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Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) New Stevens Lord 22- input please (Read 15322 times)
red_stevens
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New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Jul 2nd, 2009 at 1:51am
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I just purchased another Lord but this one in 22.  No more 25 rf for me after $70 a box for ammo.  This one is worn and needs a reline job as well as refinishing and fresh out the checkering.  Below is a link to the photos.  Would you refinish or leave as is.  Just for your knowledge I paid a very small price for it and have plenty of room to spend on refinishing etc...  I want to shoot this gun as I shot my 25 rf Lord today and its a joy to shoot.  I fired 5 rounds at 25 yards putting all 5 holes in a quarter sized group- my eyes were the limiting factor and someone with good young eyes may do even better.  I now want to get the 22 to shoot like this.  The bore has no rifling left.  Also, it was drilled and tapped for a tang sight and this could have been done at the factory.  Sure would like to find and original Stevens tang sight for it but that will probably never happen, to rare or expensive.
What do you all think?  Given the photos would your restore on not.   
Red
link to photos( green background is the 22 lord):

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terry buffum
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #1 - Jul 2nd, 2009 at 12:34pm
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I would have the barrel lined so it was a shooter, rust blue the barrel, leave the partial nickel on the frame, and then worry about the grips.  I really could not see them well enough, but probably my "plan" would be to oil finish them and wait on the checkering recut until I saw how the rest of it looks.  If the grips were completely redone, I suspect the nickel would then also need it, and that is the most difficult part of the project.

Congratulations on a great find!
  

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whitey hanson
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #2 - Jul 2nd, 2009 at 6:25pm
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Red just to help you out. Smiley and save you some money you could send me that 25rf. I would give it a good home. Wink Whitey
  
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marlinguy
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #3 - Jul 2nd, 2009 at 7:04pm
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I would agree with Terry on a partial restoration. Reline, barrel rust blue, and no agressive claening of the frame, just a little hand rubbed Flitz on it, and call it good. 
I think it would be a very respecatble shooter, and increase the value too.
  

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red_stevens
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #4 - Jul 2nd, 2009 at 9:38pm
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Thanks everyone for the advice!  I will start with the reline and blue job.  I am still trying to find the Flitz polish to no avail.  I will get some Flitz online since I cannot seem to find an auto parts dealer who has it over the counter here.  After reading the how to rust blue on this forum I think I will do it myself.  I was considering buying the drill, reamer, and liner to line it myself as well.  I have some 22 pumps that need relining and could use the tools several times thus making it cost effective.  I am very capable as a handy man with tools and feel this job is within my ability.  I have never done one before but I see that Brownells provides an instruction set and I have read some about the process online and on this forum.  Of course, John Taylor comes very very highly recommended and I may relent and just pay to have him do his magic since it really is important to me to have this Lord shoot well.   
Thanks for the offer Whitey but I am very much in love with that 25 Lord after shooting it.  When I found the 22 Lord I had considered selling the 25 until I shot it.  It will go nowhere but in my safe and on to my son many years from now.  I will replace the Remington 121  pump rear sight with one reproduced like the windage adjustable original that it should have.
I will take all your advice and should I decide I cannot live with the flaking nickle I can have it done at any time in the future.  Going slow makes good sense.

Red
  
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slumlord44
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #5 - Jul 2nd, 2009 at 11:10pm
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If you decide to have it relined, Taylor is as good as it gets. I am sure this is an iron framed gun. If it was mine, I would consider having the nickel striped, buff and polish the frame and brown it. If you try to blue it, they sometimes turn purple. Re nickeling will probably get expensive. I agree with you that the nickeling is pretty bad. If the browning does not work to your satisfaction, you can always bite the bullet and have it renickled. I have one of these that I bought cheap several years ago because it had been reblued and had custom grips on it. Bore is decent but not perfect. Shoots prety good and is a lot of fun. 
I have a Tip Up rifle that I picked up on the cheap several years ago. Nickle was well worn but not flaked off. Barrel was brown and rifling shot. Had it relined, cleaned and TruOiled the stock. Had to switch to a taller rear sight to get it to shoot to point of aim. Shoots great for a plinker and looks neat. Your pistol will be a fun project and will look good no matter which way you decide to go with it.
  
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slumlord44
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #6 - Jul 2nd, 2009 at 11:13pm
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About the tang sight, I believe they were an option. Going to be tough to find. Saw one for some kind of Stevens pistol either on Ebay or Gunbroker a while back. Do not rember if it sold or not. Keep looking. You may find one somewhere.
  
