Sounds brutal doesn’t it? Well actually the use of glass bead blasting is quite new to me. But the results are truly brilliant. The thing about glass beads is that they are very mild in what they do, rather than sand that will strip anything quickly, in that it’s a perfect media for taking off old black/blue or rust. Here are some photos of the barrels for the Thomas Bland and how well they have polished up! They just need going over with 320 grit wet and dry and they are ready for the blacking process.

With the lock work back together it was time to add the safety mechanism back into the action. Again quite an unusual system here. The gun has damascus barrels and they were re-browned using traditional techniques and finished with bees wax. I’m really pleased with them and they have a wonderful twist in them (see images below). The gun is an under lever and dates from around 1881-1882. It’s been re-proofed in 2010 so it’s solid and the barrels are original. I really like this gun.  The colour case hardening came out really well and I hope I’ve done this wonderful gun justice by my restoration work. Here are some pictures of the finished gun.

Having been convinced that muzzle loading was a fascinating pasttime I’ve now been (hand behind back) pushed into getting one. Didn’t pay a lot but actually it’s really nice, it’s a London maker and just fascinating to work on. Here it is…quite plain but the engineering is superb. I love the fancy forearm metalwork and the trigger guard. Not much engraving but I don’t care. I’m not going to touch the stock on this one other than a quick clean up. I’m going to case colour harden the plates and black the furniture that should be black then that’s it…now..must get that black powder licence…

Step 1 – Barrel Strike Up
Use a fairly course wet and dry or emery cloth of about 180 to start. Make sure you try and get as much of the corrosion out of any of the barrel areas. It’s good to use water and this takes time. Move up to about 240 or sometimes 320 grit no need to go any finer and make sure that you sand the barrel length not around the barrel (Thanks Chris forgot to make this clear). Once you are happy the barrels should look at least like ths;

Step 2 – Copper Sulphate Bath
I think an important step. Many people don’t but once you have seen the results of this you’ll never NOT do it. I use warm water in a window box (without holes obviously) and about 5-6 heaped tablespoons of copper sulphate. Make sure it’s all dissolved and when ready drop the bunged (don’t forget to make those ends water tight. I use corks wrapped with plumbers pipe lead tape) barrels into the bath and leave for 30 minutes. Once they’ve been in there for 30 minutes remove the barrels (use rubber gloves please!) and thoroughly rinse under a running tap. Hey presto superb pattern is back right? Sure is. Next dry the barrels and you are ready for the next step.

Step 3 – Applying the browning solution

Once the copper sulphate phase is completed and the barrels thoroughly washed and dried I sometimes just go over the barrels with ethyl acetate to remove any residue. Then it’s on with the browning. I’ve tried two; one from Peter Dyson which works well but is quite slow rusting and another from a gunsmith mate which seems to be quicker. I’m trying noth across these sets of barrels. The top barrel is from my new Wesley Richards muzzle loader and the other two are for muzzle loaders for a friend. I leave the browning solution on for 1-2 days and then onto the next step.

Step 4 – Repeat process
The process now repeats itself. The basic “carding down” (I use the lightest of wire wool or sometimes just a wet towel) of the barrels and then re-applying of the browning solution. This process usually goes on for two weeks, sometimes a little longer. Once you have reached the stage where you think enough of the twist is browned then it’s onto the final stage. No two barrels are the same. For instance if you look at the Joseph Lang barrels, recently finished, you’ll see they are qute brown and dark. If you now look at my Westley Richards percussion gun barrels you will see that they are brighter but just as beautiful. The barrels will tell you when they are ready.

Step 5 – Hot Wax and Finish
I use an old recipe of bees wax to finish the barrels and protect them. After the final carding I make sure that the rust stops by cleaning them off with acetone. Once this is done they are ready for the barrel waxing. I use a traditional method of warming the barrels and then applying the wax. This takes time and the whole barrels are waxed, heated (with a blow torch) VERY mildly and then waxed. The heat is applied to the wax just enough for it to melt and give a gloss (whilst it’s hot) to the barrels. I do this twice over the barrels. Then they are left to cool. Once cooled take a drying towel (one that your partner/wife/boss has of course allowed you to take) and polish away. I have differing grades of wax. A very hard wax that is used for the majority of the barrels and a softer bees wax which I use for the grooves and in the case of the percussion gun inside and around the rod guides. Here are some pictures of the finished barrels.

I’ve started the refinishing of the Lang. It’s actually a nice piece of wood under there. It took a little steaming of dents and then the applying the gunstock linseed based finish can start. I’m going to put on around 40-50 coats…see how nice I can get this finish.
A new gallery: Lang 4