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Whoops. Now im seeing some of the posts by you guys. Let me go check out my gun
 
I think those are your nose cap screws or the thimble screws, your lock plate screws are much longer. If there are only two of those and you havent taken the lock apart they will more than likely be your nose cap screws.
 
Problem solved. I now know how it fits! Bit late tonight. Dont know if ill get around to it tomorrow. But im looking at staining it by the end of this next weekend!

Man id like to do a bigger project, but i cant imagine ever being able to do that intricate carving i see many of you doing. That and the brass or metal lining that adds so much flavor to the gun.
 
Dremel can surely get you in trouble. I was having trouble making the wood buttstock flush with the brass covering? The end brass piece. Well.. I took that brass piece off since I was tired of taping it for scratching reasons, I knew it had stopped me from going too far. Anyways, turns out without that thing stopping me, all it took was a few seconds with a dremel to go past flush.

Nothing too serious, my musket still looks mostly like it should. It's being stained right now. I didn't do the "spray water for whiskers then re sand" as I didn't want to wait and this is a cheap gun.

Waiting for it to dry, once it does, ill add another layer of stain, my regret right now is not going slightly darker, hopefully an extra coat of stain will accomplish that. I'll finish off with 100% Tung oil.

Next is barrel bluing, I googled it one time and will have to re research it to find the articles that talked about easy bluing. I don't have a big barrel or bucket to dump this barrel in. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Im going to purchase the traditions pirate pistol now, but am possibly looking into getting another more expensive kit. I can take slightly bit more sanding, if this was a 99% kit, I can't go any lower than 95% at this point in time. Anyone have suggestions?

I also forgot to see about that book in the library. I may go next week.
 
Well, read through a few more pages. Brownells oxpho blue seems to be the choice for the weekender? Hopefully they sell it at lowes or home depot. Once that's done, I'll be piecing everything together.

Nope they don't sell it there : / expensive to get a small amount.
 
Sorry to hear you are in a hurry.
That's a sure fire way to screw things up.

Not that it is absolutely necessary but whiskering?

Doing that right takes all of about 5 minutes. :(

I would have suggested that you brown the barrel with a slow rust process and then douse the barrel with boiling water to turn the rust black but that surely takes too much time.

As you found, only Brownells sells Oxpho blue.

It is expensive and it doesn't come in tiny bottles.

It also requires the surface of the metal to be absolutely oil and grease free. That includes not touching the surface with your bare skin.

Just degreasing the surfaces and wearing rubber gloves when your handling the barrel is also time consuming.

Actually, if speed is of the essence just leave the barrel in the white, apply a coating of good wax and call it done. :)
 
What is this slow rust process you speak of? And Id rather not dip it in wax, i dont like the silvery color, i want it darkened. I dont think its the time in worried about as much as complexity and new tool/material requirements. I ive bought alot of stain and paint for my other projects and well, i dont use all of it which makes me cringe at the cost effectiveness. If all i need to do is set the barrel in a bathtub, i can do that as i have an extra bath tub. But ive read about heating the barrel to 275 degrees...thats probably disaster for me

Also im not necessarily in a hurry, i just read to get rid of those tiny "whiskers" of wetting it down didnt take much time, but the website i read it at told me to let it dry overnight before staining. Didnt want o wait another night!

Sorry if i speak like a child, i often write from a phone
 
Ahhhhh....zones giving you some grief, :slap: he means well.....we just see hurry as poorly done.....I wish in the kitchen....take the dishrag, wipe the wood....then turn a stove burner on....and dry it off......she'll wisk up right then!

You can blacken the metal also by rusting it, then coat with old motor oil....then play a propane torch over the metal till it's good and hot.....

This is hobby........but you'll find some here treat it like the holy grail :idunno:

I'm a health care worker.....so ALL of this stuff is just stuff to me...... :rotf: but I do enjoy the best stuff I can make.....just as a gardener plants flowers in the garden.....and pulls the weeds :hmm:

Marc n tomtom
 
How do i rust it to begin with? I suppose i can go to a car place and get motor oil. But then how does one hold the barrel while putting a blowtorch to it?

