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Military Firearm Restoration Corner

Ive Got An Interesting Resto About To Happen


mrontime

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Im currently researching and getting ready to do the prep teardown on my grandfathers meriden 12guage double barrel shotgun. when he was 20 he found it discarded or lost in a ditch lol. his buddy, the sheriff at the time told him to keep it lol and gave him a 32 caliber pistol he had taken off a criminal as a carry peice. the gun didnt work and sat in my grandfathers gun cabinet all his life. now its in my gun cabinet and i would like to at least make it a nice wall hanger. the little bit of research ive done let to a healthy value for this gun too, which is something to consider when restoring a gun. so I know im new to this wonderland. this is a really cool forum by the way. does anyone have any advice? any suggestions? thanks in advance

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If it has significant value now, the only added value that you may be able put into it would be to make it clean and functional. By that, I mean spring repairs, cleaning, and oiling. Careful rust removal is good, but removing patina might be bad. Stripping the original wood finish might be bad as well, although a gentle rubbing of boiled linseed oil should be OK.

 

Restored doesn't necessarily equate to increased value. Be very careful.

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Just to expand a bit on GunNutty's advice, so as not to hurt the collector value, you don't want to try to polish and make look more near to new removing patina. Removing actual dirt would be OK. You want to care for and preserve the existing condition. Even for repairs you

would want to save the original broken parts and be extremely careful not to damage screws

upon disassembly.

 

Tinker

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Thank you for the translation :)

 

I'll expand on tinkerfive's expansion of my original response. Collectors are realistic: if something is 100 years old, it's OK if it looks 100 years old.

 

An all-out restoration on an old piece better be top-notch and better than factory original, otherwise it's probably going to be a wasted effort.

 

You can also do damage to a sporting arm by using the incorrect tools to disassemble/assemble it. As tinkerfive said, using Gunsmithing screwdrivers is the only way to go. Thankfully, replaceable, gunsmith-grade hex-head bits are affordable.

 

Ya know, pictures are always a good way of breaking the ice. Whatcha got?

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If the shotgun has some collect ability I encourage you to part company with it and do some trading with a collector. A collector may use it for parts or possibly he has another rough model and between the two he could make a real nice one. I recently gave an oddball single shot to a member of my gun club. I thought he was going to kiss me he was so glad to get it. Unknown to me the shotgun marked some hardware company was actually manufactured by Iver Johnson and there is a particular part he had been looking for, for several years. The shotgun had been brush painted with latex paint, looked pretty pathetic and had no value to me. I just couldn't bring myself to put it in the garbage.

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Interesting link:

 

http://meridenfirearms.com/history.html

 

So Meridian was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sears & Roebuck, and made "good-quality, relatively low-cost firearms".

 

 

I'm seeing 5 grades:

 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_find_the_value_of_an_AJ_Aubrey_12_gauge_double_barrel_hammerless_shotgun

 

 

Could be a goldmine, probably not.

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Interesting link:

 

http://meridenfirearms.com/history.html

 

So Meridian was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sears & Roebuck, and made "good-quality, relatively low-cost firearms".

 

 

I'm seeing 5 grades:

 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_find_the_value_of_an_AJ_Aubrey_12_gauge_double_barrel_hammerless_shotgun

 

 

Could be a goldmine, probably not.

 

research said goldmine, lol it was awhile back but the said around 4k in good shape. mine isnt, and it doesnt matter its a sentimental thing. trading value doesnt mean alot to me either. my grandfather liked to make things. I have recently gotten into hammer and graver graving and have thought about cleaning up and expanding on the bird dog motifs and the spirals on the opening lever. ill post pics when i get a chance. It doesnt have to fire, and probably shouldnt unless i get a new barrel, but i think hed smile to see it in like new condition. I think its a 1914 model 15 i wanna say but im probably wrong. Im so caught up in doing a mauser sporter and restoring my grandfathers stevens favorite that was shot till it spit shells and wouldnt eject lol that all the part numbers and models hava almost combined. numrich has parts for it, the triggers are rusted solid nearly, with some hoppes i got some movement but there is alot wrong i can tell. Remember that value is also relative, one mans 300 bucks is another mans priceless relic, or a way to reach someone who isnt around any more.

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