So, RVW's thread really got me going. I love the ole Ithaca Model 37 shotguns. They're very inexpensive and I've been fortunate to pick a few here and there. The one in the pics below is a 1940 vintage 12ga that has had a pretty rough first 71-years ...I was able to get for a song. At this point I'm extremely optimistic and am thinking I'm going to try my hand at rust bluing. So far the metal is looking great. There was quite a bit of rust on the chamber end of the barrel (more than what is seen on the receiver) and after a few rub-downs with Naval Jelly there is only a tiny bit of pitting and it is all cleaning up very well (the part that looks stainless). The barrel is a factory MOD choke and the bore is just about perfect say for some pretty significant pitting about a half inch in on the snout end and some kind of dent on the inside of the bore about two inches back form the muzzle. The wood on the forend looks alright, but the butt stock is cracked and chipped very badly. thinking I'm going to need a "new"one.

Gettin the barrel cleaned up.



The first 71-years have not been nice to this gun...

You definitely have your work cut out for you...but it's gonna be worth it in the end !!

I'll be watching your progress...good luck !

All taken apart. Have all the small parts soaking in Hoppe’s No. 9 in the little pill bottle.



Inside of the receiver is not all that bad.



Trigger pack is a different story altogether, filthy.



SN: 247xx

All slathered up with Naval Jelly. Workin on the "third coat" here. Almost all the rust and finish (bluing) is gone at this point, theres a little bit left and I'm hoping this will pretty much be it for the receiver/magazine tube. I'll need to do this to some of the smaller pieces too then start in with the wet/dry sandpaper. I really want to keep the buffing/polishing to a bare minimum as I don't want to round any corners etc.

Lookin good ch139...!!

That'll buff out.

Looking good! I am excited to see it come together.

Hey, making progress! I have a couple of questions for you. Does your stock have the serial number stamped in, like mine does? I was thinking that maybe they quit doing that once they got to five digit serial numbers because they'd run out of room in that stock/receiver mating area. There's not much meat in those surfaces.

Also, my stock has a very hollowed out interior back of the receiver bolt; the sides of the butt stock are only about 3/8" thick in that area and I'm wondering if yours is that way too? I saw a later model 37 and the butt stock was not hollowed out, but was solid with just a long channel drilled to allow access to the receiver bolt. They must have changed that feature at some later date. I suppose the hollow was intended to reduce weight and/or adjust the balance point of the gun (mine weighs just 6 lbs., 4 oz.). Here's a link to a video showing the later, solid butt stock:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WLqW-Zbv51I#t=208s

Yeah, your trigger group looks greasy! I put all my interior action parts into a jar of acetone while I was stripping and sanding the parts to be blued. That dissolved all the oil & dirt so everything was nice and clean by the time I had to handle them again. I found the 24 oz. mustard jars like in the picture below, or Ball jars, to come in handy for that sort of thing; anything sealable with a wide mouth. In the picture I have steel wool soaking in acetone, so it's always de-greased and ready.

Not sure about the stock, but will check. I do know it was cut down... way down.

Do you use acetone to degrease everything? I was thinking brake cleaner.

ch139 wrote:Not sure about the stock, but will check. I do know it was cut down... way down.

Do you use acetone to degrease everything? I was thinking brake cleaner.

I used spray brake cleaner on my test pieces and it worked fine, but I had a gallon of acetone and it worked just as well; plus it was a lot cheaper and I could just pour it in jars, like in the picture, to soak stuff. Alcohol and dishwashing detergent work too. If in doubt, I would wash in detergent and hot water, rinse, and wipe down with a clean, acetone soaked rag. Maybe I overdid it, but I was spooked by everything I'd read about the importance of degreasing.

Here's a picture showing the "hollow" butt stock:



You can see it's a lot larger opening than the one in that video.