Armory Sponsor
Posted: 6/10/2011 12:04:39 PM EDT
|
A little while back, my dad bought a little Steven's 53B from one of his co-workers for 50 bucks. It was in pretty rough shape. I thought it would be a good chance to try my hand at fixing / gunsmithing, and try to bring it back. I got my dad's permision first, so he knew I was working on it. Bad news is, I did more harm then good with the gun. I FUBARed the stock, and I can't find one anywhere to replace it.
So I feel really bad that I did this. I want to replace the gun with either a LNIB old rifle, or a brand new rifle. Specs are as follows: - Single shot bolt action - Iron sights - Blued action & Barrel - Wood stock (preferably Walnut or something with nice grain) - ADULT SIZED STOCK!!! I know I can get the Henry Mini Bolt and the Cricket, but those have "youth" stocks. I know Crickett makes an adult version, but they look god-aweful IMO. I would like to keep the gun under 200 if I can, maybe 250 if I find something really nice. If I cannot get an "adult" sized single shot, a nice little mag-fed bolt will be fine, but again, not more then 250ish Thanks ETA: Forgot to add the caliber. I want it in just the normal 22LR. Please do not suggest "get a 10/22". We already have a few semi's, but no bolts. I want a bolt action rifle. Thanks |
|
You can pick up a Stevens Model 15 for under $100 really easy.
They came with a variety of stock styles, and the basic action was also marketed as other model #'s too. Here is also an older Marlin Model 10 There are tons of single shot .22's out there, many in mint condition. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Bad news is, I did more harm then good with the gun. I FUBARed the stock, and I can't find one anywhere to replace it. What did you do? The 53B is pretty bullet proof. The rifle sat in a cloest for many many years. the bolt was stuck closed at one point, and when it was rotated to open it, it made groves in the bolt / reciever. Enough to notice, but not enough to affect performance. The wood stock had spotty finish and the old glossy finish was "flaking" off so-to-speak. Has some minor surface rust here and there. I tried to take some of the finish off the stock where it was really bad, and I took the rust spots off with some steel wool / very fine sandpaper & super light strokes. To get the gun back, it would need a full rebuling (original bluing was spotty) and the stock would either need a new stock or a complete refinish. The gun still shoots fine, but it looks like hell, worse then when I started. I don't wanna mess it up more, and since there is no sentemental value, I dont wanna have it refinished and pay more then it's worth. |
|
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Bad news is, I did more harm then good with the gun. I FUBARed the stock, and I can't find one anywhere to replace it. What did you do? The 53B is pretty bullet proof. The rifle sat in a cloest for many many years. the bolt was stuck closed at one point, and when it was rotated to open it, it made groves in the bolt / reciever. Enough to notice, but not enough to affect performance. The wood stock had spotty finish and the old glossy finish was "flaking" off so-to-speak. Has some minor surface rust here and there. I tried to take some of the finish off the stock where it was really bad, and I took the rust spots off with some steel wool / very fine sandpaper & super light strokes. To get the gun back, it would need a full rebuling (original bluing was spotty) and the stock would either need a new stock or a complete refinish. The gun still shoots fine, but it looks like hell, worse then when I started. I don't wanna mess it up more, and since there is no sentemental value, I dont wanna have it refinished and pay more then it's worth. Oh, I had thought that you damaged the stock. I've stripped finishes off of many a stock, sanded, sealed, and refinished. That is part of the 'fun'. I like doing that sort of thing, you might not. The Savage 3 and 53 were beater guns, for the most part. You can teach yourself how to do bluing, polishing, and woodwork on a firearm that does not cost much, so if it looks like hell, so what? Not a lot of single shot .22 bolt guns are made now, but there are a metric eff ton on Gunbroker/Gunsamerica, etc.., from $60 to $200. |
|
i guess i missed the tale of woe and destruction.
