refinished an old shotgun today

[justashooter 430]

i bought an ithaca 37 featherlight 12 a few weeks ago for 85 bucks at auction. some moron had chopped it to 22 and added a steel screw for a front sight, with lots of pink loctite. it had a nasty mottled brown patina, but nice straight grain walnut. so cheap i couldn't refuse.

this morning i said, hell, it could look a bit better in a few hours, so i stripped it down and threw it into the blast cabinet and parkerising tanks till the steel was a dandy near black. the wood got some linseed oil, and looks good as new. along the way i cut it down to 20" and added a brass bead. looks like a new gun, and throws 6 empty hulls at your feet as fast as you can stroke it. that's the thing about older 37's; no disconnector, so you just keep ahold of that trigger and rack 'em out the end of the tube.

been a few years since i had time to play with my toys, but i've gotten the upgrades around the house done and have a few months at option before school starts in january. should have time to whack out a few more subguns, and might even finish that ZB30 i started before i went to china.

good clean fun. it's America, hun.

[Ban Hammer 13,342]

sounds like fun

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

B4 and after pics would be nice if you have them. $85? I was thinking was it used in a crime or something? Some guyz have all the luck.

[justashooter 430]

B4 and after pics would be nice if you have them. $85? I was thinking was it used in a crime or something? Some guyz have all the luck.

i bought it at an auction, in a legitimate sale. in penna there are more guns than there are people, so cosmetics affect price significantly. when we get an FFL in the spring, i will be doing gunsmithing on the side, and plan on buying basket cases on the cheap and repairing/refinishing them for sale.

parkerising is a process that was developed in the 1920's and is standard military finish from 1930 to present in many countries. it is done by placing blasted steel in a manganese phosphate water bath at 185* F or so. it creates a micro pourus surface on steels that holds oil and grease better than any bluing or browning, and is also a good base for painted finishes, like british black stoving. it's easier to do than bluing, and very popular in the gunsmithing community.

years ago i began rebuilding milsurps of the cold war and built up quite a collection when parts kits were cheap. i used to build 4-5 guns a month, just for fun. then, living overseas, i had to drop the hobby, as well as the FFL. it's time to get back into the groove.

[Jasman0717 9]

i have a model 1894 Winchester 30-30 saddle rifle that I would love to refurbish but have no idea of how to do it. I was thinking of contacting Winchester to see if they can do it or maybe a local gunsmith.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Jasman0717

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

B4 and after pics would be nice if you have them. $85? I was thinking was it used in a crime or something? Some guyz have all the luck.

i bought it at an auction, in a legitimate sale.

That's not quite what I meant, I thought it came from a police auction. Still on the hunt for a .50 BMG full auto, that should be enough for those pesky squirrels don't ya think.

Edited November 20, 2009 by IR5FORMUMSIE

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Nice gun. My uncle hunted with one of those in PA back in the 60's.

[justashooter 430]

B4 and after pics would be nice if you have them. $85? I was thinking was it used in a crime or something? Some guyz have all the luck.

i bought it at an auction, in a legitimate sale.

That's not quite what I meant, I thought it came from a police auction. Still on the hunt for a .50 BMG full auto, that should be enough for those pesky squirrels don't ya think.

a ma deuce? that's overkill. i do have some 1919 in 8mm and 30 nato that do the trick, though.

jasman, if your gun is more than 50 years old the original finish is part of the value. a re-blue will reduce it's value, and should cost $250-400, depending on who does the job. i don't blue, but have done parkerising, black oxides, and other satin finishes of chemical nature. roy dunlap's Gunsmithing is the best sourcebook for recipies to date. my copy is 1953, IIRC.

parkerising and a 20" barrel is a factory combination for ithaca featherlights. we sent oodles of them to ARVN in the 60's. most 20" guns had the heat shield and bayo attachment, but some, like all of the 18" riot gun configuration we sent, were naked barrel.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

i bought an ithaca 37 featherlight 12 a few weeks ago for 85 bucks at auction. some moron had chopped it to 22 and added a steel screw for a front sight, with lots of pink loctite. it had a nasty mottled brown patina, but nice straight grain walnut. so cheap i couldn't refuse.

this morning i said, hell, it could look a bit better in a few hours, so i stripped it down and threw it into the blast cabinet and parkerising tanks till the steel was a dandy near black. the wood got some linseed oil, and looks good as new. along the way i cut it down to 20" and added a brass bead. looks like a new gun, and throws 6 empty hulls at your feet as fast as you can stroke it. that's the thing about older 37's; no disconnector, so you just keep ahold of that trigger and rack 'em out the end of the tube.

been a few years since i had time to play with my toys, but i've gotten the upgrades around the house done and have a few months at option before school starts in january. should have time to whack out a few more subguns, and might even finish that ZB30 i started before i went to china.

good clean fun. it's America, hun.

