I was given a really badly rusted winchester 1873 recently. I'm talking absolutely rusted everywhere, both inside and out. The lever is frozen in place, the hammer is missing so I can see the insides and they are all rusted too. I figured what the heck, I might as well see if I can salvage any part of it. So I have used very fine steel wool with Rem Oil and it seems to be working, although there is some pitting. But now I am up against disassembly I am finding it almost impossible.
The screw holding the action plates on is absolutely frozen. (Same with all but 2 of the other ones). I started with a set of Magna-Tips from Brownells, tried and tried to no avail. Tried some WD-40, no use. Then PB Blast, no use. Tried heat, no luck. So tonight i brought out the big guns and tried a screw extractor. Drilled and started turning, it grabbed tightly and I felt confident, but the darn thing is so frozen in place the screw extractor broke! So now that hole in the screw is filled with the remains of a screw extractor.
Any ideas? I'm pondering a drill press and just drill the entire screw out. Either that or just give up on the thing.
Why oh why would someone let an 1873 sit in a storage locker for who knows how long! What a shame.
The screw holding the action plates on is absolutely frozen. (Same with all but 2 of the other ones). I started with a set of Magna-Tips from Brownells, tried and tried to no avail. Tried some WD-40, no use. Then PB Blast, no use. Tried heat, no luck. So tonight i brought out the big guns and tried a screw extractor. Drilled and started turning, it grabbed tightly and I felt confident, but the darn thing is so frozen in place the screw extractor broke! So now that hole in the screw is filled with the remains of a screw extractor.
Any ideas? I'm pondering a drill press and just drill the entire screw out. Either that or just give up on the thing.
Why oh why would someone let an 1873 sit in a storage locker for who knows how long! What a shame.