Nuno, that was a cracking job you did there, it looks so much better now IMO, well done mate
Nuno, that was a cracking job you did there, it looks so much better now IMO, well done mate
Ben
Thank you so much Ben. Im glad you liked.by Ben Evans
Nuno, that was a cracking job you did there, it looks so much better now IMO, well done mate
Cheers
Nuno
A good way of freeing up stubborn screws in wood is to get an old screwdriver and heat the tip up until it is cherry-red. Place it on the head of the screw and transfer the heat. the expansion and contraction of the metal as it cools should free the thread in the wood. A good way of cleaning up old stocks is to lay a damp cloth over the wood and go over it with a hot clothes iron. it draws out the muck and the dings. Stubborn rust on metal should be soaked with fine oil and gently scraped with a razor blade almost flat to the surface. The trick with restoring any weapon is not to go too far. You have to reach a happy medium. If you go overboard with the woodwork it will only emphasise any faults with the metalwork. Going off the pictures you are doing an excellent job though! Well done!
Great work on the rifles guys - there are certain things I won;t let myself restore, and just dab oil on and halt rust - but every so often something comes along that requires the full treatment. It's chance at being an important historical item already shattered.
Here is my MP44 parts kit.
Haenel X Block 1945 marked receiver - (Marked MP44 not STG44) - still has the threaded muzzle.
X block places it as being produced in the last six months of the war.
This example was in a barn for decades -
It was covered in rust which had turned the exterior dark black and filled with a crumbling clay-like substance - cow-pat maybe?
It also looks like it was run over by a tank - the trunion arms that go either side of the mag are bent slightly and the receiver itself is also a slightly crooked S shaped when looked at from above.
The main body parts are matching numbers - stock ferrule - receiver upper and lower and barrel parts.
It is being restored as a 922r compliant semi-automatic rifle -
(In the US these had to be destroyed if they weren't registered, in the 70's and 80's a single saw cut was sufficient, it isn't anymore, but this is an old one, so slips by. Point is - it will never be pristine so might as well make her something I can shoot!)
(The internal work required for this conversion, has been well documented elsewhere - but in a nutshell, all FA parts are removed, or welded in place, the receiver has denial bars welded in place that will not allow for an unmachined FA bolt to be swapped out, etc., - the lower will be altered so that a full-auto grip stoick cannot be swapped out, etc.,)
As it will reside in CA it will also be equipped with a Solar tactical grip, that effectively makes it a featureless hunting rifle.
922r requires that the firearm use only a certain amount of foreign made parts -
So, first course of business was to order the US made componants from Jerry at Recon Ordnance.
These parts also include mag floorplates and internals.
Other parts have come from Lithuania, Latvia and Germany - from Ebay, Gunbroker and militaria dealers.
I owned a dummy MP44 that was amazingly also a Haenel X block, about 4000 digits apart from this one.
So I swapped the stocks out, as this one was dried to dust in places and was generally really poor condition.
The metal was soaked in oil for a few days, then, 0000 steel wool was used to lift the rust, a nasty rust like gunk had settled around all the edges, and required a few hours of work to remove with a stiff toothbrush.
The dried clay-like substance inside was removed with a thin handled brass brush, then oil and brush, and over and over, etc.
What was amazing was that from this mottled, rust bucket, back came a lot of the original blue finish - the receiver will have to be stripped to be tig welded, so that I am less concerned about - also, I have always been drawn to the two tone finish of many late war sturmgewehr - so it might go that way.
The toughest part is going to be straightening the old receiver - and getting it to look good again - I see this one as a real case of bringing something back from the dead.
*Found a dead receiver donor for the rear sight mount - the rear sights themselves are coming from stg44.eu. I have now got all the parts - the conversion is being done professionally - so, the next post on this project will likely not be for some months, hopefully with pics from the range -
I agree. If left alone it will continue to get worse. While I try to keep it as close to issue. There are times when to save the gun you need to do some serious scrubbing.
Great bunch of firearm restoration on all of them great work done timothy
Just thought I would toss this product out there for my fellow Gun Nuts.
https://www.big45metalcleaner.com/Order/cart.asp
I have used this stuff for 20 years now. On everything from my Colt Python to the junker Mexican Mauser.
They have never hurt the blueing and remove rust like all get out.
Now they look mean but it is a great product. I order them in bulk and sell them at shows and also give some away.
They only time they seem to strip those painted finishes that you see on some of the Enfields. You can even cut a small chunk to run down the bores. But once you try it you will love the stuff.
I have started taking the Chinese Thompson apart and cleaning it. It is very crude.
So far, no maker marks have appeared. The state of the bolt that fixes the grip is just horrible.
Very cool, Nuno!
I recently did some light work on a Japanese blank fire training rifle (looks like a mix between a T38 and a T99). I'll post some photos here in the next few days.
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