Now what?

If it's surface rust, you might be able to get it off with Scotch-Brite pads and WD-40.

Was it in the white?

George

IMHO the redish brown color is not objectionable. keep it oiled down with a nylon or silk rag and put it back together.. roger

quote:

Originally posted by GeorgeS:
If it's surface rust, you might be able to get it off with Scotch-Brite pads and WD-40.

Was it in the white?

George

How about I boil it in a water tank and card off the surface.

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:
IMHO the redish brown color is not objectionable. keep it oiled down with a nylon or silk rag and put it back together.. roger

Once it gets dark enough gray/blue, I am going to try leaving the last application brown and card it without boiling it. I may even repeat that. I left the striker/extractor/safety as is because I didn't want to boil them. They have a very dark brown patina that I want to replicate.

I had to blue it due to the original patina getting removed in places when I restocked it and welded up the rear sight base holes.



Note the trigger guard, buttplate & rear portion of the barrel.

Came in late to this, but Rust Blue would have been my suggestion as well.

CLP and fine steel wool is the place to start. Brush the bore.

Once that’s done, you can assess the damage.

quote:

Originally posted by lockingblock:
CLP and fine steel wool is the place to start. Brush the bore.

Once that’s done, you can assess the damage.

The rust is intentional. It's a rust bluing job.

The bore is fine. It'shoots about as well as I can hold with iron sights.

What are you restocking it with?

quote:

Originally posted by Snellstrom:
What are you restocking it with?

Several years back, I was looking through the dimly lit "back room" of a local rural gun shop when I spied the unmistakable inletting profile of a Krag stock. It was a semi inletted Black Walnut Bishop stock in the 1970s style with a bit of nice figure in the butt. It had a Monte Carlo comb and cheek piece, and white line spacers on the buttplate and grip cap. It had some minor checks in the butt, but for $15, I snapped it up.

It had lots of extra material and when I laid the old stock over it, I saw that I could remove the pistol grip and comb to replicate the outline of the original "sporterized" military stock. A few quick passes on my belt sander and the offending parts were removed. The only evidence of the Monte Carlo shape was the last vestige of the hole for the grip cap screw which I filled with Accraglas.

I wanted to replicate the original circa 1920-1930 stock that was badly cracked and butchered when I "refinished" it in my late teens. Unlike most of the CMP style sporterized Krags of that era, this particular specimen no longer had the barrel band. It had a threaded lug dovetailed into the bottom of the barrel for a fore-end screw and the fore-end was done in a pseudo Schnabel tip.

The bad news is; I couldn't get the brown hue I was looking for by skipping the boiling step

The good news is; The blue came out pretty well. The blue isn't high gloss and it blends well with the rest of the unpolished metal work.

Since I wasn't going for a "brand new look", I avoided polishing parts that still had an even patina. The magazine door and all of the bolt parts except the bolt handle were left as is and rust blued over the existing patina.

Very nice looking refinish job.

George

Lovely rifle,very nicely finished and good shooting jc

Id like to own it, I have always liked the old Krag, its just neat!! I was going to tell you to cord it on a fine tooth wheel, and boil it as its in a fine stage of rust to rust blue or brown..oiled and corded would be a nice brown..I like Browned guns when its done right. All I see these days is browned muzzle loaders and the done improperly, A browned gun is a almost a blue gun with brown highlights and its plumb purty....

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Id like to own it, I have always liked the old Krag, its just neat!! I was going to tell you to cord it on a fine tooth wheel, and boil it as its in a fine stage of rust to rust blue or brown..oiled and corded would be a nice brown..I like Browned guns when its done right. All I see these days is browned muzzle loaders and the done improperly, A browned gun is a almost a blue gun with brown highlights and its plumb purty....

I tried carding it W/O boiling and could not get the color I wanted so I started boiling between cycles.

As nice as it turned out, you didn't do it
wrong that's for sure. Nice job.

George

Nope you done good! but I would work on that schanble it needs more shape and trim..not a hard job, get a savage 99 forend and copy it..If you ever want to sell it, please give me first shot at it. Id love to stick one of those old 220 gr. bullets with lots of lead exposed in an elk or even a deer..One day I will do just that..

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Nope you done good! but I would work on that schanble it needs more shape and trim..not a hard job, get a savage 99 forend and copy it..If you ever want to sell it, please give me first shot at it. Id love to stick one of those old 220 gr. bullets with lots of lead exposed in an elk or even a deer..One day I will do just that..

