I have an original sales flyer for the rifle, from C&H when they still in Southern California.  I won't be able to scan it for you until the end of the week because I am literally "going fishing".  Drop me a PM with your e-mail address and I will do it then.

It's very likely that your actions were made by Bo Clerke who currently has a company in Raton, New Mexico and specializes in 22 RF barrels. Bo makes most of the Ruger 10/22 barrels that are on the market. There's quite a few of those actions around and some of my friends still use them, some are marked CH some aren't, as I recall they have a rack & pinion gear between the lever and block. I've never owned one.

Bob

Bob

Believe the rifle with the rack & pinion gearing between the lever and block was the Riedl - If I remember correctly it was written up in an old issue of GUN WORLD.  The one I had the opportunity to handle was in a 6mm wildcat.

The CH Armoury (Clerke) uses a link between the lever and the block if my memory serves.

Bill

Uncle_Ethan

Frank DeHaas wrote of the Clerke actions (there were two versions written about) in Single Shot Rifles, Design and Construction, if memory is serving correctly. 
It has been out of print for a while, but you may be able to get a copy through your public library.

A kind gent sent me scans of the article, and if you send me a PM, I may be able to find them and make arrangements to get them to you. The electronic files are quite large, and may cause your email to give some grief. 

The Clerke Highwall was very similar in principle, to the Winchester, but did not look as well finished, due to the speed with which it was pushed through production. This was apparently the cause of Mr Clerke parting ways with the outfit that was marketing those rifles, from what I have gathered.

Cheers
  Trev

Well, I'm back to square one- almost.  I received an e-mail from Bo Clerke today after he looked at the photos, and he said they never came from C H, because all his had hammers.  If I can figure out [or Trev shows me how] to post the pics, maybe someone will have an idea where they came from, or who did the work.  The unfinished one I am thinking of rebarreling to 40-65 or such.  That is the one that has the more reddish tint to the action.  I will have to find out if the chemicals for French Grey will work OK with high nickel actions.  However, I now have literature and information to work with, and I will post the pictures soonest.  Thanks for the help.

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Hows that?  One picture of each of the rifles for the perusal of the group, and I can get the rest up (which show overall views and some details) if they are of interest.

FWIW I have seen the plum colored bluing as being a result of several different things, attributed to the alloy elements in the steel, the temperatures being incorrect, or the salts being contaminated. Could be all three, or something else.

Cheers
  Trev

It's really common to see that color on cast steel and cast iron due to their chemistry, and certain steels due to their heat treatment properties, when hot caustic blued.  It's not a salts contamination problem, or even a temperature problem.  When I worked in a gun shop in the Peace Loving People's Socialist Democratic Republic of California, we would regularly find brand new Ruger rifles & revolvers that color when first unwrapped to put out for display.  Some of our women customers found it attractive!   

David
Montezuma, IA

Thanks guys- Trev, I just retired- I was working 80 hours a week and traveling while my wonderful wife held down the fort with the three kids.  I would have  sent you pictures of gun parts and asked for help in figuring out how to put them back together.   38_Cal- where did you work in Ca?  I moved from North SD county a year and a half ago.  There were a few good gunshops left in Orange County last I heard.

Well, I'm not surprised about Oakland- I buy from Brownells occasionally.  Hope you are well situated now.

Thank you Leadball.  Any idea who did this type of work?  I will take pictures as I disassemble the inferior rifle to find out which it is.  I have an opd Highwall barrel that was re-rifles from 40 cal to 45-70 that I may put on it if the threaded end fits.  It will take a bunch of draw filing to make the barrel nice again.  Any idea what I should do to the action before I french grey it?

Uncle_Ethan, the company leadball is referring to is Mahovsky's MetaLife and they advertise in the SSR Journal last time I looked.  If you can't find them, drop me a PM and I'll dig out an address.  BTW, Dale53 used that process on a Hurst-engraved Ballard and it's gaw-juss!  I think he went with a matte finish (very fine bead blasting) before the coating so it wouldn't be too shiny.

Froggie

How is French Gray done?

French Gray finishing is more of a descriptive term for a result than a specific chemical process.  There's probably as many ways of doing it as there are gunsmiths doing it!

The way I do it is to first polish to a 400 to 500 grit finish, then abrasive blast using aluminum oxide blasting grit.  Degrease the steel parts thoroughly using Gun Scrubber, TCE, or a brake cleaner that leaves no residue.  Warm the parts using an electric heat gun to about 90 to 100 F, and spray on a clear epoxy based paint, like Brownells Acra Coat for Metal.  This gives a semi-gloss finish over a gray color.  If you use glass beads instead of aluminum oxide, it will be a silver color.   

I cure the paint in a heat box...an aluminum foil lined cardboard box of about 3 or 4 cubic feet, with a 75 watt light bulb in it, with the parts hung from a cross bar.  I use an electric cooking thermometer to keep track of the inside temperature, trying for about 140 to 160 F.  Three days or so in the box is like a week or two at 68 degrees room temperature.

After the paint has cured, it holds up very well to handling and even rubbing by a breech seater.  It probably took about 2500 rounds to visibly wear the side of my centerfire Martini 12/15 reciever finish using the breech seater I built for it.

David Kaiser
Montezuma, IA

I can't find the name of the chemical we used- action came out about the same as my Prussian made drilling, and has held up very well.  I was surprised at how well it held up for as easy as it was to do.  A rather light grey, looks noce with the gold engraving.

naval jelly,wash in soda water


.is how i do it----sun lite will make it darker and it can be maintained with used  motor oil from engine.

I'm more than a little interested in this thread, because I have two unfinished frames that are EXACTLY what is shown in that picture.  They were sold to me as being for a Bo Clerke "improved highwall", but I have never found any more information about the design of the guts of the thing.   

Being a Borchardt fan as well, (though I have been unable to cannot afford but one), the idea of duplicating a Borchardt breechblock concept in these two is very exciting.

More please !   If you take one of those apart, please post pictures !

Well, I took the rifle apart to a degree.  I am sending pics to be posted, but I won't take apart the falling block that contains all the parts [striker, etc. until I look at the DeHass book more on the Borschart[sp] action so I know I can put it back together.  The internals on the two rifles seem to be identical.  Was there a company that made up intenal parts to convert these rifles to that type of action.  I will post those pics that look OK- I'm having problems with focus and lighting to show parts.

Well, both actions seem to be identical using a striker with a long trigger that reaches up to the striker area.  I am wondering if the company who bought the parts from C-H had some made up, as there is the same German Iron Cross stamped or cast into the falling block unit as is on the lever.  The internals are not identical to the Borchardt, as the trigger and entire action drops down when you work the lever.  Really pretty clever and less prone to getting dirty.  I also noticed that all major parts have been rockwell tested- I guess I should have tested them on my equipment before I moved- but if I change the caliber on this one I will use a low pressure cartridge so I don't anticipate any problems.

Quote:

I appreciate that- I can't seem to get the pictures to post from photobucket.  The action has a striker about 1" in diameter, and the trigger has a long reach up to that area- the lever has a toggle that is supposed to cock the striker upon opening [or closing] but it wasn't working.  Not a lot of moving parts.

Have you tried Bo Clerke in Raton, NM?  He has a barrel making operation there.

David
Montezuma, IA