I have an Ithaca made in 1939 my Dad custom ordered with a 23" IC barrel and also the standard 26" Mod. barrel. 16 ga, back when the 16 guage actually had a smaller frame size. Great gun. Both barrels are serial numbered to the frame.

I still use Winchester M12s and a M42 for skeet shooting which makes me an odd duck (well, maybe that it isn't what makes me odd, but it IS odd) and I haven't found a better gun for skeet, though I tried the autos and O/Us. I had all of them stocked the same and weight the magazine tubes of the 28 and .410 for similar balance. Of course they all have Cutts Compensators with the "spreader tube" for skeet. I wouldn't use anything else and shoot AA class in all four gauges. I can break the doubles just as fast as anyone with an auto or O/U

The M37 is a keeper!

[Niels Bohr 72]

Tomorrow Headlines

justashooter from Texas have accidently shot himself because he cleaned his gun so well that he slipped and pulled the trigger.

Edited November 20, 2009 by Niels Bohr

[justashooter 430]

Tomorrow Headlines

justashooter from Texas have accidently shot himself because he cleaned his gun so well that he slipped and pulled the trigger.

this is what turns me off so much about most engineers. they have no social skills, whatsoever.

they can't just join a conversation without saying something stupid.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Didn't Engineers build the guns in the first place? The new ones anyway.

[justashooter 430]

Didn't Engineers build the guns in the first place? The new ones anyway.

the ithaca 37 is based upon a john moses browning design that was originally produced by remington as the models 10 and 29. JMB was not an engineer. he had less than a high school education, rather, a gift for visualisation of mechanical design. he could "dream" his designs in their entirety before putting ink to paper. he built his first gun at the age of 13 in his father's gunsmithing shop.

JMB was the most talented firearms designer in world history, and held over 125 patents for complete designs, including the first gas operated machine gun (1895 colt automatic "potato digger"), it's role successor, the 1919 GPMG, and it's big brother, the 50 caliber ma deuce. he is also credited with the "browning hi-power" (FN1935), the 1911 (US service pistol), the winchester 95 (first high velocity lever action), the "baby browning" (finest 22 autoloading rifle), to name a few. his first design was produced as the winchester 1885 "hi-wall" single shot, a design that is, like most of his designs, still in production today. JMB designs have been produced in conservatively estimated combined quantities of up to 185 million units.

the only other designer who even comes close was mr kalashnikov, who was also not an engineer, rather, a tank driver who had been conscripted into the russian army at the beginning of ww2. his single design has been produced in various countries in quantities exceeding 80 million. he was also fond of poetry writing, and published several books of poems. he has been awarded an advanced degree in technical design by the russian state, though not thru studies.

engineers, in my experience, are not capable of designing anything. they don't know how to dream.

[Niels Bohr 72]

I highly doubt that. Probably jealous we can build lots of things.

[justashooter 430]

I highly doubt that. Probably jealous we can build lots of things.

you have documentable examples of the world's premier firearms designers before you, and still you deny?

i've been a mechanic, and an engineer. in january i begin nursing school, with the intent of becoming a nurse practitioner. as a mechanic, i design/built many different kinds of things. as an engineer i evaluated product. as a nurse/practitioner i will evaluate and design remediation.

i have no jealousy for designers, having been one. i am no JMB, but have designed my own functional autoloading firearms, and have several working models. they are usually built from existing components i have scavenged over the years, as my manufacturing capabilities are limited to a 4 foot lathe and smaller shop tools. many components used are unique, and everything i have built is functional. i have a bit of JMB's ability to visualise in a "waking dream". do i have a full understanding of critical fracture stress analysis? no, but i understand enuf about material property to make a design work.

what have you designed and built from concept?