just finished restoration of a Stevens Crack shot 26 that had been treated poorly. It took everything from rust conversion to silver brazing with some rust bluing and stock repair thrown in. I want to thank Mark for showing me what good work looks like. I'm sure this project would not have come out so well without all the wisdom he has shared with us.
Small world! I’ve also got a Crackshot 26 that I “saved” with knowledge from Mark. Sounds like mine was in better shape than yours, I just needed a basic conservation - no more of that brown “patina”. My grandma learned to shoot with it, nicknamed the “rat rod” in reference to the targets of choice at the local dump about a century ago.
This channel has been extremely valuable. I was able to fix a duffle cut on a Type 38 Arisaka that had the full mum. That motivation for me to pick up the tools and to make that repair came from this channel.
Loved this, watching Mark work on unicorns is great, but that's not how the rest of us can acquire the skills needed to keep these things running long into the future. I learned what I know by resurrecting basket-cases that weren't worth the time and money I put into them, but the experience gained is priceless!
There is a Turkish Mauser in my safe right now, that whilst old and tired, is clean, rust free, and safe to shoot, thanks to your videos mate. You're doing the Lord's work.
One more point. Because of you, I have set up part of my basement to do nothing but gun conversions. I've done 25 or 30 and I have many more lined up to do. It's amazing how many "gun men" have never heard of rust conversion and maintenance.
Thank you so much Mark. If you ever feel some tasks in your videos seem redundant, they are not. For your aspiring gunsmith subs, it is priceless knowledge
You can't afford to pay a pro, but if its your gun , its value is worth you doing it! Experience, and practice has its own reward. And you eventually will get good and preserve for a long time another good gun.
I loved the model 12 reference since my first shotgun was one, got it for my 13th birthday, I passed it along to a young lad about 20 years ago and he still shoots it to this day.
I did the same repair and conservation procedure on my fathers identical J. C. Higgins 12 gauge last month. Have another one to due in the near future! Great guns! They will reach out and bust a birds ass at an unbelievable distance!
Bought a Mauser 1910/14 a while back, made in 1918. Looked really nice on the outside but when oiling/cleaning the insides, the towel came back brown/red... Took it apart, cleaned it, boiled it, gave it the steel wool treatment and replaced some springs with a wolff kit. Shoots really well now! Thank you Mark for the knowledge. I am doing my part! Cheers from Switzerland
The funniest thing is I lost a bolt handle that was brazed onto a Glenfield Mod 20 and was hoping to see how bad it would be to braze it back on (I'm a welder so that's what I'm used to rather than brazing), this definitely gives me a good estimate! Thank you very much! Thank you as well for another great video! I've always been interested in guns and love finding out how they work and things like that. My biggest annoyance are guns similar to the Winchester 77 and the Rossi Puma carbine that I've had the privilege to look at and clean only to find out that I don't have the tooling to give it a proper cleaning! Usually stupid things like not having the right size punches and such. Still, thank you so much for continuing to spread your knowledge and instill in the next generation, like myself, to be patient but to maintain what we have.
No cigar in this video Mark!! 😂 Because of your generous tenacity and wisdom and all around skills i was able to do a conservation of my 1944 Ithaca 1911 that belonged to an Army B-17 pilot. Appon taking it apart i found rubber inlays from aircraft windows or vehicles soldiers used for sweetheart grips! The internals had to be changed because the gun wouldn't safely eject as the recoil spring was week and the extractor was buggered up!! Lol. I went to a military armory and got original internal parts all springs disconnector and sear and a forged guiderod. I boiled the frame and slide then soaked it in Varsol blew her out and oiled. Finally i was lucky to find a not used left grip panel that matched up exactly. The original saw better days although it was usable. Wish i could show you a picture! Can't wait for you to do that 1911! I see it's an original Colt from the two-tone magazine. This was my first build btw 😅
I don’t buy new in box guns. I take everyone of them down as far as they need to be and I DO THE MAITENANCE! Many of my favorites are old top break revolvers and WWII milsurps. I really love them all. I think my next obsession is going to be gallery guns and Eastern Block Cold War pistols. Love the videos. They have taken me to the next level.
