DIY GUNSMITHING: 1899 Lefever Double-Barrel 12 ga. Shotgun Resto

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  • backfire

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    I recently purchased a pretty decent 1899 Lefever SxS Double-Barrel 12 ga. Shotgun for my collection. The barrels are Damascus and after a gunsmith's inspection, they were stated to be in good condition to shoot, as long as they were low pressure/low charge, 2 1/2" shelled rounds with a small shot payload. The bore walls are in pretty good condition too, with only slight pitting in some random spots throughout it's length.

    This is a "numbers matching" gun, where are the serial numbers and gun grade letter matched the parts as I disassembled them, as verified by the factory stampings on each major part. The action is tight when closed, there is minimal wear on the breech face where the barrel closes into it and this particular model is equipped with automatic shell ejectors.

    This gun is in pretty good condition overall, but it's got approx. 112 years of dirt, grime and scum build up on it that needs to be cleaned up before it's put back into use.

    I've never owned a gun this old before and I wouldn't have purchased it if I didn't see a diamond in the rough that I could restore back to new or at least bring back to good working condition AND one I could shoot from time to time.

    All of my guns I own are "shooters", as I don't want, nor am I interested in, a wall hanger or safe queen that only gets taken out to be gawked at and coonfingered to death... If I'm going to have an antique gun of any kind, it MUST be able to be shot...and shot safely.


    I've already got the gun disassembled and it's ready for cleaning. I don't plan to anything "trick" to this gun while it's apart- only give it a thorough cleaning, a re-oiling with high quality gun oil and wash/treat the timbers with some oil soap to clean them up to nice condition. I'm leaving the century-old petina intact, as to not take away from the nostalgic look of the gun, which in my opinion, makes it pretty cool to own!

    Here is where I am thus far:
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    backfire

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    1.) Started this project by working on the timbers first, since the treatment I gave them will need ample time to fully dry before they are ready for re-assembly. The wood is in pretty good condition overall, but it's caked pretty heavy with old nasty gun oil, hand sweat, body oils and who knows what else has accumulated on them after 112 years!
    lefevershotgun2001.jpg




    2.) Since the wrist area of this gun has a steel plate secured to it on either side that didn't want to come off without damage, I played it safe and left it there while I re-conditioned the rest of the wood; especially since it doesn't serve a mechanical purpose for the function of the gun.

    I do want to make the metal look "cleaner" when finished, but I DON'T want to remove the century-old petina that has formed over the years, so I *LIGHTLY* rubbed them with 4-ought (0000) fine steel wool in the direction of the metal grain. This method brightens up the metal just enough to give it a clean, untarnished appearance, without removing that awesome 100+ year-old character petina. A little goes a long way here... ;)
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    3.) Next, I filled up the kitchen sink with hot water (don't tell my wife...Haha!) and added 1/2 cup of Murphy's Oil Soap per the instructions to wash the timbers in. I've used this stuff before on old furniture and it works VERY well in getting all the old grime off. It's strong enough to strip the old wax, oils, etc. from the wood, but gentle enough where it won't harm the original stain, the urethane finish or the wood itself. Plus, it leaves a lemon-ny fresh scent behind!

    I use the 600 grit wet/dry sand paper to gently smooth the wood's edges, then use a green kitchen scotch brite pad to lightly, gently and evenly scrub the wood in the soapy mixture. The "washing" really cleans the checkering out also, which really brings back full appearance that was once lost due to it being packed with grime... Do this task brisk and quick, so you can get the wood out of there quickly, then hand dry off with a towel, letting it set out to air-dry for an hour or so.
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    4.) This is how NASTY the water was after cleaning just these two small peinces of wood! That's 112 year old dirt right there fellas!!
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    backfire

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    5.) Then, after the timbers were fully dry from setting out in the open air an hour or so, I applied a light, even first-coat of Old English wood preservative to the stock and forearm to give the wood a drink, so it wouldn't crack as it dried out.

    I like this stuff, because once you apply it, let it soak and then wipe it off, it leaves the wood feeling dry to the touch, but smooth and "soft"- not slimy and fake shiny looking like some other wood preservatives do... I can't stand that!! Plus, it really brings out the wood's natural, rich, grain and color!!
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    The 112 year old wood was THIRSTY!! I'll give it another coat when the gun is all together for the final assembly. :)
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    backfire

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    6.) After giving the timbers their first coat of preservative, I gave each one some specific attention by picking out all the old wax, oil residue, dirt, grease and what-not from all the tiny nooks and crannies of the machined areas of the wood.

