The Wolfling Project

I started the restoration of a pair of replica Revolutionary War flintlocks with Chuck on Sunday. They had a lot more rust and pitting on them than I remembered from my initial inspection. Storage in cloth bags for the last twenty years wicked away most of the protective oil. Fortunately the insides of the barrels are not pitted or damaged -- and they're smoothbores, not rifles.

We disassembled one homebuilt rifle from its Springfield stock and started work. An hour of steel wool and sandpaper gave middling results on the exterior of the barrel and the retaining rings.

The "before" photos:

Even the ramrods are coated with rust.

Rust along the barrel of the scratchbuilt rifle.

The second rifle, a Brown Bess replica, is in somewhat better condition.

This will be a multi-week project before these are ready to shoot. I'm down at the TechShop to complete some more sanding and buffing. We'll also have to re-blacken the barrels before assembly.

*** shakes fist ***