Does anybody know how the metal was finished on original 1874 rifles? I presume they were probably rust blued?

Yes.

Thanks. Have you ever rust blued over the top of hot caustic blueing, or must all traces of the old blue be removed?

I have not tried it. But it should work, as blued steel will certainly rust. Bobster will know.

I wouldn't rust blue over caustic blue. I would polish and etch the metal with a fine wire wheel for rust blue in most cases. but an original sharps?? Hmmmm, might be wise to just leave it as is, original!!

I wish it were original. Unfortunately my dad had it reblued in in 1950s when it was just a rusty old rifle. I'm hoping to restore it closer to original than the glossy hot blue it currently wears...

Send the frame, block, and lever to turnbull for color case hardening and polish the barrel flats correctly and rust blue it; I assume that they were rounded over back in the 50s.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Send the frame, block, and lever to turnbull for color case hardening and polish the barrel flats correctly and rust blue it; I assume that they were rounded over back in the 50s.

I would love to do that! Hmmm... what to use for an action wrench though? Actually the barrel flats are pretty good, decent crisp edges.
Also, as cool as it looks on the repros, is that original?

Yes, the flats and edges should be crisp.
Action wrench? Use a wrench on the front flats of the frame; pad them with aluminum. They aren't on that tight. ly. Do not twist on the thin receiver walls.
Or send it to me.

It sounds like this barrel will need to have the flats re-shaped, but the answer is yes, you can blue over caustic. It is the same black oxide formed by rust blueing. After two passes the textures will all blend. I do this frequently on guns with spotty wear. The new and old meld together and are undetectable. That is one of the beauties of rust blueing. You can perpetually touch up and not tell it. Much like a good oil finish on wood. Although I am intrigued by these folks using cyanoacrylates for wood finishing.

Bob
www.rustblue.com

Thanks Bobster.

Just curious, why do two of you think the flats need to be redone on a rifle you've never seen?

Really, they are fine as is...

Not I; you already said the flats were, flat and crisp.