech. Might need a little AcraGlas for the abused tang wood, but otherwise not bad. This one was made in 1976 for Sears. I can see absolutely no hint of the breech bolster being brazed vs welded.
A Zoli Zouave was the first big-bore percussion rifle I ever shot -- about 48 years ago if my math is sound.
Gerald Ford was president. Go Michigan and God bless these United States!

 

[ppg1949]

So you sprayed or brushed on CitriStrip, then wrapped the stock in Glad wrap. I have used CitriStrip spray but using Glad wrap is the first time I’ve this. I’m about to start a stock and was going to C-Strip it. So you drench the stock and wrap it and leave overnight? I’m guessing the end result makes it easier to remove the old stain? Is there anything else I need to do?

 

[BillinOregon]

Wrapping the coated stock in plastic keeps the solution from drying out -- and it tends to work on the old finish for hours, rather than minutes. It is a real labor-saver. I strip the softened finish with an old Scotchbrite pad and paper towels.
Just wiped it down and it needs at least another treatment. I paint the stuff on with a chip brush.

 

[ppg1949]

BillnOregon, Thanks very much for the info. I’m going to try it when I redo this stock. Thanks again for your response.

Wrapping the coated stock in plastic keeps the solution from drying out -- and it tends to work on the old finish for hours, rather than minutes. It is a real labor-saver. I strip the softened finish with an old Scotchbrite pad and paper towels.
Just wiped it down and it needs at least another treatment. I paint the stuff on with a chip brush.

 

[hanshi]

I had one of those around 52 years ago and fired it a lot before something else caught my attention and I sold it. I now have a fine US M1841 .54 that I like so much it's permanent member of the family.

 

[Brazos John]

Might need a little AcraGlas...

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!





just kidding......
Some folks get riled so easily, I thought that I'd stir the pot!

Sorry for the hijack.
I have a pistol stock to strip, and I'm going to copy your method. Thanks for posting.

 

[BillinOregon]

John, I have actually been second-guessing the wisdom of this idea and will try some judicious steaming first.
As to the CitriStrip, even if a lot of the finish seems to want to stay after going overnight under the plastic, a second open-air application and the passage of an hour and you will likely find the finish well softened and amenable to being scraped off with the edge of a putty knife.

 

[BillinOregon]

Hanshi, that 41 cut a figure on the Oregon Trail after the government started offering them to civilians. It's one of the most iconic firearms of the period up to the Civil War. I had one briefly but it was in .58 and just didn't "feel right."

 

[Brazos John]

try some judicious steaming first.

If you try steaming, tell us what you did, and how well it worked.
I have a blond Miroku cap pistol that is begging me for a nicer finish.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I’m interested in seeing how this comes out. I have an old Navy Arms M1863 Springfield reproduction that needs some work, and refinishing the stock (after fixing a few minor problems with it) is on the list.

I love the old ‘41 Mississippi rifle. I have an original in shootable condition, bought a couple of years ago but I haven’t shot it yet. Brewerton said it was “the best rifle for crossing the plains” in the 1840’s.

I had a Zouave come to visit for a few days last year and was able to do a side-by-side comparison with the M1841. The Zouave and the Mississippi are similar in many respects, and it is my understanding that the designers of the M1863 Zouave rifles combined features of the M1841 Mississippi and the M1855 Springfield to develop the new rifle.

I would have no problem using AcraGlass on the Sears & Roebuck Zouave rifle if it would help fix it up as a shooter.

As for the brazed versus welded bolster, it may be neither. The originals used a conventional breechplug with a bolster on the side of the barrel, but the Italian reproduction I examined had a patent breech, which was almost certainly a casting. I suspect Bill’s Sears rifle may be similar.

I’m looking forward to seeing some pictures!

