Allrighty, the next project I want to try is a model 1898 springfield 30-40 krag. This gun was used by my dad to shoot the few deer he has ever shot. It certainly has not had any care in those years. Most of you guys know the history of the krag better than I, but for those of you who don't know, these guns were sportarized after the war. Barrels were shotened and they put the "hunting" stocks on them. Here is what it looks like now.








 
Stock in really not in good shape! Not to sure if some of the wood rotted or not, but I will be able to tell more once I get the stain out, or as much as I can. Stock has a real "greasy" feel. Don't believe it was ever coated with anything. I will start the stock first and move onto the blueing after. I have ordered some blue and rust remover to see just how well it works. If it is not doing what I want, I will take it to my buddy and have it bead blasted with ammonium oxide to really open up the pores on the steel. I am hoping I can do this all at "home", but time will tell. I would like to make a "new" stock for it, but a one piece stock seems like quite a project and way out of "reach" for me. I can see now though that this project will take a little time and some elbow grease. More to come! God bless.

The "greasy" feel of the stock may be due to it being the original military stock that was re-shaped. That was common practice.

As for a new one, check out "Great American Gunstocks". Henry has pre-inlet blanks for just about every military rifle ever made. I don't know for sure, but I would be very surprised if he didn't have a pattern for .30-40 Krags.  If you get a 'plain' piece of wood, it should be less than $100.

"Naval Jelly" is an excellent rust and blue remover, and cheap as well.

Looking forward to seeing the progress.

Paul

David, keep us all posted on this one.
I like the idea of doing up "old" rifles. Especially ex-mil rifles that are given a new life.

Rick has a thread on refinishing stocks, it's a good read.

Try here for Krag stocks.
http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/Replacement-Stocks-for-US-KRAG-s/121.htm

hornet,
  I have read Ricks thread, in fact I have the steps saved on my computer and used to do an old 20ga a couple weeks ago.
I have looked at both links at "new" gunstocks and could not find a krag stock on the site Paul sent and did find one on the "bodygunstocks" but it surely was not the same and indicated there would be a lot of "fitting" to do. I believe I will make a go with the old stock. I put the acetone to it today and it is a little lighter. since I will be using walnut stain, I see no need to get ligher. I will hopefully start sanding in the next few days. Got some house projects that will take priority first.
As far as the barrel, I ordered some blue and rust remover from brownells and did not think it worked to good, to say the least. I would not spend money on it again. The barrel is not in bad condition but it would take a lot of "elbow grease" to get it down to the steel like it should be. I don't think it would be feasable to do. once I got one area down to the steel it would probably oxidize before I got the barrel finished. I have talked to my brother and he is going to take it to work and bead blast as they allow their employees to use the machine at will. It will actually get hit with steel for a good 5 minutes. the day he does that I will have to start the blueing process so the barrel does not oxidize and rust! this will take awhile. To get my desired finish I will probably have to do it at least 3 times, but we will see. will try and get some pictures up as it goes. I can see this will not happen overnight. God Bless.

David,

You'll have to call Great American Gunstocks and talk to Henry. They don't put every stock they have on the site.

Naval Jelly works. Also, unless you've got some really strange things happening in Maine, I wouldn't be so worried about immediate oxidation. I have a K-98 take-off barrel that I took down to virgin metal about 5 years ago, and it's still as pristine as the day I did it. While you might not get away with that long, I'm sure it would be weeks before you would have any noticeable oxidation. And I live within sight of the ocean.

Paul

That should come up nicely David. We don't see many Krags Down Under, and I do like the 30-40 Krag caliber, its like a 303 but in 30 cal which you have so many more projectiles for loading. I'd like to have a SMLE in 30-40 Krag. I did see one for sale, it was a long lee sporter but it was $900. Too much money for a SMLE.

Quoteyou've got some really strange things happening in Maine, I wouldn't be so worried about immediate oxidation

I will take that into consideration. I have a friend who has a bead blast machine and he "told" me that he has seen oxidation within the first 24 hours after blasting. I guess we will see! God Bless.

David, this looks like a good project for you. The stock defnitely is a replacement. Could be a Griffin & Howe from years gone by. They converted lots of military rifles like this. I wouldn't worry about oxidation of the metal too much after it's stripped. You can coat it with oil after bead blasting. One of the causes of quick oxidation is rust already in the grit because it's been used to remove rust before. After stripping just don't leave it in the laundry room. Another fast blue & rust remover that does a good job is Sweets bore cleaner. Be sure you oil the metal soon after using Sweets tho  or it WILL rust quickly. Sweets bore cleaner is POISON. Don't leave it where children can get to it. ..........Tape off the checkering before you sand the wood. You can recut the checkering AFTER the stock is finished. A set of Dem Bart checkering tools isn't very expensive & if properly cared for will last a long time. If you're not inclined to buy a set, I'll loan you a set. ....Good luck.   ......Paul H

QuoteTape off the checkering before you sand the wood.

read this today and finished sanding last night! I totally forgot to tape off the checkering, but a lot of it is still there. I am assuming that with the proper tool that you mention Paul, I may be able to restore it. Good thing was that most of the stain is gone there! bad news is, some of the checkering is a little thin. I was almost inclined to sand it all out but I did not since the stain was mostly gone. I certainly would take the loan on the checkering tools if you are still inclined to loan them;). all of the lines around the checkering are still there and this may be good practice for me. I can always sand it out if it doesn not work out (I think). Now just to be clear, you are talking about fixing up the checkering after I have the stock all done?
Here was the stock after sanding number one:


 
here it is with the final sanding

 
Now, deciding which stain has me in a quandry. I really like walnut, but all my guns are either black, or walnut, well, one is camo:greentongue:. Which stain do you guys like, remember, it is your right to vote!

I think the golden oak looks sweet, but interested in what your opinions are. God bless.

If the stock is walnut, I would do the "natural". It will darken. If the original isn't walnut, I would use walnut. Walnut is the "right" color for a gun stock. :)

Paul

David, the stock should be completely finished before checkering. Obviously, the lines are still visible enough to see well. I would do the border first with a single line cutter. It doesn't have to be completely cut to finished depth. This will aid in seeing where to stop with the checkering lines. Actually, it is best to stop short of the border lines till you have everything else done. You can then go back & finish to the border. That's to be decided by you. ......The first thing is to determine how many lines to the inch in the original checkering. I only have cutter heads for 16 & 20 lines per inch. I would guess it's 16 LPI because that's what most average checkering is. Sixteen LPI is better in soft or open grained wood. ....It would be much better for both of us if you would PM me your phone number & the best time to call you. .......Paul H

Quote from: gitano;109398If the stock is walnut, I would do the "natural". It will darken. If the original isn't walnut, I would use walnut. Walnut is the "right" color for a gun stock. :)
 
Paul

What he said
 
However it is YOUR stock

Quote from: Alboy;109406However it is YOUR stock

What he said.

Paul

QuotePM me your phone number & the best time to call you.

PM is sent my friend!

QuoteIf the original isn't walnut, I would use walnut. Walnut is the "right" color for a gun stock. :)

I believe I agree with that. I had my wife look at  the different stains and it was going to be either walnut or golden oak, but I believe the walnut is better with the black barrel. SO, walnut it is. Let the staining begin!!!!!!!!! God bless.

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Very cool, David. I can't wait to hear how she shoots. I need to obtain a project gun myself to play with.