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marlinguy
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #7 - Jul 2nd, 2009 at 11:57pm
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That little single shot pistol with it's short barrel is about the cheapest thing a guy could ever have relined. It should be very economical to have it done.
Most hardware or even Fred Meyers carry another product called "Metal Glow", that is just like Flitz, but a bit cheaper. It's found in the section where they sell Brasso and pot cleaning agents.
Might check that before ordering.-Vall
  

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red_stevens
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #8 - Jul 3rd, 2009 at 1:23am
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Slumlord44
The tang sight would be a great find especially if it were priced reasonably.  I saw the same one on ebay but I did not have the pistol at the time so I did not know I might need it.  Another option is the scope made by Stevens especially for this pistol.  The scope has long eye relief for shooting at arms length.  Its is Stevens number 570 and is pictured on page 92 of the Kenneth Cope book "Stevens Pistols and Pocket Rifles".  My 22 Lord pistol has the correct dovetails cut in the barrel for this scope unlike my 25 Lord which has the 2 screw rear sight attachment and no dovetails.  Both of these options are only a dream and I probably will never have an opportunity or resources to buy either one.  Although, I thought I would never own a Lord and now I have two of them.   It may be possible to make a tang sight copy that would work but I will worry about all of this once I get the pistol redone to suit me.  When I winter in Arizona I have access to a complete metal working shop with plasma cutters and CAD mills and lathes so making the sight could happen if I could get measurements from someone with and original.  I think it would be the same sight that is on the Vernier model Hunters Pet #34 1/2 Pocket Rifle.  I assume this is different than the sight on the 40 1/2 Vernier Pocket Rifle.   
Marlinguy, I had the same thought about how much it would cost to have the pistol lined and hoped it would be reasonable due to its small size and relative ease to do the work.  Maybe I will email John Taylor about this project to see what he has to say.  This is the first thing I want to get done.  I will visit Fred Meyer and get some Metal Glow.
Thanks for the suggestions again.   
Red
  
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digitall423
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #9 - Jul 3rd, 2009 at 7:38am
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Red, I have Brownell's piloted bit for drilling out bad bores for relining. I also consider myself fairly adept at doing such work. I have relined several barrels using this equipment using both a hand drill and a lathe. While I have been satisfied with the work I have done there is always a seam visible at the muzzle. I discovered John Taylor several years ago ( before he was on this forum) and was absolutely amazed at the job he does. John reams the barrel to within .002 - .003 of an inch then  somehow produces a virtually invisible seam. I would not consider any other option for a really nice or rare gun.

I have no connection to John other than being a very satisfied customer.
  
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Chuckster
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #10 - Jul 3rd, 2009 at 10:19pm
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Question about tip-ups: I have a homemade copy of a Stevens tip-up pistol. Shoots very well for several hundred shots, then hinge joint gets loose and and accuracy degrades. The receiver is made of mild steel so I just give it a little squeeze in the vice to tighten it and it is good for several hundred more. Is this a problem with the tip-up origionals?  The side locking lug does not tighten the hinge like a rear locking lug would.
  
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marlinguy
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #11 - Jul 4th, 2009 at 3:39pm
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Never had a Tip Up shoot loose, so my experience says no. I've even had a few in bigger centerfire calibers and they continued to shoot tightly without adjustment. My Tip Up in .32-35 is as tight as it probably was when new.
  

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powderhead
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #12 - Jul 4th, 2009 at 5:32pm
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I have real mixed emotions about restoring antique/curio and relic firearms.  About the most I will do to mine is to rub a little linseed oil in a dry stock, or add a re manufactured part to an incomplete gun.  Unless it's a rare example of something, I will pass on a gun that's been relined or reblued.  However, this is only my ethics and I don't judge others who want to restore an old gun to shoot.  I guess I had this reinforced by watching "Antiques Roadshow"  where the guy says,  "that table is worth 500$, but if you hadn't refinished it it would be worth 5,000$."      
  
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38_Cal
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #13 - Jul 4th, 2009 at 6:54pm
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I feel that old guns are more like old cars than furniture.  If you've got a loose, rusty hunk-o-junque, it's open season on restoration/refurbishment.  If it's in 75% condition on the cosmetics end and still tight, then I would advise repair but not restoration.   

Just got home from a friend's place where he showed me his latest find...a .219 Zipper Improved built by Hervey Lovell in 1947 on a single set trigger HiWall, with the lower tang bent for a varmint stock.  Restorable, yes, able to be turned into a Schuetzen, yes, but it's too nice as an early example of a varmint rifle built by a known gunsmith to want to do either!  Previous owner bought it from the guy that had it built by Lovell, stopped shooting it in the mid '50s when bullets for reloading were scarce!

David
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David Kaiser
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slumlord44
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Re: New Stevens Lord 22- input please
Reply #14 - Jul 4th, 2009 at 9:18pm
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As an old car nut also I can relate. Years back a modified or hot rod wasn't worth near as much as an original or restored car. Today a collectable car with great red paint, when the car was originaly green, will bring more. Good hot rods are worth more than restored originals. Go figure. When it comes to guns, if the gun is in decent shape or extremely rare, all I will do is carefuly clean it and preserve it. Bringing a rusted or broken hulk back into shooting condition and making it look presentable, or even totaly restoring it is acceptable to me. This is an individual choice and the owner has to live with it
  
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