lightly sand the stock to remove the old finish. don't get industrial, no power tools needed. chemical stripper is nice, but not always needed. Birchwood Casey Tru Oil is easy to apply,, and even if you don't stain the stock it often looks great just on bare wood. stains, or even Rit dye will change the color of the stock if that's what you want. most manufactures stain the stocks so they all look the same on the rack and IMHO, sometimes no stain looks better. Browne''s 44/40 or Oxpho bluing are easy to work with and give good results if the metal is clean to start with. CLR or Lime Away will remove any rust and all the old bluing if you want. i've got a few old bolt guns that i picked up inexpensively several years ago and tore apart to rebuild. the problem is they were torn apart when i moved recently and somehow some of the parts seem to have gotten misplaced in the huffle... so right now i'm trying to resort thru all kinds of stuff to find the stray parts for a Rem 510X and Win 69A. but... the stocks look nice.  there wasn't any rust, so i didn't reblue anything, left the original finish on the metal with some wear in corners and high spots.
bottom line is that, IMHO tiyr rifle is probably reparable, but a $50 rifle isn't worth shipping thru a FFL. |
| I pulled the rifle out last night to take a look at it (last time I had it out was last summer, so I was mostly going off memory). The blueing is actually pretty well intact, only the places that I hit to take off the surface spotting / rust are missing the blueing. The stock has seen better days for sure. I dont want to spend allot of time / effort on it, so I am going to clean it up, blue the metal parts, and maybe hit the stock with paint. I don't want to spend allot of time on the wood, as it isnt a very pretty piece to begin with, and to get it to be show quality, it is going to require ALLOT of work. |
|
Pics would help us assess the damage.
Imagine the scene: Christmas morning 1948, little Johny is anxiously waiting for him parents to come down stairs to open presents. He is particularly interested in the long slim box. Finally, the folks appear; dad's looking a little flushed, mom's hair is uncharacteristically messed up. Hmmm, maybe dad opened his present early? 
Anyways, dad gives the OK and Johny rips the wrapping paper off to expose the wonder of all wonders for an 11 year old boy; his first .22 caliber rifle. Do you really want to be the guy that abandoned little Johny's rifle, only for it to be turned in at the next liberal sponsored gun buy-back program? Oh, the shame..... Restore that thing and post the glorious pictures of your redemption.
|
|
Quoted:
I pulled the rifle out last night to take a look at it (last time I had it out was last summer, so I was mostly going off memory). The blueing is actually pretty well intact, only the places that I hit to take off the surface spotting / rust are missing the blueing. The stock has seen better days for sure. I dont want to spend allot of time / effort on it, so I am going to clean it up, blue the metal parts, and maybe hit the stock with paint. I don't want to spend allot of time on the wood, as it isnt a very pretty piece to begin with, and to get it to be show quality, it is going to require ALLOT of work. Not as much work as you think. All the metal work can be finished in an afternoon at very small cost. A really first class refinish for that stock takes a week, and that's to allow the finish to cure every day. It's a little stock and takes almost no time to go over after the initial prep which also doesn't take long. I use a combination of Birchwood Casy paste blue and Oxpho blue. The BC blue gives a real nice dark finish and the Oxpho toughens it up. About 5 cycles of degrease, blue with BC, rub out, blue with Oxpho will be enough, and the gun will look fine, and stay that way. Tru Oil is a superior polymerized finish that can be used to make a glossy or more traditional looking oil finish. A little pint can of Min Wax oil base stain from the hardware store is excellent and will do many guns. I use a mahogany to put a red background under a walnut stain. Very nice classic look. |
|
As I said before, the gun has no sentemental value. It was bought as a shooter.
All of the metal is in good shape, and all there. These parts will be blued just like factory. The stock, while still complete & all there, was modified a little by me. Last summer, I tried to fix the stock to action fit. The barrel channel was made off-center in the stock, and the barreled action did not sit right in it. I fixed that asthetically. I also pointed & flued the stock to make it look batter. That is one reason I am on the hunt for a factory stock, and that is why I don't mind painting it, as the stock is not fully factory. If I had a factory stock that just needed re-finish, I would refinish it. I could try to refinish the stock with my mods, but I dont know how well it will look as I am far from a profesional stock maker. |
Armory Sponsor