On the other forum we are discussing the subject of gunsmiths who understand classic custom rifles and will work on them. I am going to use the pictured rifle as a starting point. The bolt on this rifle was bent, the stock and the action were cut out for the bent bolt. The stock was NOT refinished, only the replaced wood was. Would any of you take on this kind of work and what would you charge for it? Not a dollar amount just a estimate of hours would be fine.

I am not seeing where the stock and action were cut for the bolt. Am I missing something?

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Kobe:
I am not seeing where the stock and action were cut for the bolt. Am I missing something?
Jim

Those two areas have already been repaired in the photo.

And I believe a new bolt was used to replace the previously modified one.

Well...my hat's off to the guy who did this. I see the horizontal seam..but this is first class workmanship

I'd quote the guy a T&M job
I don't think I could quote a flat rate for that. and it's a Krag

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe:
Well...my hat's off to the guy who did this. I see the horizontal seam..but this is first class workmanship

If your talking about the horizontal line about 1/2" down from the top and 1/2" long that's not it.
I have had many people asking me about restoration work and who to send it to, that's the reason for this thread. I need to find more folks who will take on this work.

Looks like its just to the right of the checkering, the textured area made to look like wood grain, where the rest of the finish is smooth?
Bob

I used this example because the mounting of scopes on classic iron sighted rifles seems to be the number one thing that has been done to these older classic rifles.

Here is a link to a franchise company that does a lot of filling/patching and faux graining/stain matching on antique and fine furniture. They have a link at the top to find technicians across the country. I went through a 2 day training course with them about 14 years ago and they really do nice work similar to what you show. However its all dependent on the person doing it so results may vary. Maybe you could "train" one to do gunstock work. There is one in Anchorage and two in Seattle.

http://www.furnituremedic.com/

If I did it(without seeing what it originally looked like), I would budget 2 hours to have the tang Tig'd and cleanup/polish. Then a half hour to touch-up the park/blue properly(not with cold blue). For the stock, I'd epoxy a filler plug in the bolt notch leaving it about 3-5mm shy of flush. Then fill with acrylic wood filler tinted base color with acrylic art color. Next I'd sand it down level and faux grain for texture, followed by color. Let it dry for a day and seal with airbrushed satin auto lacquer. Finally top it with BLO or whatever I figure the stock was finished with. Let cure, and rub out to match rest of finish. For that I'd figure about 4 hours. Alternatively, I would find a piece of walnut and patch it, but you would be looking at nearly double the time.

I have looked at Michael's rifle in person and unless the light is just right, and you know there was a repair and are looking, it is difficult to find. You could own and use this rifle for years and not know that there ever was a repair.

I am sure there are a number of other stock makers and wood workers capable of doing this quality of work. The craftsman who did this work has done other amazing jobs on Michael's rifles. As a gunbuilder he ranks as one of the best in the world.

Phil, Thanks for the comments.
Pre-war classic sporting rifles are enjoying a lot of attention these days. Years ago a person who had an interest in them could pick and choose. With the limited supply today many of us are now turning to rifles that need some conservation or restoration. I have had a lot of folks ask for a recommendation of who they should send a rifle to for work. I hope that more craftsmen will take on this kind of work so I’m kind of feeling out the waters with this post.

I have a pre war G&H 1903 that had untouched, mint condition wood, but metal that had either been hot blued or the rust blueing was badly worn.

I had Dave Norin refinish the metal and he did a wonderful job using period correct finishes for the various components including the Lyman 48 sight.

In my opinion his work added very substantially to the value and appeal of this rifle.

I'll try to get some good pics up soon.

Forrest

I never post anymore, but seeing this picture makes me say, "Damn!" This mystery smith is very talented and worth whatever he charges. This repair is definitely over my head. Do you have a "before" pic by any chance?

OH, as far as the surge in intrest in pre-war American makers and having the prices soar, I wonder what got the ball rolling to got our intrest up? I seem to recall a series of articles...

what brand wood fillers are recommended for this type of application?

If I did the wood repair I'd start the repair under the sight and run it back into the checkering where the seam line could be well disguised. It's very difficult to hide a seam where the wood splice is end grain to end grain, hence putting the splice line in the checkering. Then I'd just have to hide the horizontal seam which runs with the grain. Is there a little "darkening" along the splice line?

That would be a few day's work minimum (letting finishes dry and such) but I think about 5 to 10 hours charge depending on exactly what the customer wants. If the bolt handle was to be re-blued then add a bit more time for that.
But this is way above my skills as a wood worker to accomplish.
That smith had to have a good selection of scrap pieces of wood laying around to be able to match the grain and color as close as possible.

Marc, good to hear from you. Sorry I had a hard drive loss about six months ago and lost a lot of pictures. The before picture looked like any of these modern conversions, the wood and action both notched out for the bent bolt handle.

Forrest, Pictures...Pictures ;-) do I have the number of your G&H in my database?

quote:

Originally posted by Chisana:
I have a pre war G&H 1903 that had untouched, mint condition wood, but metal that had either been hot blued or the rust blueing was badly worn.

I had Dave Norin refinish the metal and he did a wonderful job using period correct finishes for the various components including the Lyman 48 sight.

In my opinion his work added very substantially to the value and appeal of this rifle.

I'll try to get some good pics up soon.

Forrest

Hi Forrest,
Dave Norin is a name I hear frequently with regard to period metal finishing. His stock work is getting very good as well. I may have to give hima try.

John

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Petrov:

Forrest, Pictures...Pictures ;-) do I have the number of your G&H in my database?

Michael, I believe you do, but I'll make sure and get it to you and post some pics. I'm off tomorrow and will try to take some decent shots then.

Forrest

quote:

Originally posted by gasgunner:

quote:

Originally posted by Chisana:
I have a pre war G&H 1903 that had untouched, mint condition wood, but metal that had either been hot blued or the rust blueing was badly worn.

I had Dave Norin refinish the metal and he did a wonderful job using period correct finishes for the various components including the Lyman 48 sight.

In my opinion his work added very substantially to the value and appeal of this rifle.

I'll try to get some good pics up soon.

Forrest

Hi Forrest,
Dave Norin is a name I hear frequently with regard to period metal finishing. His stock work is getting very good as well. I may have to give hima try.

John

Hi John,

Great to hear from you. Dave was prepared to handle the metal work and is well versed in the various finishes used in the prewar era. He was very professional to work with. I would use him again. I believe that Pete Mazur does excellent work of this type as well, but it may be hard to get on his list unless you have a very interesting project.

Forrest