Marlin 1936 - Just clean, rebuild, or rebuild Plus

D

Doyle

New member
I picked up a Marlin 1936 in 30-30 with a 4 digit serial number and B prefix. It has light surface rust over most of the metal pieces and several barrel places where someone grabbed it with bloody hands. The stock has lots of dings and at least one repaired split at the butt - the finish is peeling in several places. The buttplate is gone. Based on this, there really isn't much in the way of true collector value. It would probably make a decent shooter though. Tell me how far you would go.

I can:
1. Simply clean it up with no attempt at restoration.
2. Strip/sand/refinish the stock and put on some kind of buttplate (original type would be a bear to find).
3. Add an aftermarket recoil/rifle pad.
4. Go one step further and drill/tap the receiver for scope mounts (I've got 50 year old eyes so my iron sight ability is limited).
 
While a nice older rifle, in the condition you describe it isn't, & probably never will be, worth a great deal. I'd be inclined to clean it up some, but not go overboard. You might be able to find a replacement butt-plate here http://www.gungrip.com/
You may be able to fit a Lyman tang sight to it without any modification, not sure if the '36 had the tang tapped or not. Also look on the rear LH side of the receiver, it may have a couple of holes tapped for a Williams/Lyman receiver sight, if not it's an easy job to do yourself.
 
I can:
1. Simply clean it up with no attempt at restoration.
2. Strip/sand/refinish the stock and put on some kind of buttplate....
3. Add an aftermarket recoil/rifle pad.
4. Go one step further and drill/tap the receiver for scope mounts...
Click to expand...

I would re-finish it since it will probably not have any collector's value.
To me a 30-30 has a mild recoil, so I would only get a recoil pad to extend the LOP if needed.
#4 depends on how and where you're using the rifle.
 
I'm going to start with the metal and see how good it cleans up. If that goes well, I'll see about the stock.

As far as recoil goes, my last 30-30 was a Win '94 (straight stock so more felt recoil). With Hornady LeverEvolution rounds you could definately feel the recoil. It got downright unpleasant at the range. Normal 30-30 ammo isn't quite as hot, but I love those Hornady loads. Not every gun shoots them well, so I'll just have to wait to find out.
 
30/30

How about some pictures so we can see what you got?

Trying to imagine the metal condition....I might blast it with 120 grit alum oxide and then Oxpho blue or GunKote/Duracoat, etc. really depends on how much/deep the rust is...

you can strip the wood, steam out indentions, etc., dye it with alcohol based dye, and then oil finish.
 
Rust was really only on the surface of the barrel. None on the receiver. I cleaned it up really good with steel wool/oil. Degreased it and used Oxpho-blue to touch up the barrel color (didn't need to hit the receiver). It came out pretty good. There is one spot that someone had obviously grabbed with a bloody hand. I had to use a little more force with the steel wool there and the Oxpho-Bule turned it kind of blue colored instead of black like the rest of the barrel.

Now, I get to start working on the wood. It has a couple of small chipouts and some depressions that I'll try to steam out. The original buttplate is gone, but I'll fit it with a thin rifle pad in its place. The biggest question right now is what to do about the 4 screw holes for the factory sling mounts. This gun was one of the original ADL models and they came with factory installed sling mounts that uses two holes each. Of course, I can't find those anywhere.
 
I hope it was deer blood and not a battlefield pickup from some feud! As for the restoration, if it were an old west Winchester it might be something you would leave alone, unless you could find a correct buttplate in similiar condition. Being that it is just a prewar Marlin common type, I don't see any harm in doing anything you want to make it look better or restore it. Looking better is the key, not looking like a patchup or bubba job would add value to it, and ownership enjoyment, I would think. I think you can get replacement wood for those, too. If just the buttstock, then you have the issue of matching it to the handguard. Otherwise, if you tap it for a scope, I think that would be the least desireable mod from a resale standpoint, but suppose you could find a period scope and mount? Then you might be able to keep it seemingly kosher to someone else who might want to buy it.
 
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