1948 16ga

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:28 pm
Thanks to a member of the 16 ga forum site, I found a 1948 16ga that I can get some parts from for restoration of my 1949 and 1952 16ga's.

On the '49, bubba used a pair of pliers on the magazine nut. Flattened some of the knurling. On the 1952, the buttstock had been cut for a recoil pad. It was professionally done, but has been cut.

The 1948 is rough in some areas, good in others. The magazine nut is good and the buttstock is good. These parts will be swapped over and the corresponding ones put on the 1948.

Best of all, it is a modified choke barrel. And since it is not so pristine, I will not be afraid to use it in the rain. Eventually, I will get it reblued and it will end up being a nice gun in and of itself.

The absolute best part ? 150.00 plus shipping from Pa to Ohio and a 20.00 transfer fee, so maybe 200.00 total. The magazine nut was going to cost me 50.00 by itself for the correct period appropriate one.

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:05 pm
Not a bad deal, dr. I'm sure you'll enjoy your new field gun and get lot's of use and enjoyment from it for years to come.

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PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 11:16 am
Not a bad deal at all. Nice that you found one for that price.

Shame bubba didn't use the lever pin on the magazine cap.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:19 am
Awesome score!

I want this 16 in a local pawn shop, but I need it like a hole in the head. :lol:
Insert comical quip here.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:01 am
additionally, it was at a gunshop, so no one was taken advantage of by me buying it for that price
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:49 am
Well I received the gun. The people at the gunshop over in Pa were a little less than honest. What they described as a little rust is some fairly deep pitting. And the knurling on the barrel nut is not pristine like they said. The buttstock is ok though, and if it mates up well with the 1952 receiver, I will be able to refinish it and swap it over.

With that said, here is my plan. I am going to blast the gun and finish it off in a matte blue. I had thought about Duracoating it, but some of my higher end BPCR rifles have a super sweet matte finish on them. I am going to call the folks that I bought my rifles from and ask how to duplicate it.

Even though the pits will still be there, it will make a good hunting gun. All old Ithacas make good hunting guns.

The way they make the matte finish is to blast it and then hit it with a wire wheel. What I need to find out is what grade and type of blast media and what grade of wire wheel. It makes a really really pleasant matte finish.

I am even entertaining the idea of selling the barrel, as there is none to be found. Even the guy up in Canada only has 1 cut down barrel. Then gutting the receiver. I know where there is a post 855,000
stripped receiver for sale. I could swap the internals and put a late model barrel on the receiver and build myself another gun that way.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2013 5:51 pm
Here are some pics of the 1948. It was a bit misrepresented. Next time I won't simply take a gunstore's word that it is a little rusty, even if they are supposed to be an upstanding institution over in the Poconos of Pa, right in downtown Stroudsburg, Pa.

The left side of the receiver is how it came out of the box at the receiving FFL. Needless to say, I was a bit perturbed at Dunkleberger's. They also fibbed about the knurling on the magazine nut as I was going to swap it onto another gun I am restoring. I guess gunstore employees and used car salesmen go to the same school.

The only salvation is I only paid $150.00 for it. Plus the barrel to receiver threads are as tight as can be. The safety is tight, all indicative of not much use.

Regardless, as I said, I am salvaging it. I have got all but the very worst pits out. They are too deep. What little is left will not be visible under casual inspection and the bluing should hide it pretty well. The gun is cleaning up/polishing out nicely. The only place any of the pits will remain is at the back of the left side of the receiver.

It will be going next week to get blued. I have a friend who will blue the entire gun for me for $40.00 with it being all polished out. I decided to see how it would clean up polished instead of matte finished and so far, polished has turned out to be the way to go.

I bought some stripper and going to do the stocks. The mechanicals are good and tight, with the exception of the left hand shell stop spring, which we all know is a known Ithaca weakness.

I have bought new screws for the receiver.

The barrel is 28", modified and the barrel is ok inside.

After it is all polished out and the wood stripped, I will have new pics and of course will post the final result.

Too bad I don't have another 275.00 right now. The full choked 48 16ga at the local pawnshop is begging to be restored.

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:51 am
Looks like a good candidate for a bead blasted dull blue finish.
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 5:17 pm
Work is progressing. All the rust and corrosion is removed from the pits. I have an email out to a company that does lazer welding to see if it is cost effective to send it to them and have them fill the pits in.

I didn't take a picture of the barrel, it has sanded out and polished perfect, as did the trigger guard and other pieces.

If this works out and they don't want too much, I will send it to them. I am also going to check a couple other places out also.

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 5:49 pm
unless you can do the welding yourself its prob not gonna be coast effective.
the people welding will likely pad weld the area
then there will be the milling grinding and blending that will most likely show thru the final blueing.
pricey endeavor if you paying someone else
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 7:15 pm
I got the guesstimate back already! .

80.00 to 100.00. the company has a lazer welding machine that doesn't heat up the metal like regular welding does.

I also have access to a mill if need be.

even if there is a small bit of discoloration, it is still better than having the pits there. They are just too deep in a couple spots to sand out. One spot is about .008 below the surface.

I will keep everyone apprised. if this works out, it will be good for folks to know.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 2:54 pm
Back from being welded. Needless to say, as the below pictures testify, he does a really nice job. If I can find someone to touch up the engraving for a reasonable price, I will however, it is not as important to me as the pits being gone. The next set of pictures will be after I draw file it down and polish the weld flush. Then the final set will be after bluing is done.

Remember the first picture is what it looked like

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 10:02 am
I have been redoing the stock also. The inletting for the action typically gets oil soaked. Acetone, kitty litter, Citristrip mixed with kitty litter all have been used to suck the oil out of the wood. Acetone will not hurt the wood but will remove finish of course.

Here are some pictures. As you can see, the acetone does not damage the stock.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 9:00 am
It is hard to get a good photo with the glare. The line (discoloration) is a shadow. Overall I am pretty happy about this. There are a couple scratches and some small pits that I can't get out without some very aggressive sanding and some of the engraving was lost (as to be expected).

While it is definitely not a silk purse, no longer is it a sow's ear. The best part ?

I won't have to put a bag over my head with eye slits cut to hide my identity when I go hunting with this gun, nor will I have to be ashamed to lend it to someone.

Not bad for an old, half crippled guy, eh ?

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:35 am
Here are the pics. As you can see, there is a slight mismatch, however, from what it started as, to this point, it is now a pretty nice hunting gun.

I think this technique, especially if someone was going to color case harden an action, would really work to bring back one of the old timers, especially since there is no heat distortion from the lazer.

I still have to do the wood. Actually I am going to use this wood to restore a 1952 that I bought that had the buttstock cut for a recoil pad. I will get a repro stock for this gun as I want the '52 to be period correct.

The gun with the polychoke is the one I am fixing for my wife to hunt turkeys with. The barrel and buttstock LOP is exactly the same as the one I am assembling from the receiver I bought from Numrich and found the 24" VR barrel for.

I polished and had the barrel reblued on it. Eventually I will do the receiver and mag tube. (In a year or so, it is not critical at this point, I Ox-phoed it to touch up a couple bare spots that you can see as glare, but when you look at it directly, it appears blued)

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 2:41 pm
Restoration is looking good...!!

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:34 pm
It's looking mighty fine indeed!
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 8:06 am
That's a pretty good job on the receiver. when it is all said and done you might want to send the receiver out to be hot blued. That would blend in the repairs into a single smooth finish. What you have now is fine, but if you wanted to pretty it up, that would be the best way to go.
--Jim

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