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Stevens 44 1/2 (Read 7037 times)

tommyauger Full Member Offline Posts: 159 Location: Altoona Joined: Oct 15^th, 2008	Stevens 44 1/2 Jul 23^rd, 2011 at 7:54am	Print Post
	I have an rifle with a few scratches and has gone into the brown/dull stage?????If that makes since. I am looking to clean the action up in the past I have been the (BUBBA gunsmith) that everyone talks about with the wire wheel and buffer. I want to do this action right and since I have more time than money I would like to spend some time hand buffing this. Were and what do I start this job with. steel-wool sand paper oil cleaner what is the best way to go about this task.... Thanks TommyAuger

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Quarter_Bore Oldtimer Offline Posts: 817 Location: Joined: Dec 16^th, 2005	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #1 - Jul 23^rd, 2011 at 8:26am	Print Post
	It depends on what you are going for. If you are going to polish it and get it recase colored it is one thing. If you are just going to clean off rust and shoot it the way it is that's another. The first thing to get out of your head is the idea of buffing. Power tools are not involved in any of these processes. I think you should start by using the rifle the way it is.


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tommyauger Full Member Offline Posts: 159 Location: Altoona Joined: Oct 15^th, 2008	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #2 - Jul 23^rd, 2011 at 10:38am	Print Post
	I want to get it casecolored.

	tommyauger
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harry_eales Ex Member	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #3 - Jul 23^rd, 2011 at 12:27pm	Print Post
	Tommy, If the original rifle was CC Hardened then you should have it annealed first. Not a thing you can do easily at home. Once that has been done, then you can repair any dings or burrs etc, then, and only then resort to fine abrasive paper backed by a hard surface. Many people use files for this, but I prefer to use a wood or hard plastic strip of the same width of the tape. Should your abrasive come in sheets it may tear easily readily into strips, if not an old 'Exacto' blade will cut it easily. Starting off with something like 200 grit paper then work down to 400 or even 600, anything finer is not really needed. Polish lengthways and do not do one part one way and another part in a different direction When polishing, use new sheet lead jaws for the vice holding the work and be sure to wipe any dust off the whole action and the jaws when moving the parts, you don't want to make new scratches on them. Do all the curves first, and then the flat surfaces. As Quarter-bore says, stay well away from buffing wheels and machines. Hand polishing is the only way to go. If your not sure you are capable of the work, have the smith who will be doing the CC Hardening do it for you, he will charge of course, but he should have the necessary skill and experience to do a good job. Just my 2 dollars worth. 2 cents doesn't buy you anything these days. Harry
	« Last Edit: Jul 23^rd, 2011 at 12:37pm by »

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MAD MIKE Oldtimer Offline Posts: 655 Location: So Cal Joined: Oct 31^st, 2006	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #4 - Jul 23^rd, 2011 at 6:32pm	Print Post
	Tommy, First off, if you're going to recase it, you want it cased the way Stevens did it, in which case you should call, Gail at CPA, she'll tell you how to prep the parts you want recased. I don't think annealing is neccesary since Stevens only cased them a couple of thousands deep & you'll probibly take most of that off prepping it. They do a great job. ...MIKE...


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40_Rod Frequent Elocutionist Offline Extremism in the persuit of accuracy is not a vice Posts: 4285 Location: Knoxville, TN Joined: Apr 20^th, 2004	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #5 - Jul 24^th, 2011 at 8:52am	Print Post
	Sticklers will tell you that stoning is the only way to do it right. There are a couple of alternatives though. If you don,t have a lot of pitting or dings to remove use Emory cloth backed by a flat piece of hardwood. I use a piece about 1" square and 6" to 8" long. The other method is to use the same stick backed with some felt and use lapping compound. no matter what I start with I usually finish with the felt on the stick and 400 grit lapping compound. This will give you a nice even finish that is not too slick for color casing or French grey.