    In doing so, I can't help but be amazed and in awe with the craftsmanship and hand fitment those assembly workers must have put into these high quality collector guns of the past! I mean....the wood rear stock is actually a functioning part of the gun, where without it, the gun wouldn't even fire! How cool is that?! No wonder they are highly prized and STILL shoot to the day- 112 years later!!

    I'd bet there were no "lifetime warranties" or "shoot 250 rounds through it to break it in" crap you hear of these days when these highly crafted guns were built... The expert craftsman back then obviously built them with American pride and they KNEW their finished product would fire on the 1'st round as good as the 1000'th round! I'd bet a simple handshake warranty of, "It'll work" was all that was needed back then. :patriot:

    Neat stuff!!! :cool:
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    backfire

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    7.) I used 4-ought (0000) steel wool on all the metal parts that had the outer exterior exposed such as the side plates, trigger gaurd, upper back strap, lower back strap, action lock lever, screw heads, safety lever backing plate, triggers, and any other misc. parts that "faced" the outside of the gun. Using this fine steel wool cleans the surface of the metal cleanly, while still leaving the aged petina appearance behind. The gun will still "look old", but it'll be as clean, crisp and smooth as a whistle! ;)
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    backfire

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    Update Progress: 2-17-12

    8.) I began cleaning the many little parts that make up the trigger and safety mechanisms, barrel action lock parts, etc. Since many of these moderately sized internal parts are of bare metal and won't be seen once the gun it together, I decided to use an air powered media blaster on them equipped with fine corn cob media.
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    9.) The corn cob chaffe does an excellent job of removing surface rust, grime and light corrosion of these fragile parts, without hurting or etching the host part itself. When they come out, they look like they were just produced new from the factory, where they even have the factory matte finish.
    lefevershotgun4005.jpg



    Note: There were a number of other parts of the gun that have the factory "rainbow" discoloration on them from the manufacturer's heat treating process 112 years ago and I didn't want to disturb that. So, I used only the fine steel wool on those parts, which cleaned them nicely, but left the "rainbow" intact. I don't want to make the gun look "new" on the outside, but rather have it appear as its cared for 112 year old self, only function and work like new on the inside. ;)


    10.) I also only used the media blaster on the non-exposed side of the action lock lever and the forearm trim piece, so I could still keep the old petina on the outside "visible" metal surfaces. Steel wool was used here also, as before on the other parts.
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    backfire

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    I'll be watching this as well.
    I'm a Lefever fan.
    I'm now a LeFever fan too!

    I'm simply in awe at the craftsmanship and quality of these shotguns, (now that I've seen them up close and apart) especially the machining precision of the metal parts, using all they had in the 19th Century. No calculators.. No slide rules.. No computers.. No CNC.., etc. etc. etc., yet they STILL put out a high quality, precision fitted, mass-produced shotgun! Awesome engineering! :cool:

    Those guys back then were real American Craftsman, that's for sure. :cool:
     

    backfire

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    11.) I found that someone had taken the gun apart sometime in the Gun's past, where they boogered-up some of the screw heads, leaving them with burrs and marrs. If I was restoring this gun to be a show queen, (and if it was of a much higher grade) I would try to find new replacements for them, as each one actually has engraving on the heads. Since I'm not and this gun will be a nice shooter, I went ahead and took a micro-file to lightly file down the sharp burrs and marrs from each screw head to clean them up a little so they are presentable. I tried my best to only take down the high spots and not disturb the engraving.
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    12.) I took a micro-file to all the internal parts that had raised edges, burrs, marrs or sharp corners in an effort to smooth them out for cleaner gun operation. This particular part is the shell ejector.
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    13.) This is the trigger set that just came out of the media blaster w/ corn cob media. I only blasted the inside of the part clean that wouldn't bee seen and left the 100+ year old petina intact on the outside.
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    14.) I found that one of the triggers must have broken off and had been repaired in the Gun's past, where they brazed the broken piece back on. It seems to be a nice braze job, so I won't disturb it, but I will polish both triggers to give the gun's assembled appearance a bit of class.
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    backfire

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    15.) As I've worked through this project, I realized I'll be needing some stuff to complete it, so I placed an order with Brownell's for some synthetic gun assembly grease, some low pressure/load ammo from RST Shotshells and some synthetic gun oil for the moving parts from Kustom Ballistics.


