Webley RIC

Another possibility is kind of the opposite to freezing, and that is boiling. Boiling kills live rust; how it would work on that much rust I don't know, but it can't hurt.

Jim
 
Go to your local health food store and buy a bottle of "100% pure, natural wintergreen oil." (NOT the Walgreen's stuff.) I was turned on to this by the late Clarence M. Bates (manufactured 45-70 revolvers, among others), and it is the greatest penetrant I have ever used. It helps if you heat the metal to the point where it is uncomfortable to hold, then let a few drips go into wherever you want it.

Try it; It works.
 
I've never had any success with the boiling, but I have had lots of success with the combination of freezing and penetrating oil.
 
Made some progress, today. Using a couple of long, thin punches I was able to drive ("tap") the ejector rod out from the rear of the frame. Then, I was able to rotate the ejector "crane" to about 4:00 by tapping on it with the brass hammer, and after tapping it back and forth a half-dozen times, I can now rotate it by hand through its full travel. The cylinder base-pin, which has a large knurled head on it, is next . . .
 
I'll try to get some pics.
Encouraged by my success with the ejector rod, I worked on the base pin, and got that out, too.
I ran a long punch through the loading gate and a chamber, which gave me a straight shot at the back of the oversized head of the basepin, and I was able to drive it off the frame. There is a small leaf spring set in the middle of the trough-shaped base pin, to retain the ejector rod, just as was described to me.
I was dreaming (literally, not just musing or daydreaming) about making a trigger guard, by tracing the outline on flat steel plate, then using a hacksaw, drill, files, and dremel to form it. Geez, this is getting serious . . .
 
webleypic2_zpsa634f240.jpg



Not great pics, but there it is. The cylinder basepin is in the foreground, with the ejector rod behind it. You can see the ejector "crane" rotated out to about 4:00, which aligns the ejector with the chamber for ejection, and allows the basepin to be removed.
I think this may be about as far as I can go with any sort of "restoration"; without a trigger guard, the mechanism won't work.
After I get it cleaned-up a bit more, I'll probably shop for some 7th cavalry crossed sabers, maybe a moldy bullet or arrowhead, and put together a shadow box and hang it on the wall.



webleypic1_zps13dd1860.jpg
 
I think that with some luck and work, a trigger guard from a repro Colt percussion might work. I am thinking cut the front strap partly off, thin the top down and fill the holes. Then thin the top part and heat it enough to bend it to shape and make the bow bigger. Not perfect, but likely good enough for the display.

Jim
 
I'm wondering how close the guard from a "Mark" Webley might be? The frames didn't change much between 1887-1920s. I have a Mk. I, and should check it out (don't know I didn't start there!).
 
Rick.....

Good video of the rust removal process.

I have a coupla relics of roughly the age of your webley which need attention.

Your video got me going.
 
The last Custer book I read mentions the RIC. It also had eye witness accounts of Custer riding alone along the LBH by a troopy that was separated from either one of Custer's companys or Reno's. It was a library book so not readily available. Called The Last Stand, written by Nathanial Philbrick. Has a bunch of info about the days ahead of the attack and after that I never knew. Highly recommend to western history whack jobs like me.
 
There have been a lot of eye-witness reports concerning Custer's guns, and it's hard to know who's knowledgeable enough to know what they were talking about, or what they actually saw?
A lot of accounts support the presence of nickel- or silver-plated pistols with ivory grips. The early RICs had nickeled hammers and triggers, and mirror-polished blued barrels, frames, etc., so a holstered gun might appear to be plated overall.
The guns have been described as "Bulldogs", which could be a specific model, or a nickname for any short-barreled English revolver.
This article has a picture of Gen. & Mrs. Custer on the prairie, with a gun rack in the corner of the room. Which of the pistols might have been with Custer at LBH?
http://www.gunsandammo.com/2011/10/03/what-was-custers-last-gun/
 
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