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boats Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 7537 Location: Virginia Joined: Apr 23^rd, 2004	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #6 - Jul 24^th, 2011 at 9:36am	Print Post
	Buy a beater broken single shot shotgun. Pawn shops around here have them in barrels for 20 - 30 bucks. Strip it down and polish out the action by hand. No need for machines unless you want to see what one will do to one side then hand work on the other. I use a belt sander sometimes, am using one on a cast steel butt plate now, Very sparingly and I have some experience with power sanding. Generally power is trouble as are Dremel tools. Use a strong grit to start if pitted 120 is not too much if it's bad. then work up through the grits to get a nice finish. Most hardware stores don't keep all grits in stock. I get mine from Klingspoors, they have a web site. Example between 150 and 220 is 180 you don't see it at the corner store. I recomend 120 150 220 280 320 400. You can go all the way to 2000 if you want to see how much shine can be put on metal. 600 is probably enough though. Lay the paper out on your bench in grit order. When it won't cut well anymore throw it away, worn out paper is a waste of time and energy Make sure you don't mix up the grit order or leave worn out paper on the bench, makes for more work to go back when you scratch a nice polish with the wrong or worn out paper. Keep the work clean with rags. Residue makes the job harder You are looking for flat , so use a backer. Artist gun erasers work good up close to curves and edges . On the Barrel shoe shine with strips. Allow plenty of time it's not a quick job. If you want to see how stones work and have some good flat ones use them once all is polished up nice. Flat on the Stones too. If they are swayed from knife sharpening you can put aggressive grit paper on a sheet of heavy glass and dress it down dead flat. Use some light lube when dressing the stone. I have a couple of stones I use and know how they cut. But it's trial and error with stones no grit stamped on the back. If happy with the junk action results then go ahead and sand on that 600 dollar 44 1/2 Boats


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hepburn4590 Ex Member	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #7 - Jul 24^th, 2011 at 10:18am	Print Post
	Send it to CPA as is. They'll polish and recolor it. It will come back drop dead gorgeous. Well worth every dime they will charge you.


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tommyauger Full Member Offline Posts: 159 Location: Altoona Joined: Oct 15^th, 2008	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #8 - Jul 24^th, 2011 at 12:05pm	Print Post
	I would like to thank everyone for their replies. I am going to try hand polishing the action myself I will keep you updated. TommyAuger

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marlinguy Frequent Elocutionist Offline Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater! Posts: 16009 Location: Oregon Joined: Feb 2^nd, 2009	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #9 - Jul 25^th, 2011 at 9:50pm	Print Post
	I use sandpaper to polish the finish by hand on all the curved surfaces. Starting with something agressive for pitted areas like 240 grit, then work down to at least 400 grit for final, or even 600 grit. When I get all the curved surfaces done I start on the flats by using a piece of 1/4"-1/2" plate that is 8.5"x11" and I spray a little spray glue on the plate, then lay the sandpaper on. This holds the paper nicely, and I move the action back and forth the same direction on both sides. I find it's much easier to keep the parts flat this way and not round over the edges vs. wrapping the paper around a block and sanding the parts. I use the same progressively finer paper until I get things smooth enough to send for case work.

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tommyauger Full Member Offline Posts: 159 Location: Altoona Joined: Oct 15^th, 2008	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #10 - Jul 26^th, 2011 at 10:10am	Print Post
	After day 1

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tommyauger Full Member Offline Posts: 159 Location: Altoona Joined: Oct 15^th, 2008	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #11 - Jul 26^th, 2011 at 10:11am	Print Post
	many days to-go TommyAuger

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marlinguy Frequent Elocutionist Offline Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater! Posts: 16009 Location: Oregon Joined: Feb 2^nd, 2009	Re: Stevens 44 1/2 Reply #12 - Jul 26^th, 2011 at 10:17am	Print Post
	Very nice progress the first day. Not that many to go I'd say!

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