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A Francotte Martini with a bit of history (Read 7164 times)

mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #30 - Oct 2^nd, 2021 at 4:02pm	Print Post
	Two folding leaves missing and so is the ladder sight. What does one do in this situation? Consult an expert. And we are lucky to have one here.


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #31 - Oct 2^nd, 2021 at 4:07pm	Print Post
	Maestro GT here gave me some very sound advice and I proceded to replace those leaves. using 3mm bright mild steel. Six 1.2mm cobalt drills later and I got them to shape.The leaf spring for the ladder sight was cut out from an old wood cutting saw, that did not even need softening to be drilled with a cobalt drill.


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #32 - Oct 2^nd, 2021 at 4:11pm	Print Post
	The ladder sight might not look traditional, but please bear in mind that a ghost sight, whilst not common, was not unheard of in hunting rifles. Plus, my ageing eyes can see the target better through a peep sight.


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oneatatime Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4470 Location: Rocky Mountains Joined: Oct 30^th, 2011	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #33 - Oct 2^nd, 2021 at 4:47pm	Print Post
	Where there is a will there is a way. Well done.


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GT Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2368 Location: Northeast Wyoming Joined: Jun 28^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #34 - Oct 2^nd, 2021 at 5:22pm	Print Post
	mqabbi, You are making some great strides with this project and I'm learning some things as you go. I have a restoration project or two that need some attention they just haven't fallen into the limelight yet. Thank you for sharing this project. Greg

	"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk" T. A. Edison "The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right" M.T.
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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #35 - Oct 9^th, 2021 at 1:07pm	Print Post
	The buttplate had seen better days. It was fairly rusty and soaking in kerosene/atf loosened the rough rust. It lookd like this after a bout with a stiff hand held fine wire brush.


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #36 - Oct 9^th, 2021 at 1:10pm	Print Post
	I applied the goop as above and after several applications, it looked better


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #37 - Oct 9^th, 2021 at 1:12pm	Print Post
	Carding brush and judicious use of 400 grade paper


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #38 - Oct 9^th, 2021 at 1:13pm	Print Post
	finally finished. Prior to removing the rust, the engraved figures on the plate were not visible at all.


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #39 - Oct 9^th, 2021 at 1:18pm	Print Post
	The engraving is on the tang is actually looking crisper than it was before, I treated it with that goop.


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #40 - Nov 3^rd, 2021 at 2:18pm	Print Post
	So sorry for the lack of posting, but real life reared its head again and was thrown off. As one can see in the images below, the wood was in a rather bad condition. There seem to be rather more dings than unblemished surfaces.


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #41 - Nov 3^rd, 2021 at 2:19pm	Print Post
	The images do not really portray how bad they were.


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #42 - Nov 3^rd, 2021 at 2:21pm	Print Post
	I started using a rather aggressive wood stripper and removed the finish as it was. Unfortunately, the stripper only removed the polymerised oil on the surface. The forearm was still very dark and the very fine checkering was still clogged with oil. So some more aggressive out of the box thinking was required. I wrapped them in kitchen towels and warmed them in the oven at 120C for 20 minutes at a time.


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #43 - Nov 3^rd, 2021 at 2:23pm	Print Post
	A lot of the oil was forced to the surface and got absorbed by the tissue paper.


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mqabbi Full Member Offline Posts: 109 Joined: Nov 6^th, 2015	Re: A Francotte Martini with a bit of history Reply #44 - Nov 3^rd, 2021 at 2:27pm	Print Post
	When they were still warm, I sprayed them with a commercial oven cleaner. The stuff that is used in the catering industry, not the home use product which really did not work when I tried it.


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