Notchy Bob

 

[springfield art]

Actually, it is not that bad -- the bore is sound and most of the barrel bluing is intact. It came to me with one of the old Tasco brass 32-inch "Civil War" scopes with steel crosshairs in good condition with nice patina, and a small vernier tang sight that didn't make much sense. The previous owner beat the heck out of the tang screw, gouging the tang and the stock at the tang in apparently fruitless attempts to remove it. I gave it some Kroils and then got it out with drilling and "easy-outs." New one coming from Dixie. The stock is doing the backstroke in CitriStrip this evening in the garage, wrapped with Glad plastic wrap and soaking in the heat.
Will clean everything up and try to figure out a decent stain and finish for the wood --likely beech. Might need a little AcraGlas for the abused tang wood, but otherwise not bad. This one was made in 1976 for Sears. I can see absolutely no hint of the breech bolster being brazed vs welded.
A Zoli Zouave was the first big-bore percussion rifle I ever shot -- about 48 years ago if my math is sound.
Gerald Ford was president. Go Michigan and God bless these United States!

Those Zouaves were the darlings of the period, and still have a spot in the hearts of old-timer BP shooters!

 

[user 31232]

My Miroku Zouave is a joy to shoot!

 

[BillinOregon]

Boys, that Zoli I shot almost half a century ago was loaded with patched round balls. It shot OK, but not like it might with a proper Miníe sized .002 under land diameter. I had hoped to measure the bore using this method outlined by Texas Mac, but alas, the outside of the barrel is not uniformly round. Pin/plug gauges will tell the tale, but I "ain't a-gonna buy a set jist fer this."

Using muzzle groove and land thicknesses:
Here’s another method that was recently brought to my attention by
Mike Deland which I had forgotten about. It only works with a barrel
that has a round muzzle and assumes that that the bore is centered
at the muzzle. Using a caliper measure the muzzle thickness of the
lands and grooves as indicated in the following figure. Using the
values in the appropriate simple formulas will result in the groove and
bore diameters. In case the bore is not perfectly centered I
recommend measuring all the land thicknesses and average the
results, and do the same for the groove thicknesses. I used this
technique on my 3-groove Springfield Trapdoor carbine and the
groove diameter agreed perfectly with the groove diameter
determined by the other methods. It should be obvious that this will
not work on firearms with octagon profile muzzles.

Back to Articles Page​

 

[Notchy Bob]

As for the brazed versus welded bolster, it may be neither. The originals used a conventional breechplug with a bolster on the side of the barrel, but the Italian reproduction I examined had a patent breech, which was almost certainly a casting. I suspect Bill’s Sears rifle may be similar.

This was an error, for which I apologize. I went back and checked my notes, and the Italian Zouave I handled last year did in fact have a bolster on the side of the barrel and a conventional breech plug. It is my Navy Arms M1863 that has the patent breech, and I got them confused. The difference is that with the bolster on the side of the barrel, the flash hole goes directly from the base of the nipple to the powder charge, and the breech face is flat. With the patent breech, you have a "powder well' or chamber in the face of the breechplug, and the flash hole leading from the nipple goes to that. Depending on how the patent breech is configured, the flash channel may even have an angle in it. The original style breech is easier to clean and is generally believed to give faster ignition.

I don't know how the bolster was affixed to the Zouave either, whether brazed, welded, or something else.

Notchy Bob

 

[brazosland]

Two things…

I use spray oven cleaner to strip stocks. Nothing has survived it from Italian repros to Garands, Krags and 1903’s.

Spray on, go inside. Come out in 15 mins and spray it off with the hose. Then spray it again. After the second washing with the hose it’s stripped. Easy Off, full strength.

Let it dry for a few days inside and you are good.

Second, I don’t bother measuring bores anymore. Buy either Pritchett cartridges or Williams cleaner bullets from Paper Cartridges and they drop down the bore and shoot fabulously. Easy day.

 

[EN]

Two things…

I use spray oven cleaner to strip stocks. Nothing has survived it from Italian repros to Garands, Krags and 1903’s.

Spray on, go inside. Come out in 15 mins and spray it off with the hose. Then spray it again. After the second washing with the hose it’s stripped. Easy Off, full strength.

Let it dry for a few days inside and you are good.

Second, I don’t bother measuring bores anymore. Buy either Pritchett cartridges or Williams cleaner bullets from Paper Cartridges and they drop down the bore and shoot fabulously. Easy day.

I use the Easy Off process myself. Works like a charm and the hosing down takes out minor dents in the wood. Larger dents are not as large. Great if you don't want the wood to look sanded.

 

[BillinOregon]

I used the EZ off method on a couple of gnarly rifles from the Nepal cache. Worked OK.