Kyle

I just got a stainless steel barrel off a Remington 700 on ebay for $33 shipped. I now know that it can't be used on a large ring action but I plan on picking up a Turkish M38 for around $80 and putting it on there.

I know it will work on the Turk M38 as it is a large ring action with small ring threads (or something like that) but I'm not sure of the exact process of fitting it for the Turk. I have access to a lathe and CNC machines both of which can cut threads but I'm not sure exactly what to do.

The CNC machine could cut more exact threads but it would be a lot quicker on the lathe so if that would work fine I'd prefer to use that. Can someone give me detailed instructions on what to do and include some photos if possible or give me a link to instructions?

Once I cut the new threads to fit the Turk how do I remove the old barrel and fit the new one properly?

Kyle,

 

Here's a link http://www.sporterizing.com/index.php?showtopic=144 to some archival info from this forum on rust bluing saved by Flaco. My formula is posted about halfway through. Manureman is right about reading everything you can before starting. Also, practice on some old barrels or other parts before attempting it for real. You need to get a feel for how long to rust the parts and what it should look like before and after boiling/steaming. The finished product is as good as anything I have seen - satin blue/black. It all depends on metal prep and technique.

 

Bob

Thanks, that link was very helpful.

What metal parts on the rifle should not be blued?

I'm working on my Gew 88 project and I'm wondering about the trigger. There is no such thing as a replacement trigger so I'll have to use the original military trigger. Any ideas on how I can make this trigger the best it can possibly be?

In the photo below you can see what a Gew 88 trigger assembly looks like.

Kyle,

 

Slow rust blue is by far the most durable finish you can achieve with limited resources. I have blued several rifles with nothing more than the bluing solution, steel wool and an old 4 qt pot with a lid modified with steam vents. I boiled the small parts between passes in the pot and steamed the barrel using the vents. I made the bluing solution myself from a formula in Angiers book. My total cost was $36 for the chemicals and steel wool and that did three rifles with enough bluing solution left to do 100 more!

 

Bob

Could you share the formula with me?

Where did you get the chemicals you need?

Can you tell the finish is homemade or does it end up looking just as good as the bluing on new commercial rifles?

So parkerizing is probably the best finish I can do by myself with limited equipment?

Can I parkerize all the metal parts like trigger assembly, etc as well as the outside?

How about the inside of the barrel, chamber, bolt and things like that?

Is parkerizing a good finish on its own or is it better with bake on paint over it?

What do I need to parkerize?

I cut it to 20 inches but I still need to face it and recrown it on the lathe as it wasn't working right the past few days.

In the mean time can someone post a photo of an 11 degree target crown done on a lathe so I know exactly how it should look?

Why 11 degrees? Would 13 degrees provide the same results?

They do feel a little different but it didn't take long to get used to it, I didn't thin mine out a lot and bent it out a little at the end for leverage. I'll try to clean it up a little over the next couple of days so it looks good,enough to post a picture,it's well a wrench. I've got a couple of irons in the fire right now (one an 88 also I'm trying to restore and one I still have'nt decided on the plan for yet) This bolt is for an M44 someone else's post on here got me hot to do, check out the mosin posts really nice work, I just think the butter knife goes well with the split bridge the design and operation is close enough to the 88(other than that damn sleeve to attach the action screw to) to get some ideas.

 

Roy

Is it ready to take photos of yet? I'm looking forward to seeing it.

So you made it from a wrench? Could you tell me how to do that?

I'm working on my first sporter project and I'm wondering what the most durable metal finish is.

I don't care much about the looks or ease of application I just want the strongest finish possible.

Any suggestions?

Anyone else hear the news? North Korea is said to have detonated an nuclear weapon underground. NK officials called China and told them in about 20 minutes they would test a nuclear weapon. About 20 minutes later a small earthquake shook the ground apparently from an underground nuclear explosion.

US officials have stated that they believe the test didn't go exactly as planned due to the smallish size of the explosion but nothing is for sure as of yet. This test really has Japan, South Korea and even China worried and with NK's recent tests of ballistic missiles this could them more then just a regional threat.

Check out Steve Wagners site the info for the mosin would be a good starting point, his Bolt is threaded but the bridge clearing info is interesting, Did you ever think of using an old wrench for a butter knife handle another cheap option that would look cool.

I have seen that site before. I'm planning on first trying to use the original handle first but if that fails I'll just cut it off and try that method.

The butter knife handles look cool but how well do they work? I've never used one but to me they seem like they would be more difficult to grab and cycle the bolt then the regular ball at the end of the military handle.

Mark Foley

Anyone else hear about Mark Foley, the now former Republican Congressman from Florida who it turns out was interested in homo-sexual acts with under-aged boys?