    Mil-Comm Products TW-25B Synthetic Lube: Mil-Comm Products - TW-25B synthetic lubricant protectant grease or oil for firearms, fishing reels, locks and hardware. - Mil-Comm Products - TW-25B synthetic lubricant protectant grease or oil for firearms, fishing reels, locks and hardware. - 02.
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    RST Shotshells: (2 1/2", 1125, 3/4, 7 1/2) RST Shotshells
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    Kustom Ballistics Synthetic Gun Oil: Kustom Ballistics
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    I'll be using the synthetic grease in the areas of the action mechanism that needs a lube that "sticks" to the parts during use and in storage and then I'll be using synthetic gun oil from Kustom Ballistics for the other working parts. I chose the synthetic stuff over conventional lubes, because I don't want to have to take this gun apart a bunch of times to service/maintain it due to it's age, so using synthetics that "stick" should provide improved lubrication and less service intervals over standard lubes. If this stuff is good enough for many Domestic and International Military's, it's good enough for me!

    Also, I chose the lightest off-the-shelf loads that RST has for my gun for obvious gun age reasons. I want to have fun with the gun, not blow it up and these guys specialize in low pressure, light load, slow burning shotshells for antique guns.

    .....Besides, if I want to impress someone with a BIG BANG, I'll pull out King Kong (see other previous 12 ga. shotgun build-up thread) and let them rip through some 3" Mag., double-ought buck rounds that REALLY clear the sinusus!! :):
     
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    backfire

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    Had some time to kill last night, so I got back on this project to get a few more things done.


    16.) Blasted shell ejector with corn cob media to remove surface rust and caked-on, 100+ year old grease. Then I polished the shaft (which I already deburred beforehand) with 600g wet/dry sand paper, then 1500g sp and finally with 0000 steel wool. It glides as smooth as glass in the barrel now. :)
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    17.) Did the same procedure on the break-open action pivot points so they operate effortlessly.
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    18.) Just to add a little sparkle and class to this antique gun, I polished both triggers front and back using the method above, only I finished them off with Flitz Metal Polish.
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    19.) One eyesore on this gun was the butt plate that was on it... It was a real POS and I have no idea what it came from originally, nor did I care, as it didn't fit the stock right and it had other "auxilary" holes bored in it that obviously didn't beloong... I found a nice, brand new re-production butt plate on Ebay for $15 and it looks great! It even has the original LeFever Arms Co. logo (LAC) embossed on it. Can't wait to put it on. :cool:
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    backfire

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    Update: 2-25-12 Final Assembly

    Well, the gun os almost finished and these next set of posts will conclude this restoration thread. My ammo should be here next week and I'll be heading to the local skeet shooting range to test it out.

    I can say the gun went together very well and straight forward, where everything works exceptionally smooth compared to what it was before, as those synthetic lubes I used played a major part in that. I highly suggest them to conventional gun oil/lubes.

    Note: In a number of forthcoming photos, you'll see the use of Remington Dri-Lube on most of the parts of this gun, including the internal surfaces of the wood parts. I did this for two major reasons:
    1.) I like to pre-treat all the bare steel and wood parts with it, because when the liquid carrier evaporates off, it leaves behind a dry, even film of protecting lubricant that resists rust and moisture draw- which is especially important on un-replaceable antique gun parts like these.
    2.) Plus it gives EVERYTHING a non-sticky protective coating- even those part surfaces that don't touch something else. This gun and its parts should never rust or corrode again if its taken care of.

    I wanted every, single bare metal or wood part of this gun to have some sort of protective coating so it would not rust or corrode and hopefully last another 112 years for someone else to enjoy!


    Last but not least, since there didn't seem to be much interest from others in this thread, I scaled back the re-assembly photos and steps to save myself time in getting it back together, especially since it takes SOOOOO much time to put a how-to together like this in great detail like I've done before.

