Deep cleaning an older drilling

[Bavarianbrit]

I got the drilling back Last Thursday, during the year it was with the gunsmith I bought a £7 long thingy off Amazon that you can plug into a laptop and look into closed areas. I took a look today and the bore is either very rusted due to its age which I think is correct even after the 30 minute scrubbing I gave it on Friday or otherwise perhaps from black powder use as it is ca. 1920 drilling. So, in the interests of science I have plugged the muzzle with a rubber bung and filled the bore with brand new Evaporust. Max time to leave it in is 24 hours on the instructions which I will not do as a first attempt. I will get it cleaned out and flushed out with boiling water around 6 pm today.

 

[enfieldspares]

Evaporust is good. I find that it has done the best of its work in a matter of a few hours (four or five) and that twenty-four hours isn't needed. I have used Evaporust an many things and be assured that as it says it only removes the rust and not any "good" metal. Also as it is mostly molasses you can get it all over your bare hands without ill effect at all. So twenty-four hours won't do any harm but nor will it give any better result that your scheduled 6pm look see.

A patch soaked in WD-40 or proprietary "bore cleaner" pushed through on a jag will also clean the bore up well after the Evaporust. Which I'd then follow up with a phosphor bronze brush to remove what can be a a bit of "stickiness" left behind being as the stuff is mostly molasses. The bore will be grey afterwards in many cases from the Evaporust process thus the wire brush suggestion.

For a real clean use washing soda and boiling water mixed as that will get any grease out that the Evaporust hasn't. Ideally a good boiling laid in a trough of washing soda and water for ten minutes will give a real deep clean. Just be aware that if there are any gaps (or deliberately drilled and now exposed holes such as where rib mounted sling swivels one were) in the ribs that any water when boiling will enter and get under the ribs.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Would washing soda and boiling water poured down the barrel via a funnel work? as it is held upright in my metalworking vice at the moment.

 

[Heym SR20]

If you can get a trough or piece of pipe long enough and boil out the barrel in boiling water. You can do vertically with steam using a drain pipe and a wall paper steamer.

Boiling water converts rust to blue.

Once cleaned out check the muzzle and if needs be recrown using a brass dome head nut on a threaded rod chucked into a hand drill and a touch of fine lapping past. Provided the last inch of rifling and the crown is reasonable it will probably shoot just fine. Perhaps not 1,000 yard good, but minute of boar at 30 yards type good.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

After 4 hours I drained the evaporust out carefully then poured boiling water into the vertical barrel to wash/neutralize it by using my small whisky hip flask funnel until the kettle was empty then put it into the vice and vigorously bronze brushed it for a few minutes then finally swabbed it with Ballistol. It now seems to look a little better but the rifling has really seen better days. Now I have to load up some rounds and see how the grandma shoots.

 

[Heym SR20]

After 4 hours I drained the evaporust out carefully then poured boiling water into the vertical barrel to wash/neutralize it by using my small whisky hip flask funnel until the kettle was empty then put it into the vice and vigorously bronze brushed it for a few minutes then finally swabbed it with Ballistol. It now seems to look a little better but the rifling has really seen better days. Now I have to load up some rounds and see how the grandma shoots.

It will shoot. What calibre is? What are the shot barrels like?

 

[Bavarianbrit]

8x58R Sauer the 2x shot barrels are fine. Apparently 38-55 cases can be worked/made to fit 8x58R case length 2.925 58.3mm to 38-55 case length 2.125 53.975mm. The 8x58R Sauer cases are almost unobtainable except as far as I am aware from SHM in Bavaria, I paid 8 years ago 135 Euros for 50x.

 

[Heym SR20]

8x58R Sauer the 2x shot barrels are fine. Apparently 38-55 cases can be worked/made to fit 8x58R case length 2.925 58.3mm to 38-55 case length 2.125 53.975mm. The 8x58R Sauer cases are almost unobtainable except as far as I am aware from SHM in Bavaria, I paid 8 years ago 135 Euros for 50x.

Sounds like a nice gun to have. If the rifle barrel is completely shagged, lothar walther make a 22 Hornet barrel of 10mm OD. Take a long 10mm drill bit. Grind a pilot to fit the rifle bore. Drill put the old rifling and drop in the liner with high strength epoxy. Sort out the extractor and then you have an excellent bird and small game gun.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I loaded up ten rounds of S&B 196 grain round nose bullets (identical to the older RWS bullet, it seems RWS sold them their old tooling) over the weekend now to get to the range.

 

[Mr. Gain]

With 'bated breath!
I hope your range session doesn't disappoint.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Here are some pictures of the internal works of the drilling taken by my young gunsmith "nephew" as he calls me Onkel Martin. He was amazed at the workmanship inside it.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Here is another picture of the drilling and a loaded round.

 

[Heym SR20]

Wow, just wow.