This guy was actually in charge of the committee for missing and exploited children!

The most deplorable thing is that the Republican leadership admittedly knew about his "activities" for several years and failed to do anything about it for fear of damaging their image!!! Wow, I can't believe that party that is supposed to stand up for morals put children at risk from this pervert for fear of looking bad!

MIG and TIG are 2 different things.

 

MIG (Metal Inert Gas) or GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) is a gas shielded welding process where a consumable wire electrode is feed from a gun. There is a big spool of wire in the machine that feeds out the end out the torch/gun when the trigger is pressed.

 

TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) or GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) is a gas shielded welding process that uses a torch with a non-consumable tungsten electrode in the torch and a filler rod that is held in your hand. The part and filler is heated by plasma (i like that word for some reason) from the torch. The filler rod is dipped in and out of the weld puddle to form the bead.

 

Not a very good explination but it is late and i had a few too many beers.

Ok, I got it. I don't have access to a TIG welder but I have access to a MIG welder and a stick welder. Which would be best for welding on the bolt handle?

In the tutorial in the link I posted above it shows there is a gap between the bolt handle and the bolt root which is then filled in with weld. How big a gap can you make there? The Gew 88 bolt is further up on the bolt body then the Mauser 98 so I'd like to make it longer and sweep it back further then you probably would want to with the mauser, could I make a larger gap and just build up the weld to connect the bolt handle with the bolt root?

Where should I cut off the bolt handle from the stub to prepare it to be welded back on? The tutorial shows it being cut at an angle 3/8 up the bolt root but the Gew 88 bolt root is much shorter then the Mauser's and it seems like it would be very hard to cut it at an angle like that.

So basically like the method posted in this thread: welding tutorial

I think wire feed and TIG welding are two names for the same thing. Maybe you thought I meant stick welding?

If you have a lathe you don't need any counterbores. Just a nicely sharpened lathe bit and someone that knows how to use the compound.

How do you crown the barrel with the lathe then?

Very interesting!

Did you build the rifles from parts or beater Garands?

At work we have a lathe and a guy there has a couple decades of experience on it.

I'm planning on cutting the barrel on one of my Gew 88's to 20" and I'd like to put a target crown recess on it. I've been told that I first cut it to 20" with a saw, then use a 7/8ths counterbore to square the end of the barrel and finally a 1/2" counterbore for putting in the recess. Does this sound right?

Anyone have a link or something on how to do that so I can see some photos of the process as well?

Tomorrow I'm going to try bending two Gew 88 bolts using a method similar to this: Wagner's site

The measurements for cutting with the dremel won't be the same though as the bot is shaped differently at the base.

The bolt handle is also further forward on the bolt then on the mauser. When closed the bolt handle is actually in front of the split bridge on the receiver. Will I be able to sweep the handle back closer to the trigger guard or will it still be a ways in front of it?

After I heat it and bend like in the link how do I fill in the gap with weld and sweep it outward and rearward to complete the bend?

Has anyone ever heard of a .338 win mag case necked down to an 8mm bullet? I've never seen any info about a cartridge like that but I've heard that it would produce about the same results as 8x68S.

It sounds like it would be a great choice if you wanted to have something inbetween .300 win mag and .338 win mag.

Anyone ever tried something like this or heard of it being done?

If I was to buy a Mauser in 8x57 to sporterize could I use the original barrel for this cartridge?

I need to bend the bolt for my Gew 88 project and I'm wondering what would be the best method to bend the bolt so a scope can be used. I think I'd somehow have to modify the original handle instead of buying a new handle like you can for Mausers.

I have access to welders so that isn't a problem.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

It's great that you have a goal in mind - this is the most important part of sporterizing, and why most of us are hopelessly addicted. We get these ideas, don't let anything stop us, and spend an amazing amount of time and effort trying very hard to produce what we've imagined. Sometimes you get close enough that it's really satisfying which only makes the addiction stronger!

I bet you could rig something up to produce a nice smooth bore. I can't imagine that it would be easy, but Americans were making accurate rifles before 1800 - I bet you could do it too!

 

The difficult part would be figuring-out how to rifle it. You'd have to build a dedicated machine to do this. I try to be as independent a "do it yourselfer" as I can on principle - if I'm not learning how to do something new its not worth the time investment. I've casually thought about what would have to be done to create an accurately rifled bore, and I've concluded that I'm not going to go there. This doesn't mean that I think you shouldn't - maybe you should! I seem to recall an ad in Shotgun News for a VCR tape demonstrating how to build a rifling machine. I'll try to track down a link.