    Hopefully the info here will be helpful to some. Without further adue...here goes. :)
     

    backfire

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    20.) All the parts of the gun (except the barrel) are in this picture, are completely cleaned and ready for re-assembly. I hand washed all the metal parts in mineral spirits with a toothbrush and then lightly blew dry with compressed air. The wood partds were cleaned in previous posts. Throughout the resto process, I had forgotten just how many teeny-tiny parts this gun had! LoL
    LeFeverShotgun7001.jpg



    Note: I put this gun back together in "sub-assemblies" to keep track of little parts, before the final marrying of the everything back together to make the whole, complete gun.


    21.) Re-assembly of the side plates that contain the cocked hammer indicators. Pre-treated all the metal parts with Remington Dri-Lube to prevent future corrosion and moisture draw. Then, lube them up and set them aside.
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    backfire

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    22.) Re-installation of grip end and pre-treated metal parts. (including screws)
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    23.) Pre-treated/lubed trigger set and then applied synthetic, high viscosity gun lube on metel-to-metal surfaces, pivot points, etc. until they both workd effortlessly.
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    backfire

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    24.) Now on to re-assembly of the forearm assembly. This part of this gun serves more then one purpose, so it has a few moving parts in it that require some care in fitting back together for proper operation.
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    25.) On some of these "sliding" parts, I used the new synthetic gun grease for lube so it would actually "stick" to the parts while in operation and over long-term storage. It's got the consistancy of hand lotion and spreads evenly very well. Add a 1/2 drop of Kellube to this stuff and it's SUPER SLIPPERY!!!!!
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    26.) I applied some syn. grease in this area, since the forearm and main frame/action rub on this pivot point when the barrals are opened.
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    backfire

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    27.) Next, it's onto the re-assembly of the frame assembly that houses the lever lock release, the hammers, hammer springs, trigger safety, trigger bars and a bunch of other misc, teeny-tiny parts that were expertly machined way back in 1899!
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    Note: I skipped a few photo steps from the first photo taken to the last one of this assembly to save time. As always, all the bare metal parts, including the frame, was pre-treated with Remington Dri-Lube to prevent future corosion and moisture draw.


    28.) Fully assembled with firing pins, hammers, hammer springs, safety mechanism, action lock mechanism and thumb release, hammer actuators, etc.
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    backfire

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    29.) Next, it was on to fitting the shell ejector back into the barrels. A little syn. lube here made this work back/forth as smooth as glass. ;)
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    BTW~ I prepped/cleaned the barrels by first washing them inside and out with mineral spirits to gently remove all the gook that had accumulated onto them over the last 112 years.. Then, I used 0000 steel wool soaked in light gun oil to gently wipe the exterior of them to remove the surface rust from the metal, but not disturb the century-oil petina that exists on them- giving them a rich, "aged", antique look I wanted to preserve.

    Then I deburred all the sharp edges off the action ramp portion of the barrels to promote smooth gun operation when loading, firing and ejecting shells. That was followed up by scrubbing the both bores with Hoppes #9 cleaning solution and a cylindrical, brass 12 ga. bore brush, making sure I removed all the build-up that had accumulated over time.

    Lastly, I swabbed the bores with patches and isopropyl alcohol until they were squeeky clean, then applied a nice, even coat of shotgun bore lube/protectant. They're all perty now, the action ramp and ejector are lubed up and it's ready for re-installation on the completed gun later. :)
     

    backfire

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    30.) Now it's on to preparing the rear stock for fitment to main frame/action assy. Once again, I applied some Dri-Lube protectant on the internal wood surfaces so they would have a protective coating on them to resist rotting/moisture draw from the adjacent steel.

    I then applied some synthetic grease onto the V-spring locating pin to promote smooth operation between them later on in the re-assembly.
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    31.) Next, it time to marry the main action assy. to the rear stock and install the trigger bars, V-springs, etc. The workmanship of these old guns is superb!!
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    backfire

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    32.) Now it's time to fit the trigger set assy. and gaurd onto the gun. All the parts were pre-treated/lubed as before, then test fit first, then final fit all back together to make sure everything fit nice and nothing was bound up. All moving parts got a dab of syn. Kellube also. I took care to align the screw heads with the surrounding contours of the object they were securing, to make the gun look as factory as possible.
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