Hot Bluing

[Smokinyotes]

I have an old Remington model 12 pump action 22 that was my grandfathers. He gave it to my Dad in the early 1940's. My Dad gave it to me in 1975, shot a ton of muskrats with that old 22. Now it is looking pretty rough and would like to get it reblued and give it to my son. Any one have any idea who I could get to hot blue the rifle that's not going to cost me a fortune.

[Dick284]

The cost of the bluing will out price the value of the rifle, without a doubt., get that into your head first.

Now if it's a keepsake, the worth of the bluing is far beyond the cash out lay.

But also remember the collector value (blue book) of the rifle will be next to nothing if it re-blued.

All that aside, I know Bob at Custom Gunworx does hot blueing, he charges a resonable amount, but he doesn't work for free either.
403-845-8712

[Smokinyotes]

Ya Dick I realize it will cost a lot more than the gun is worth to get it redone and won't add to the value, but it's not worth much now anyhow. Just wanted to get it done so it can be handed down from generation to generation and look pretty good.

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by Smokinyotes

Ya Dick I realize it will cost a lot more than the gun is worth to get it redone and won't add to the value, but it's not worth much now anyhow. Just wanted to get it done so it can be handed down from generation to generation and look pretty good.

I kinda thought that's were you were going......

Give Bob a call, he'll do right by ya.

[gitrdun]

I'll certainly vouch favourably for Bob's blueing abilities based on the P.O. Ackley gun that he did for me. Absolutely gorgeous and decently priced considering the value of this gun.

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by Smokinyotes

I have an old Remington model 12 pump action 22 that was my grandfathers. He gave it to my Dad in the early 1940's. My Dad gave it to me in 1975, shot a ton of muskrats with that old 22. Now it is looking pretty rough and would like to get it reblued and give it to my son. Any one have any idea who I could get to hot blue the rifle that's not going to cost me a fortune.

How much is a fortune? Some folks have no problem spending $300.00 to have their 300 H&H pre-64 Win 70 to be re-blued. But have a crap when it costs the same to have their Cooey 600 .22 re-done for the same price. Yet, the labour and materials are nearly the same. duuuuhhh!

The problem that most people don't seem to understand is that the cost of renovation, blueing isn't dependent on the actual value or what they paid for it. It's based on labour and materials.....period.

[Grizzly Adams]

Nothing wrong with a good, well done, cold blue in a situation like this and certainly affordable.

Grizz

[Smokinyotes]

Looking at some of the work skytopbrewster has done,I'm probably going to get him to do it.

[Pathfinder76]

I am impressed for sure.

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by gitrdun

How much is a fortune? Some folks have no problem spending $300.00 to have their 300 H&H pre-64 Win 70 to be re-blued. But have a crap when it costs the same to have their Cooey 600 .22 re-done for the same price. Yet, the labour and materials are nearly the same. duuuuhhh!

The problem that most people don't seem to understand is that the cost of renovation, blueing isn't dependent on the actual value or what they paid for it. It's based on labour and materials.....period.

IMO $300 would be at the very top end for price for hot caustic blueing on an average bolt action rifle.

[ZeeFishing]

I’ve been thinking about getting my Winchester model 88 re-blued. I looked into just dismantling this leaver and it’s a lot of work and not the easiest rifle to take apart and put together. Who would you guys recommend for the win model 88?

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by chuck

IMO $300 would be at the very top end for price for hot caustic blueing on an average bolt action rifle.

$300.00 is about ball-park Chuck. One can also consider that if he does some of the preliminary work such as disassembly, it can drive that cost down further.

@Zeefishing, if you live around Edmonton, both Skytopbrewster and Custom Gunworx do a nice job. I've seen Skytop's work here in photos and Bob's hands on.

[ZeeFishing]

thank you

[SkytopBrewster]

A wise old gunsmith told me a few years ago " if you want to get into this business start blueing first" the experience gained by taking apart and re-assembling guns is to say the least good experience. That's what most guys don't understand wht it is so expensive for a blue job. Most of the work is in disassembly/reassembly, not losing any parts and having the gun function perfectly once it is back togeather. You don't just dunk the whole gun in the blue tanks, every spting, pin , screw etc has to be taken apart, cleaned & polished. Working on many old guns some can be more challenging than others, hiddin springs that like to fly across the shop if you are not paying attention, pins that hold several pieces togeather with multiple springs under high tension etc. I just did an old Marlin 27S, got in a hurry on takedown and ended up spending over an hr just to get the magazine tube assembly back togeather (whoever designed that backwards mag tube setup needs a kick in the nuts!). So it is impossible to know every firearm inside and out, you learn the basic systems and how they work, trigger mechanisms etc. They are all basically the same but different if you know what I mean. On a complex firearm it may help to study a schematic before takedown, those hidden springs etc can be a bugger.

[gitrdun]

Working on many old guns some can be more challenging than others, hiddin springs that like to fly across the shop if you are not paying attention, pins that hold several pieces togeather with multiple springs under high tension etc.

Boy oh boy, I have lots of those. Funny how a spring can land between your feet and take a bounce clear across the shop. I've purchased a wire kit from Brownells and learned to make my own just for that reason. My wife gets a giggle when she hears "****** from my shop, she knows what I'm up to.