I forgot to mention that I have used acidtone to remove varnish or shalic from the wood. Just drop the stock in and let it soak a while. Then I use one of those scrubber padswith a sponge on one side and lightly wipe the stock. Fare worning if there is any filler or glue in the stock it WILL disolve it. This should take the shelac out of your inletting. You will have to reoil the stock.

Hi, Wayne. It might come to that. But right now the stock finish is really pretty darn good to my eyes. I sure hate to take all that off if I can avoid it. Unfortunately for me, the only alternative will be q-tips and meticulous work in the inlets. I'll do a little experimenting in a very conservative manner. If necessary, then a total bath and scrub down. I'm real good at finishing wood, but, dang, I hate to take the current finish off this stock if I can avoid it. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
In the long run, it might be the simplest route. I really do appreciate your input.

Anyone got any pics of clean laminated steel barrels, looking as they should? I've seen a number of barrels on the site that are achingly beautiful, but polished down pretty far. I'd sure rather leave as much of the barrel finish as possible on this one. Not sure it's possible. I'd like to see some pics that will give me a goal to aim for. I think you know what I mean.

Oh...good news today. In a very early post, I described some blobs of something on the right barrel, which might have been solder, or might have been blobs of the shellac. They were shellac. They softened up and came right off. Whew!

Patrick

Laminated Steel barrels from a 16 gauge Grade 1 made in 1892.



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Wow! Those are beautiful barrels. These aren't going to be showy like that at all--unfortunately. But they do have quite a bit of nice brown/gray color to them. I can see a spiral pattern in them, too, but the light has to be right. Thanks, Dean!

Hello again, Friends,
I have not had a lot of time to devote to this clean up in recent days, but I do have some additional photos for you now. In my view, these barrels will NEVER be shot again. Not while I'm around, anyway. But I think if the bad barrel is hung next to the wall, it'll be a handsome display gun.

The flaw in the left barrel, which I originally thought was a hammered-out dent, now looks much more like a weld repair to me. And an ugly one, at that. Note the nick in the top rib. That's why I thought it was a dent. But this flaw spirals around the barrel to the bottom rib, and I assume it is following the line of a weld failure and attempted repair. Pretty sad, but there we have it.

On the other hand, the right barrel cleaned up pretty well, and looks pretty darned good, considering all the abuse this old shotgun has suffered. In this view, the right barrel is on the bottom.

While sorting through various loose parts the other day, I realized we are missing some screws that belong in the forend assembly. I guess they wouldn't technically need to be there if it's just going to hang on the wall in a display case, but it would be nice to have them. Are parts like these screws possible to find any more? I know they could be fabricated, but not for a wall hanger.

And I discovered a further setback. The screw which mounts both lock plates to the frame and stock is slightly bent. It still threads fine, but it'll never run true through the stock unless it is straightened. If this was my gun, I'd straighten it myself. However, it isn't mine. I will suggest to my cousin that he spend the money to have this screw straightened. He won't bat an eye at that.

I've just about given up on the stuck extractor. I easily removed the extractor screw, and I filled this recess with Kroil. I propped the barrels with the breeches down. In about a day, the Kroil was flowing through around the extractor shaft, and bringing out a lot of bright red rust with it. I am pretty certain that much of the extractor is loose. However, when I prop the gun with the muzzles down, the Kroil doesn't flow out to the other end. When I prop the barrels with breeches down and apply a few drops of Kroil to the extractor shaft right ahead of the barrel hooks and lugs, it doesn't flow through. I have done this in repeated overnight sessions, with light taps on either end of the extractor (nothing touching the extractor but brass). I can't make it move. I suspect someone with more nerve and a firmer hand could get it moving, but it's not going to be me. I will also tell my cousin he needs to have a pro free this part up. Let's face it, we'll never get it back together if we can't lower the extractor.

Best wishes to all,
Patrick

You might try soaking tour extractor in Break Free. The stuff works pretty good. To bad about the barrels. I did'nt think they would make it but I hoped I was wrong.