The Wolfling Project

The results of the second cleaning session: a lot of work with coarse and fine steel wool, a wire brush, and a buffing wheel.

The rust is gone from the exterior surfaces, but pitting remains, as I don't want to put these on a grinding wheel.

Pitting shown on barrel (black)

Detail of the replica flintlock.

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.

I borrowed two recreations of Revolutionary War flintlock muskets from my stepfather ... plenty of work to do, cleaning these up. There's pitting and rust on the inside and outside of the barrels.

Time for 0000 steel wool and plenty of bore butter.

Photos will follow.