wwii axis reenactment forum

Probaly being stupid and just haven't found it on here but im sure there used to be a set of DIY instructions on here for restoring K98 rifles.
Does anyone either know where this thread is or have there own way of restoring rifles?
I should be getting a few old Arisaka's type 38 rifles that will need restoring, both the metalwork and the woodwork as they are in a pretty poor state at the moment

Thanks lads

Yeeesh!
No hard and fast answer here Ryan - Stocks
Strip down, clean using white spirit and lots of rags. Don't get them too wet as they will swell and the metal parts won't fit anymore.
Having cleaned them examine them for cracks, splits, dings etc.
Dings can be raised by wetting the local area and then pressing lightly with steam iron. The wood will swell in that area - small dings can be sanded back - Large dings reduced....... If you have some gash stocks - a skilled person can cut small pieces of nearly matching wood to insert in a ding. (Patching)

Cracks - Sand down a quantity of wood from a gash stock until you have a good amount of fine sawdust. Mix with wood glue, work into crack and sand back.

Splits.... dodgy - Use wood/glue mix, fill split and clamp stock to squeeze excess out - keep clamped until glue cures.

If they are really filthy - lightly sand and if laquered or varnished - you can take this off by the old method of using a piece of plate glass.
Take thin glass and using a glass cutter cut the glass into a manageable size and shape to hold in your hand as a scraper. Practice the following first on a piece of scrap wood.
Draw the edge of the glass across the wood to remove a very thin layer of dirt/laquer/varnish. Do this all over the stock to achieve a uniform finish. Sand smooth using fine grade paper.

Refinish stock using appropriate stain/oil/laquer etc.

If oiling a stock use linseed, walnut or just Youngs.303 gun oil. Don't over oil it - rather do it in 4 -5 gentle sessions allowing each coat to soak in.

Once settled - buff lightly with a soft cloth to achieve a sheen and take out excess oil.

Metalwork......
Strip to component parts and soak in thin oil. Sewing Machine oil is perfect for small parts triggers, screws, bolts etc.

Clean with white spirit and allow to dry with minimal handling. (body oil is acidic)

A pair of thin cotton overgloves are useful.

If the part needs to be blued - you could consider oil blueing. Heat the part with a blowtorch until dull/cherry red - NOT bright red - it will be too hot and will also soften. Then using tongs and a pair of gloves for protection - immerse the part in oil. The amount of time you leave it will result in a darker or lighter colour, The trick will be to get the parts uniform.

IF not use a GOOD QUALITY chemical blue but you need to ensure the parts are completely clean, dry, free from contamination and former finish. Apply blue to your requirements.

Keep the gloves on as much as possible -

Reassemble metal parts and lightly oil.

Put metal parts back with wood parts. Give a wipe down, a final oil and show us some before and after photos.

The finish on Arisakas can be very rough and some I have seen are not finished very well at all. Some have tended to look blacked rather than blued and perhaps long immersion in an oil bath after being heated will bear the best results - Getting chemical blue into all the pits and machining marks might produce patchy results......

Take your time and perhaps use the worst ones first as "test beds" so that you may obtain better results towards the end with the better quality rifles.

Question:
Does the Arisaka need deactivating as it is an obsolete calibre isn't it?

Good tips about linseed oil, I have been doing mine and have so far oiled the stock 5 times. The first four were very light and after a couple of days each one had soaked right in, the 5th I applied more heavily and it took a whole day to soak in and now feels nice and oiled. You can use flour paper to get a smooth finish on the wood, that way the oil doesnt seem to get drawn in in patches.

With the gun blue, it doesnt work well on rusty metal as I have found you can still see rust through it but unless you get the metal shotblasted the rust wont come right out.

barryG wrote:Good tips about linseed oil, I have been doing mine and have so far oiled the stock 5 times. The first four were very light and after a couple of days each one had soaked right in, the 5th I applied more heavily and it took a whole day to soak in and now feels nice and oiled. You can use flour paper to get a smooth finish on the wood, that way the oil doesnt seem to get drawn in in patches.

With the gun blue, it doesnt work well on rusty metal as I have found you can still see rust through it but unless you get the metal shotblasted the rust wont come right out.

Sand it using oil.......

Thanks for that Paul, just what i was looking for, i think it'll be more a general tidy up for most rather than a totally mint finish, especially on the wood. The metal work i needed a reminder as i couldn't remember what i did to my type 99 but now its obvious again so thanks for that

The rifles are all already deactivated as they are coming from a collector friend of mine, the arisaka type 38's are 6.5mm and the 99's are 7.7mm so deactivation are the only way for me in affraid

A good way to clamp stocks for gluing is to use surgical tubing. I will give you better control to close the crack than a clamp. Also, you can use a hypodermic needle to squeeze the glue further back into the crack.