1903 Pocket Hammerless Overhaul 

Awesome work man, can't wait to see the finished Luger.

good job, brother, and it's a cool gun especially when you think how old it was

That steel was something else man, I got one of these with the leaf spring covered in rust, I soaked the small parts in solvent and it runs like a champ, but I have a feeling that it would run the same regardless

One little point of clarification: my 1903 doesn't chamber a round when the slide is dropped from the hold open notch. I think the slide has to be pulled back and released to strip a round from the mag!

Since work again...looking forward to that Luger!

I would not have used acid (vinegar). All acids including vinegar pit the metal. True bluing is a form of rust. Simply boiling the gun in water for 10 minutes will lift off the oil, the dirt, convert any actual rust to ferric oxide and in my experience also make some of the early Colt bluings simply vanish. Shake the parts off and because they are hot most of them will quickly dry while you watch. Card what needs carding. Likewise the Colt 1903 (and similar old 1911) leafed mainspring doesn't like acids, heat over 220F, or metal solvents like Hoppes. Bluing, if an actual bluing that survived the boiling in water and carding, does not need to be removed. Simply blue on top of any existing bluing and card. Q-Tips, although much smaller are cheaper than swabbies. Good video. LoL to skipping over reassembly of the 1903 internals. Some of it can be a pain. After placing the trigger and mainspring I usually put the magazine in to keep certain parts from spinning around during reassembly.

Sorry but that was not the worlds ugliest Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless. My first complete gun cold blue job was on the ugliest 1903 that my late Grandmother "Mexican Carried" most of her adult life. 6 years ago one of my uncles, who still has it, gave me the pleasure of going thru it completely and replacing all the springs with a Wolff spring kit. I had to wonder if Granny ever had the gun apart completely because I had to boil it 3 times to get all the gunk out of it before the cold blue. 95% of the finish was gone and over half the markings were wore off of it. Lots of pitting but it still fires perfectly. Keep up these great videos, Thanks.

I'd love to send you my 1903 that's in bad shape to have you work on it.

Accubeam in Florida does some great deep laser engraving to restore the pony logo or type.

Very interesting video I enjoyed watching it learned a little something about blueing a firearm

That was a wonderful video. I'm always intrigued now metal properties not only stand up to time but two different finishes. You really breathe new life into that firearm!

Would have turned out better with a high polish like the factory, but great work for a home gunsmith

Great job - cant wait to shoot it.

you think Luger is ugly? send it to me, i love the Luger

Great job! How did you learn to do this work? Not sure I would trust to do it myself, but I enjoy the videos.

I just checked and if I read the serial number right that colt was made in 1912. You would look a little rough if you were that old. I have one made in 1924 that I conceal carry from time to time.

good video of your forearm

How do you deal with the rusting of the interior of the parts? All the attention is on applying the bluing solution, boiling, carding, but aren't the interior, bare metal areas rusting all the while?

I have 1903 to put together, basically the frame parts, all I was watching, you cleaning and blue parts,

I would not have re blued an 05.... You lose all collector value and a old gun in the white is quite cool...

Nice work.

I am hearing that in the 1920s colt attempted to make the gun more drop safe by shortening the firing pin, putting a half cock notch in the hammer, and changing the sear. Is that info correct?

What happened to the Luger?