Lastly. Please take a look at my setup on the buttstock. Does hanging it down not allow the stain to penetrate the higher side properly? As in it drips down so the bottom is darker than the top?


 
Restoring my antiqur trunk at yhe same tine...im guessing bluing is a natural process were speeding up? Would explain the rust/"black" paint that i see. If not bluing is there another option to make it look old? The barrel?
 
It doesn't matter how the stock hangs, the stain should not be put on so thick that it runs and drips. Just wiped on with a cloth dampened with the stain. If it is running and dripping you are using way too much.
 
+1 Certainly you are using way to much stain. The stuff Is designed to penetrate wood. Applying it in the manner you have will result in streaks if not wiped off the wood. Read the directions on the stain container.
 
Thanks guys, I don't see streaking but I did notice "goopiness" As in sticky. So I wiped it d own. Gave myself extra 8 hours for it to dry and now I have tung oil on there, which I have to now go wipe off.

With how much more carefully I sanded down the rifle, I realize that I didn't do a good job on my antique chest : )
 
The slow rusting method of browning the metal uses a solution and the humidity in the room to cause a thin coating of hard, brown rust to form on the metal.
Many of us really like Laurel Mountain "Barrel Brown & Degreaser".

Here's a link to it
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/388/1/LMF-BROWN

To use it, apply a very light coating on the metal without overlapping the coating.
Place the barrel in a humid area like a steamy bathroom. After an hour or so the rusting will start. It may look streaky after only one coating but don't worry.

After a few hours, take the barrel and rub off any loose rust using a course piece of fabric and apply another coating of the solution, then back to the humid area.

This process takes time and you may have to apply 3-5 coatings to get it to look uniform.

After a uniform coat is made you have several choices available.

You can just oil it to make a very durable browned finish.

You can change the color from brown to black by pouring boiling water onto the brown rust. (You must do this before applying any oil and it will take several dousings with the boiling water).
When it is blackened to your liking, apply a coating of oil to finish it.

You can use a course steel wool to scrub off as much of the browning or blacking as you want to give it an aged look. Then apply the oil.

This scrubbing is not easy. As I said, this is a HARD rust that is very wear resistant.
 
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Man Zonie, that sounds like alot of work. I feel bad wasting all that water, can you think of any smaller enclosed spaces where I can store a barrel for rusting? I'm guessing I can't just lay it in water as I need oxygen for rusting right?
 
OK. Here's some other things you can try if you just want a very aged and poorly looked after barrel.

Vinegar wiped onto the surface and allowed to dry.
This takes many coatings and again, like the real browning solutions humidity helps to speed things up.

Apply Yellow mustard to the surface and wrap it with a damp cloth.
Like the pure vinegar method, the vinegar in the mustard will slowly eat/etch and darken the surface.

I'm sure you've read about using one of the commercial "cold bluing" solutions.

These usually give a poor "bluing" job to the metal but if you want an aged, worn look they can be applied and then rubbed with steel wool to look worse than they normally do.
This usually ends up looking like a poorly kept old gun.

Someone might mention applying chlorine bleach, either hot or cold.
I strongly do not recommend allowing bleach within 5 feet of a gun unless you want something that looks like it was left out in a field for over a year.
Bleach will eat into the surface leaving pits and a rust that is hard to stop once it starts.
 
Hehe. You write it like there is this great option of heat bluing or the terrible option of cold bluing. But remember you have a choice!

You actually.make.me want to do the browning method you mentioned. Im just trying to think of a more economic way to make steam in a smaller confined space to save on water.

Biggest issue is the size of that gun barrel. Ill have to brainstorm this and see if i can think of anything.
I mean, i dont think my oven ks long enough but theoretically i could havr boiled pots of water in there to create the steam?

Also the barrel. Do i have to jimmyrig something so that no sides of the barreltouch any surface?

Lastly, I live in kentucky. It gets humid. Is the choice to leave yhe barrel in a hot shed in the sun an option when the weather turns?
 
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