I have about $250 and maybe 20+ hours invested in an old Stevens bolt action .22..... Why? Because I wanted to. It was a rusty barreled receiver when I got it and now after a parts kit and a lot of work it looks as good as new. I'll never get that money back out of it, but that wasn't the point. It's going to be my daughters first rifle one day and hopefully worth more than just money to her
I appreciate ya highligthing the often forgotten department store soecials and the like. They may not always be that fancy, or that high a pedigree. But they are an aproacable history. What put food on the table each fall, or what was trusted by the doorway for 3 decades, or what kept the rats out of the chicken coop, are still worth remembering fondly and preserving
Another gunsmith taught me to use a pencil before silver-soldering, the way you did the scribe but marking all over that piece of barrel. It mostly prevented the silver solder from sticking and made the cleanup much easier.
Thank you... for the videos, and for the motivation to do better. I've got an 1897 Winchester sitting in the corner calling my name and rightfully expecting a little TLC thanks to you.
Brought back to life a W. C. Higgins .22 Click-Clack rifle made in the mid to late 40s. Rifle had no real intrinsic value, but it was a friend's grandfather item. It also has a "cool" factor in that it is a bolt-action / semi-auto rifle. Let that sink in...
Thanks to watching you I restored that M LE16 French Berthier in 8mm Lebel. Took a lot of hand work with a broken thumb, but she looks great and shoots straight. Thanks for everything Mark. God bless.
I had 2 teachers in my life that you remind me of, and both made a profound impact on my dealings in life. I wish I could have had you as well. I guess through RU-vid, in a way, I do. Thank you for your time and the production of these videos!
Neat! I got one of these Higgins guns. Seeing that on your bench made me smile. I'm active in my pursuit. To find old, odd, and otherwise rusted, busted cast off pieces. To see how they work. While gaining the experience and appreciation of the once bustling industry. That was American gun making. Thanks a ton Mark. You've shown us so much. 'preciate yall
I gotta say, I dont own any old guns, but if I did, I'd be doing the maintenance. To be fair, I maintain my new stuff probably more than most people. Either way, it's a pleasure to watch a master work, as always. Thanks fellas.
Love your videos! I started with a Savage 24 (.410 and .22 mag) in a real bad way due to neglect, conserved it and later sold it to a guy WHO HAD TO OWN IT. It's a spiritual thing, what we do for rusty steel and grungy wood!
Your inspiration and work that you do pushed me to decide to overhaul my Enfield Model 1917. It was re-barreled with a 2-groove and parkerized (unfortunately). Found some rust scale inside internal magazine that got parkerized over. That was one tedious clean up of chipping, Dremel work, removing slush and then re-bluing. It did turn out to be an outstanding rifle!
Just seeing this love to see you are getting work. Love watching you work brother. Keep up what your doing. In another life I wish I could work with you. So much knowledge. Thank you
Mark Novak gets work, and I bet he has to turn people away who *want it now!* The Anvil series gets his name out there in front of John Q. Public better than any business card or billboard AND for no costs except time and effort.
This is the first time I have seen another one of the J.C. Higgins bolt action shotgun. I own one of these, it came from my grandpa, and the front end of the barrel was a pitted mess. Here is a feature that mine has that you might want to test out. Put a round in the chamber, safety off, and bump the butt on the ground. It doesn't take too hard of a bump for mine to go off. And yes, for some reason this bolt action kicks. Not something you give to a first time shooter. Great video on it though. Wish mine looked that good.
The only patina I like is on old Chevys. I'll admit, I've left an old pitted on the outside, amazing bore on the inside, 22lr with a coat of tung oil to keep it from getting worse. Thanks for the content, guys. It's always nice to see new videos when you put them out. 🤙🏾
Heck yeah! I have a Mossberg 195ka 12g bolt action with 2rd box magazine. I'm building 2 extended magazines for it just for giggles. 1 is standard 12g and the other for Shorty shells.
