Back again.
Phil is back.
Tell a friend.
Yes, I have arrived back at the humble abode (yesterday afternoon, actually) with my spirits refreshed and the back of my truck loaded from floor to ceiling (picked up some antique furniture belonging to The Wife’s family and brought it home).
I have all kinds of pics that I’ll be posting throughout the week, but no video. Alas, I forgot my laptop bag which is where I had stored the video camera’s battery charger. Which is even more boneheaded than forgetting the tripod, which I am also guilty of.
I had a great time, and was working on staying, something I always do when I’m there. I see that David kept you all well entertained. A big round of thanks for him for that.
This’ll be it for today from me (I’ve got some catching up to do today), but before I let y’all go, I want you all to take a look at this and tell me what you think…
That, as near as I can tell, is an early model Japanese Arisaka action (with part of the back of the bolt missing). It is, of course, frozen shut with rust. From the measurements I’ve taken of the muzzle and the length of the barrel, it looks to be 6.5 Japanese caliber.
If you click and enlarge the lower (and slightly blurry) picture, it still has the Chrysanthemum and some Japanese writing on top of the receiver, meaning it is most likely a WWII spoils of war/trophy bring-back, as the Japanese were allowed to grind the crest off of their rifles after the war so as to not bring “dishonor” on the royal family.
The Wife’s dad found it in this condition a decade or two ago while out hiking and it has been sitting in his closet since then. He has actually nearly thrown it away a few times in between then and now. After he showed it to me and I was able to at least partially ID it, he told me to take it home and do with it what I pleased.
I would be pleased to soak it in a vat of Kroil for a week and try my hand at cracking it open. Then, if I could find a metallurgist who could test the Rockwell on the steel and tell me if it is safe to shoot, I would be please to rebuild the bolt and screw a new barrel of varmint caliber into it.
Anyone else have any other ideas of how to get it to open up and get it tested? Or, likewise, know any where I could find out if it is worth it to do so?
Even if it’s not safe to shoot the original caliber, you could still get a sub-caliber chamber insert soldered in and make it a single-shot rimfire. Those are fun too.
BTW, is it just me or does that look a lot like the Savage barrel nut?
Nope, that is just the end of the chamber.
Water is your friend for penetrating rusted parts.
Plain old water.
No Coke. no mystery magical substance x – just agua.
Soak it – tap it with a non-marring (brass or plastic) hammer to set up vibrations so teh water penetrates more crevices- soak it soem more tap it some more.
When it frees up -then use WD 40 to disperse the water and move on to your favorite rust remover technique.
Here’s a couple http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/rust/electrolytic_derusting.htm
http://www.icehouse.net/overland/derusting.html
http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/showthread.php?t=1737&page=1
http://www.vhfsouth.org/tutorials/derusting.htm
Rotsa Ruck!
Nice. I have a 7.7 Arisaka with the Chrysanthemum on it and tall vernier sight. Great shooter, Kicks like a mule. It is the same as when my uncle brought it home. The only downside is that the ammo is so expensive.
From the odd shaped bolt handle & the mum, I’ll say it is Japanese. I would go with the Kroil to free it up. Personally I doubt it is worth “restoring” if you have to pay a gunsmith to do the work. If you can do it yourself, that’s different. It would probably be a real chore to buff out the action & make it look presentable. The Arisaka actions are VERY strong, but this on looks pretty far gone.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Zero value as a collectable. Restoring it to shooting condition will result in having the patina removed … so decide how much you want to spend to make it into a shooter.
There is a penetrating oil called PB Blaster. It is the best I’ve tried so far.
I think that the rimfire idea someone else mentioned has promise. You almost wouldn’t care about strength.