I purchased this rifle from a friend's parents estate. The story behind it is that her father had been a very good machinist and gunsmith, and had replace the barrel, then would carry the rifle in a scabbard attached to his Indian motorcycle. That explains the various burn marks on the buttstock - the scabbard is also burnt from sitting next to the exhaust pipes!
So, the first thing was to take everything apart and strip the old, bubbled finish off. The barrel had already been replaced, so there was no point in trying to keep the patina. Plus, it was just ugly. I was able to keep a lot of the original flavor, the largest burn mark on the bottom of the stock is still noticeable along with some scratches an marks.
I really didn't have to work hard at removing what was left of the original finish, it cleaned up quickly. I also re-blued the metal and insured the action was still in good condition. It is a beast of a lever action, built like a tank! It is strong and takes a firm hand to work it smoothly.
I loved working on this project. This one is what Stagecoach Gunsmith is all about!
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