The schnable was done as it was to duplicate the original (1930s?)"sporterized" stock that was on the gun in 1958 when my Dad bought it.

The only deviation from the original sporterized rendition was the Pacific K-2 sight. I could not see the issue GI sights in any but the very best light conditions.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
If you ever want to sell it, please give me first shot at it. Id love to stick one of those old 220 gr. bullets with lots of lead exposed in an elk or even a deer..One day I will do just that..

I don't think my son would stand for me selling his Poppie's Krag. I wasn't even allowed to hunt with it when I first got it restocked until after he killed a buck with it.

Hey Wildcat junkie, Did you kill that nice buck with the 160 FXT load you show the target of?

quote:

Originally posted by Joe Dean:
Hey Wildcat junkie, Did you kill that nice buck with the 160 FXT load you show the target of?

Yep, but I have since gone to the "FTX" (FXT was incorrect on the target) for the 308 Marlin Express. The 30/30 bullet was too fragile. Hornady confirmed I was pushing it too fast. It disintegrated when it hit the neck vertebrae. Dropped him in his tracks, but that was at 120 paces. A close in shoulder hit might not have ended so well.

My Mv is right at 308 ME performance envelope. The longer 160 gr FTX 308 ME bullet seats deeper and actually pushed Mv up a bit from the load listed on the target.

30/30 160 gr FTX


308 Marlin Express 160 gr FTX

I have a Krag that I built into a "Scout" configuration. Forward mount scope,22" bbl.cut + crowned,took all the steel + wood weight down to nothing,then built a trigger w/ 0 overtravel + about 1 1/2 bs. pull wgt. Completely broke it apart + jeweled every internal surface.Did'nt spend much time on the exterior but the guts are Rolls Royce.It is on beyond slick. I use the 220 G. Sierras.

They have the slickest action of any bolt gun produced as far as I remember..love the old Krags when they have been sporterized..

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
They have the slickest action of any bolt gun produced as far as I remember..love the old Krags when they have been sporterized..

They have a distinct sound when someone is working the action in the woods near you. I remember my dad working the bolt while shooting a buck just to my left over a rise about 40yds from me on the opening day of the 1967 Pennsylvania deer season.

He made 2 ultimately fatal shots as the buck ran across a 50' opening from behind his left shoulder.

The action is so smooth and easy to work that when shooting from the bench. after opening the bolt with my right hand, I routinely catch the empty case in the same hand as it is ejected.

Mine being set up in the scout mode + that superior slick action took 3 deer out of my orchard in less time than it takes to write this.

I killed a big mule deer many many years ago and a nice bull elk, both with the 220 gr. bullet of one make or another?? Was my Uncles gun..It killed them pronto..

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Id like to own it, I have always liked the old Krag, its just neat!! I was going to tell you to cord it on a fine tooth wheel, and boil it as its in a fine stage of rust to rust blue or brown..oiled and corded would be a nice brown..I like Browned guns when its done right. All I see these days is browned muzzle loaders and the done improperly, A browned gun is a almost a blue gun with brown highlights and its plumb purty....

... and if it gets to the patina of that old garden-gate hold point or well-rubbed manhole cover, it might be plum purty.

Ray,when you get down here in visiting your son,you need to come by my shop.There is cold beer in the shop fridge.I would like you to see my Krag that looks rough on the outside but jewelled as a Swiss watch internally.Tooting my own horn,I used to do very good work when I could see better.

quote:

Originally posted by wildcat junkie:

quote:

Originally posted by lockingblock:
CLP and fine steel wool is the place to start. Brush the bore.

Once that’s done, you can assess the damage.

The rust is intentional. It's a rust bluing job.

The bore is fine. It'shoots about as well as I can hold with iron sights.

Very nice. What kind of express blue did you use?

quote:

Originally posted by Wstrnhuntr:

quote:

Originally posted by wildcat junkie:

quote:

Originally posted by lockingblock:
CLP and fine steel wool is the place to start. Brush the bore.

Once that’s done, you can assess the damage.

The rust is intentional. It's a rust bluing job.

The bore is fine. It'shoots about as well as I can hold with iron sights.

Very nice. What kind of express blue did you use?

Brownells "Classic Rust Blue".