Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: RidgeRunner on March 17, 2015, 12:36:06 pm
-
My Dad has an old single barrel 32 gauge shotgun.
He acquired it in a trade somewhere back in time.
I picked it up a few days ago and looked down the barrel.
This has to be rustest gun I have EVER seen.
After much scrubbing with brass brush and oil the inside on the barrel is still coated with rust.
How can I remove the rust from the inside of the barrel????
Have given some thought to figuring out to sandpaper it out but am afraid I will ruin the choke at the end of the barrel.
Any ideas???
Thanks
David
-
Im no gunsmith, but I play one on TV. Generally speaking when the inside of the barrel is that gnarly, it is deeply pitted and unsafe.
-
Is there a gun doc in here :)
-
That's a big 10-4 little buddy, I bet he is rolling down the hwy!
-
I had not thought of that....
Gun Doc where are you?????
Pearley D You might be right. This barrel may be beyond use.
Cant tell until I get the rust out.
If it is it wont be worth fixing.... However.... It "looks" like a Iver Johnson.
I dont think it is a Iver Johnson but it looks like one.
David
-
Being that rusted I'm not sure if it's safe or not. But to clean it out I would try a gritty bore cleaner on a brush. if that still doesn't work I would try a patch soaked in vinegar. If you try that be very careful since it will eat steel pretty quickly though it will remove rust. This would be my last resort though. I would just get some JB bore cleaner, find a good show on tv and just start polishing the bore until the rust is gone and the pits are smoothed out.
Kyle
-
Kyle:
Just plain old Vinegar????
David
-
Just plain vinegar. I use it to clean old heavily rusted traps. I put a gallon in a five gallon bucket throw the traps in and fill with water. Let it sit over night and hose off in the morning. Usually end up with bare metal. I've never done it but I've heard of people forgetting the traps for a week or two and the traps are almost gone. And seeing how bluing is a form of rust I would definitely be careful using this method since it will probably destroy the finish of you get much on the bluing. Which you can fix with the long process of slow rust bluing. I havnt done it yet but plan to on a Rossi shotgun, just to play with and learn the process in more detail.
Kyle
-
Don't use vinegar. Vinegar is an acid that will attack the steel as well as the rust. It will not only cause more erosion damage but will react with the remaining steel to make it brittle. There are two products that I use that are specifically designed for this application. Birchwood casey rust and blue remover and brownells steel white. I've used both and they both work great. For a small project I recommend the birchwood casey simply cause you can buy it in the smaller bottle for about 5 bucks. I use still white because it's cheaper in the long run if you have a lot of projects to do, but it comes in quarts and gallons. At 45 bucks a quart, you would need to do a lot of projects to justify the cost. Either project will strip the blueing or Browning off fast so don't get it on the outside of the firearm. Also once the bore is rust free, it will be completely stripped of oils or protective patina. Oil it quick or rust will attack again with a vengeance. I hope that helps. Josh
-
Never would have thought about the vinegar making the steel brittle. That would make a big difference. I only thought about how it would eat away the steel if left for any amount of time.
Kyle
-
Josh beat me to the vinegar. I ruined a barrel doing that.
-
Like Gun Doc said, also, just for future info, a Friend of mine used to clean rust out of the old metal boat motor gas tanks, by putting a little oil in it, and putting about half a pound of bird shot, or sometimes steel bb's , and then putting on a vibrator for a while. When he was done, it looked like a brand new tank! Could put some bird shot in, and put it on a vibrator, and let it beat the snot out of the rust. Phosphoric acid will take rust off instantly, but be sure to rinse well with a solution of baking soda, and water. Try Gun Doc's suggestion. Good luck.
Wayne
-
Naval jelly will take out the rust. The problem is the gun was probably shot with black powder and not cleaned. The barrel is probably toast which makes the gun a wall hanger.
-
I have used a product called Evapo-Rust (not on firearms tho) with great success. It's water soluble/ph neutral/reusable/biodegradable/non toxic and non corrosive. Safe on skin & Eyes and removes rust to bare metal. Cool stuff - I brought back to life a Tamahawk head and some old axe heads that I thought were past help. I picked it up at a Harbor Freight store, but I believe most harewares carry it now and it not expensive. Be worth a try, good luck - Bob.
-
This is a timely topic, I was given, a Winchester 32 special for Christmas, made in 1958. It had been setting in a closet for many years and has some lite surface rust on it. Barrel still has good blueing but has the rust. What should I use on it to bring it back to its better condition. Just a good scrub with WD-40 or gun oil?
-
Thanks for the replies.
Just for the record the outside of this gun is very rusty as well.
There is no Bluing to strip off the outside. It is all rust.
I can clean the outside. A sand blaster might be required.
Going to find some Birchwood Casey. :D
Thanks
David
-
How old is this gun? Cartridge or M/L ? I guess 32 ga would be about a .410.
If it has no collector value, you can draw file the metal back to bare metal, sand it and cold blue it.
I build M/Ls and rust brown some barrels, cold blue others, it is really easy to do. A rust browned barrel with a few pits looks takes on a nice antique look, the best part is it will never rust again as the finish is hard as a rock.
Here is a rust browned lock, done with Laurel Mountain Forge browning solution.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/ekrewson/beck%20rifle/becktriggerguard.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ekrewson/media/beck%20rifle/becktriggerguard.jpg.html)
-
Eric:
The gun is a cartridge gun.
