The Wild went back together yesterday. It has a few minor problems this gun, like a not so snug fit of action onto stock, but it appears to have been that way for some time. I’ve done my best to close it all up but maybe the wood has shrunk over the 110 years...
I got back the stock and forend today from my friend the checkerer! It looks great…super job as usual from Mike. With the action hardened and everything else cleaned up it’s down to putting it back together this weekend….more pictures to follow…
Here are some pictures of the Wild woodwork taken from the weekend. It needs a few more coats and then it is done. Few holes to finally fill over. Nice piece of wood under there it was black and filthy before…
The Wild parts were colour case hardened this morning. Took the kiln to 723 degrees C for 1.5 hours and then plunged into aerated cold water. It’s always a two man job with my kit so a friend and family came for lunch and he helped me drop the metal parts. Here are some...
Once annealed the parts are glas bead blasted. This is an extremely mild clean for this type of equipment given that the glass shatters rather than cause any damage to the engraving or metalwork. Here are the pictures of the parts after the bead blasting (the dull finish) and then the final polished parts...
I’ve decided to continue my learning when it comes to Case Colour Hardening of gun parts. I’ve annealed the Thomas Wild ready for polishing and the ultimate dropping! Here are some photos after it has been annealed.
