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  • Mark 1911

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Jun 6, 2012
    10,931
    83
    Schererville, IN
    I'm working a field assignment in Minnesota and I rent the upstairs of an old farmhouse that was built in 1865. It's on the National Historic Register.

    It's a pretty interesting place. There is a structure that was once a large chicken coupe that was converted to a house, and people currently live in it. There are some large barns on the property that have been converted into reception halls with full kitchens, and the current owner uses the property as a wedding venue.

    The current owner has had the property for 17 years. He's is in the process of refurbishing one of the sheds on the property with the intent of making it into a living space to rent.

    He was cleaning out the attic of the shed this morning and found this old German WWI Danzig rifle. I'll have to take a close look at it over the weekend, I offered to clean it up for him if he wants me to. Will get some actual model numbers. Would be interesting to get a value on it.

    IMG953219_zps3b6ivwqk.jpg
     

    T.Lex

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    15   0   0
    Mar 30, 2011
    25,859
    113
    Awesome!

    But please tell me the guy didn't lose his pinky in the same incident that he found the rifle. That's kinda put a downer on the whole thing.
     

    Mark 1911

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Jun 6, 2012
    10,931
    83
    Schererville, IN
    Awesome!

    But please tell me the guy didn't lose his pinky in the same incident that he found the rifle. That's kinda put a downer on the whole thing.

    Haha! I think that wound would look a lot fresher if that were the case. He told me he did that on a table saw back in the 80s, and it still hurts him.
     
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    Kirk Freeman

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Mar 9, 2008
    47,969
    113
    Lafayette, Indiana
    It's a farm. Someone is going to lose some digits or worse.

    Funny I was just thinking about Frank James and his farm-injured finger over the weekend while I was doing some Jack Ruby style shooting.
     

    rob63

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    20   0   0
    May 9, 2013
    4,282
    77
    It's a Gew 98 with a cut down stock and missing the barrel bands. It would be $600 or more if it was complete and cleaned up nicely, but something less with the alterations. The biggest problem a collector will have is that even if it was restored, it still won't have matching numbers. Still a very cool find!
     

    Mark 1911

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Jun 6, 2012
    10,931
    83
    Schererville, IN
    It's a Gew 98 with a cut down stock and missing the barrel bands. It would be $600 or more if it was complete and cleaned up nicely, but something less with the alterations. The biggest problem a collector will have is that even if it was restored, it still won't have matching numbers. Still a very cool find!

    Thanks for the input. I will pass that along to the owner!
     

    Mark 1911

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Jun 6, 2012
    10,931
    83
    Schererville, IN
    The owner, otherwise known as Mike, gave me the rifle tonight to clean. I'm working 80 hour weeks through the end of October so I told him it will take some time. The side that was laying down looks decent, but the other side is covered with 100+ years of dust, and some rust, a little mold. It looks black in the above picture, but it's a standard wooden stock. That's what laying in the rafters of a farm shed for 100 some years will do. Can't tell how bad it is yet, haven't inspected the bore. I will be going slow and gentle. Is missing the rear screw for the trigger assembly. Looking forward to slowly bringing it back to life. Any advice or input greatly appreciated.

    Will post some pics as the project progresses.

    Mike told me to tell everyone to look up his place online. It's called Hope Glen Farm in Cottage Grove Minnesota.
     
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    rob63

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    20   0   0
    May 9, 2013
    4,282
    77
    I found one at auction a year ago that needed cleaned up. I used a product called Simple Green to remove layers of dust and dirt. Use as little as possible because it will pull the original finish out of the wood too. It's not something to use on a gun that is in decent shape, but is great for something like this where there is a lot of accumulated filth. Boiled Linseed Oil, rubbed in just a little at a time, will bring it back. The number of coats and time required depends upon how much original finish is left after you clean it so don't go overboard on the cleaning, but it does require patience regardless of how many coats you have to do. People who try to go too fast end up with a gooey mess because it needs time to cure between coats.

    A toothpick dipped in Mineral Spirits can be used to remove paint splotches, etc. Do not sand it or do anything else aggressive!

    I have always had good luck with WD-40 and 0000 steel wool. Many people recommend bronze wool to keep you from being too overzealous with it. You just want to get surface rust without removing patina. In fact, I normally start with the oil and just a toothpick to see if that will suffice. Something to know, only the barrel on the Gew 98 was blued, everything else was originally left in the white, so it may be in much better condition than it appears to be.

    Here are some places that you can get parts if you are going to restore it completely. You will need a donor forearm, a handguard, both barrel bands, and the bayonet lug.

    https://www.gunpartscorp.com/
    SARCO, Inc. - The Largest Gun Shop in Easton
    https://www.libertytreecollectors.com/

    Here are some before and after photos of my rifle to give you an idea:

    DSWe8MT.jpg

    CT5q3cC.jpg

    DJ935sT.jpg

    5FfhiJo.jpg
     
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    Warrior1354

    Marksman
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Jun 25, 2017
    149
    28
    Carthage
    What's the year of manufacturer on top of the receiver. Also check the stock disc could be unit marked. The early made rifles were or pre-war era Gew98 rifles. Depending on what unit it was issued to they can be quite interesting.

    And great find even better that it's a Gewehr 98. I believe I own 10 of those now!
     

    Mark 1911

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Jun 6, 2012
    10,931
    83
    Schererville, IN
    Yesterday was the first day I had time to start working on it. I'll just post a few here for starters, just to show how heavily caked with dust, rust, and a even a little mold. This thing could have been setting up there for the last 100 years, probably less, but it's hard to reconstruct the history.

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    20181014_095915_zpsuwyohasb.jpg



    Some parts of the rifle are cleaning up very nicely. The bolt and the rear sight are excellent. The right side of the barrel toward the front and the right side of the front sight are unfortunately heavily pitted. Some pitting on the bolt knob but the rest looks ok. Looks like blood stains on the left side of the stock, I'll get some those next time.
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