Single Shot, Breech Barrel.
Just like a "Normal" single shot shotgun.
The bore is .526". A 410 is .410" of coarse.
Explain Draw File please.
I cant say how old it is..... Until the rust is removed from the out side the markings will not be legible.
That Brown Rust finish idea ran through my mine earlier today..... May just try that.
This plan is to spend quite a bit of time cleaning the rust out and off of it this weekend.
David
-
Well another option if ya really wanna shoot the gun is too have a boreliner installed..if the inside barrel is .526 that's slightly bigger than 20 gauge..you may be able to have a 28 Gauge liner/tube sweated in the barrel..all depends on how much money ya wanna invest in it...
-
Caveman-I would remove the wood to keep it from soaking up oil and then wipe the barrel down with a heavy coat of breakfree/clp gun oil and keep it wetted down with it for a couple weeks. The clp will breakdown the rust without harming the blueing. Then use a firm bristled toothbrush to remove the loosened rust and repeat the process until its cleaned up. It can take a while to get it all, but it's worth the wait. You don't want to get impatient and use a metal bristled brush unless you want to remove the blueing as well.
Hickorybill-20 guage bore is .615. A .410 sleeve would be the only shotgun bore smaller than a 32 guage. I don't know who makes a liner like that though. You would almost have to have a machinist custom make it. While your at it, the machinist will also have to bore the barrel out to accept the sleeve and make a custom extractor/ejector for it. You'd have to want to shoot it pretty bad to do all that. Josh
-
.410 was a wrong guess for sure.
Draw filing is holding your file almost sideways and pulling it toward you. You can go lightly and not take off much metal.
It is probably a 28 ga with a choke of some kind that drops the diameter. Here is a ga guide in inches.
12 .729"
13 .700"
14 .693"
15 .677"
16 .662"
17 .650"
18 .637"
19 .626"
20 .615"
21 .605"
22 .596"
23 .587"
24 .579"
25 .571"
26 .563"
27 .556"
28 .550"
29 .543"
30 .537"
31 .531"
32 .526"
.410 .410"
-
More on draw filing;
You hold your fine cut file at 10:00 and 4:00 while you pull it toward you watching that you just take off a tiny bit at a time. You have to chalk the file surface with any kind of kids chalk to keep filings from building up in the file teeth and scratching your work area.
You can make a really nice looking barrel with just draw filing but I follow up with 220 grit paper wrapped around the file to get things just right for browning or bluing. With a round barrel I hand sand with the paper wrapped around the barrel to get my finish right.
Here is a draw filed flat and tang on a barrel, the side flats haven't been draw filed and are still rough.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/ekrewson/beck%20rifle/tanginlet.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ekrewson/media/beck%20rifle/tanginlet.jpg.html)
-
Just came back from Dad's house.
The more I look the worse this gun looks.
However, I found these markings on the butt plate.
MARCA KES ( I think ) The lettering is in bad shape.
There is a bird on the butt plate.
There is a bird on the heel of the barrel. I looks like a partrage.
Any ideas as to what it might be???
David
-
Caveman-I would remove the wood to keep it from soaking up oil and then wipe the barrel down with a heavy coat of breakfree/clp gun oil and keep it wetted down with it for a couple weeks. The clp will breakdown the rust without harming the blueing. Then use a firm bristled toothbrush to remove the loosened rust and repeat the process until its cleaned up. It can take a while to get it all, but it's worth the wait. You don't want to get impatient and use a metal bristled brush unless you want to remove the blueing as well.
Hickorybill-20 guage bore is .615. A .410 sleeve would be the only shotgun bore smaller than a 32 guage. I don't know who makes a liner like that though. You would almost have to have a machinist custom make it. While your at it, the machinist will also have to bore the barrel out to accept the sleeve and make a custom extractor/ejector for it. You'd have to want to shoot it pretty bad to do all that. Josh
Thank You
-
Got any pictures David?
After reading this post I thought of an old beater 22 semi auto I picked up after my Brother-in-law died. He never cleaned anything and the gun was too gummed up to work. I blasted the whole action with a special cleaner from Gander Mountain, the dang thing started working and throwing out shells. Encouraged, I put an old Weaver K-4 scope on it and found out it was a tack driver.
Yesterday I stripped the stock, ash of all things, stained it with some minwax stain I found in the cabinet and will start the refinish process today.
I have some really good cold blue (oxphoblue) and will touch up the metal parts to turn this old beater sows ear into a nice gun.
-
Marca may be spanish or portugese for "brand". But KES doesn't get me any results as a gun manufacturer.
-
Well, The weekend turned out terrible.
A good friend of mine died Friday afternoon from a heartattack. He was 48.
Did spend a bit of time with the little 32 as the sun went down Saturday afternoon.
Cut up a green brillo pad and ran it through the barrel about a 100 times.
Rust, Rust and more rust. The barrel looks some what better but is still the worst looking shotgun barrel I have ever seen.
If I can remember how I will try and post a few photos of it.
Thanks
David
-
Ridge runner, it could be Spanish, or Brazilian. I would go with Spanish, but could be on both counts. The odd gauge leads me to think European. I am just guessing here. ;)
Wayne