I’ve noticed there is a reluctance of preservation in militaria collectibles in general. Especially something so simple as leather preservation (the use of Lexol) which is far easier than proper gun maintenance and preservation. The leather items are skin and need preservation and moisture to survive indefinitely if properly looked after but instead just dry out and degrade away into dust and crack because of this fear losing its patina. I guess they’d rather lose the entire item to keep it original. 🤷🏻♂️ Like you say they’re not making anymore of them and it’s only original once.
Fun fact about the Ithaca M37. It is a shotgun that the trigger can be held down and shuck shells. The trigger does not have to be depressed in order for the gun to fire.
I inherited my grandpa's JC Higgins model 20-12 gauge, it just needs to be reblued and the trigger guard is bent in towards the trigger. Other than that it works great.😁
I normally don't have any suggestions your great ! however doing refrigeration for 40 years id say refrigeration silver solder would have been a better choice , i also cut my teeth in the 70s doing bodywork back when we still fabricated and brazed in patches , I've learned a lot from your programs, thanks for sharing your knowledge
@billtheunjust it's not pre fluxed , it's thinner & stronger & can be applied far more precisely than brazing rod , it's not the stuff you buy at a home center, you have to get it from a refrigeration supply/ high silver content .
I knew about rust bluing since iwas about 7 yo i did a Brazil 1917 years ago..i did not know about hot soft water so that turned out plumb brown i finally did a rifle from a friend that passed, that was a nice black..thanks i finally got it
A friend invited me to look at a few old guns that he had gotten from his late uncle. He has them in a wooden wardrobe in a spare room. I was sad to see the condition of the guns with a layer of fine rust on all of them. Most were in a state of disrepair and some missing parts and a couple of broken stocks. Enough to keep you in videos for a month. A simple oil rag and a few minutes of time could have saved them some time ago.
I think I have the JC Higgins 583.17 shotgun. It is just as bad as the rust. I also think it has a problem with the firing pin. There was a recall on it. I have never fired it. I kept it for a future project.
Mark, when I reinstall shotgun barrel lugs, I cut a flat piece of Silvaloy silver solder to fit under the lug, apply some flux and clamp the setup in place. I heat it to about 1300 degrees so the solder melts and flux flows out. This way I have little or no solder cleanup afterwards. I know it's a good job if I see a thin ridge of solder all around the lug. You didn't indicate which solder you are using, but you once told me I could use Hi-Force 44 for front sight base installation. Do you think it's strong enough for lug work?
I got a ww2 trench gun that’s in better shape than this gun but still has some rough spots. It’s something I want to get cleaned up eventually but I learned a lot from this video and I think one day if I feel confident enough I’ll attempt it
If I was making a joint as obvious as the one above, I would make a paste of flux and filings of whatever the joining metal is going to be. Paste it on the joint sparingly, clamp it up, then heat the more massive part gently until all the water has steamed off. Clean the outside of the joint at that point, tighten clamps if necessary and then begin serious heating, again of the massive part. You will see when the joint flows and can stop heating at that point. Much less mess to clean up.
I have a question about the crack in the stock. to keep the stock from cracking more after the repair would one need to drill a small stop hole at the end of the crack like one would do with cast iron?
Im no expert, but it should be nonstressed after the acroglass, but i cant see how plugging the end of the crack with a dowl would be a bad thing. Bit harder to find the end of the crack in wood then chasing the crack with a grinder though haha.
Could go into more detail about the hot water bluing process in future video? Curious as to benefits and downsides compared to rust bluing and how the process would differ.
@@CAMSLAYER13 He said he was going to do a hot water blue instead of a full rust blue, made it sound to me that it differed or was a more expedient/less intensive process compared to a rust blue which is why I assumed it would be somewhat different.
@@marknovak8255 I have seen your bluing videos, but it has been a long time so I couldn't recall "hot water blue" being referenced before. Is that referring to Dicropan "IM"? I had not heard of that method before so I was left somewhat confused to if it was a different type of rust bluing method or what have you. Thanks.