 

If it was me I'd buy a nice Lothar Walther contoured barrel and consider myself WAY ahead of the game. A 9.3 x 57 would be a VERY cool large mammal thumper.

I'd love to be able to do it myself! If you anyone has any suggestions on how I could modify the existing 8x57 barrel to 9.3 I'd love to hear them!

If I get a new barrel that also opens up another problem. I'll have to thread any new barrel (unless custom made for the Gew88) so that it will fit into the Gew action and since I've never done that before I'm worried I'd mess it up and ruin a new barrel. If I messed up the original Gew barrel I can just pay $20 and get another entire rifle.

Any links to barrels I could consider for this project?

I agree that a 9.3x57 Gew 88 would be a very cool and unique sporter but on the other hand I'm still wondering if it is really worth putting a $200+ barrel on a $30 gun. If I could find a way to do it cheaply then I'm good to go but if I can't do the conversion to 9.3 myself or find a way to do it cheaply I may just have to stick with 8x57 (which isn't a bad caliber by any means, just not exactly what I want).

Also with a new barrel I may have a little trouble with the barrel jacket issue. The front action screw actually goes into a hole in the very back of the barrel jacket and if I get a new barrel it might not be the right size to fit the end peice of the barrel jacket over. If I use the original barrel I can just cut off the first inch of the barrel jacket, screw it on and solder it or something to provide a solid base. Without it the front of the action and back of the barrel aren't supported and there is only one screw holding the entire thing to the stock!

I've thought about keeping it in 8x57 but it seems 9.3x57 would be nearly perfect for what I want.

Do you think it would be possible for me to convert it to 9.3 myself using CNC machines?

Lothar walther, Douglas and Shilen make barrels and I'm sure most other reknowned makers do too. Getting a reamer is the hard part. A good option would be to have your barrel rebored. That way the use the existing chamber and just recut the neck & throat.

 

Norma factory loads only generate 35,000 psi. While their handload data goes up to 46,000. Stick with the factory loads.

 

But, as Bilurey said, getting someone to do the work could be problematic at best. Honestly, you can find a very nice Husky M46 already chambered in 9.3x57 for less than you'll spend on a conversion. That said, it sounds like you are adamant about using the 88 as a basis for a sporter. If so, the 9.3x57 is likely one of themost sensible cartridges to contemplate due to its sedate operating pressures.

Early smokeless powders needed the kinks worked out. The variable burn rates caused high pressure problems that highlighte dthe design deficiences of actions like the 88. Failures related to case seperations or high pressures are more dangerous in the pre-98's than in the 98's, they are much more so in the pre-91's. I'm including the 88 in there even though it is not technically a Mauser.

How can I get the barrel rebored for 9.3 bullets? I'm a CNC machine operator at a metal shop specializing in precision machining so I'm thinking it may be possible to do it at work???

I'm not using an 88 just because I really want an 88 sporter. I'm doing it because I want to build a very cheap but unusual hunting gun. If I get to the point where I'm spending more on building a sporter from an inferior design then I would just buying a new savage or building from a 98 mauser I'll have failed my goal.

I'll try to use the original barrel if possible (since a new barrel would be several times the cost of the entire rifle) and do most or all of the work myself. I have acess to all kinds of equipment so unless I need something firearm specific I should have everything I'll need.

The M1888 Gew commission rifle is a Manlicher design and was never produced by Mauser. The original cartridge was limited to about 35,000lbs. These rifles should never be used for any other commercialy available cartridge. There were numerous blow ups with these rifles, serious injuries and deaths were recorded. This was primairly due to the deterent coating not adhering to the powder flakes, thus the burning rate amounted to a detonation as opposed to a controlled burn.

Could you please explain that to me? Was it the original ammo that made it dangerous or the design of the rifle?

I think I'll build it in 9.3x57. It should be fine with moderate loads. Any idea on where I could get a 9.3 barrel?

Kyle, Send me your name & address so I can take out some insurance on you. I need a retirement fund.

 

If it's a big thumper you want then the 9.3x57 is just the ticket. It was made for the pre-98 actions. A .366" bullet beats a .338". Or, if you like the .35's then the 9x57.

 

I think that crap about bigger bullets not deflectig as much is hooey! Your supposed to have a clear shot, not shoot through brush. A brush gun is for navigating through brushy conditions not shooting brush!

 

Out of curiousity, what Rockwell would you specify? What method wuld you ask them to use?

I really like the idea of the 9.3x57. It should feed well based on case size but what about the length?

Any idea where I could get a 9.3x57 barrel (not too spendy!)?

Not really sure which Rockwell and method I'd specify. I planned on doing more research if I did plan to do it.

I don't know about shooting threw the brush but personally I just think it would be a cool rifle to own.