Lincoln jeffries bell target

[Huttles94]

Hi all,

You may have seen the post on here with someone points out a couple of old bell targets on flebay.

Well I went and won the Lincoln Jeffries target. Someone posted a link to an airgun magazine and it does match the picture of the one on there, though more heavily rusted.

It came today and boy, saying its rusty would be an understatement!

I have set about getting rid of the rust, or as much as i can. The rear plate has heavily rusted and seems to be quite thin and flimsy. But it is still sturdy and I think a nice amount of elbow grease and a file to smooth the edges will do the job nicely.

The bell is in good condition and still makes a nice 'ding' when hit, well it is just a bell so there is not much that can go wrong....

The worst of it is on the face. You can barley see the scoring markings. I have one hell of a job to get this looking pretty again but I am keen on it!

Ill keep this thread updated with any news about the restoration process.

Quick question though.... All the examples I have seen have been rusty. Were these originally painted or just bare metal?

cheers

Jake

[Garvin]

Hi all,

You may have seen the post on here with someone points out a couple of old bell targets on flebay.

Well I went and won the Lincoln Jeffries target. Someone posted a link to an airgun magazine and it does match the picture of the one on there, though more heavily rusted.

It came today and boy, saying its rusty would be an understatement!

I have set about getting rid of the rust, or as much as i can. The rear plate has heavily rusted and seems to be quite thin and flimsy. But it is still sturdy and I think a nice amount of elbow grease and a file to smooth the edges will do the job nicely.

The bell is in good condition and still makes a nice 'ding' when hit, well it is just a bell so there is not much that can go wrong....

The worst of it is on the face. You can barley see the scoring markings. I have one hell of a job to get this looking pretty again but I am keen on it!

Ill keep this thread updated with any news about the restoration process.

Quick question though.... All the examples I have seen have been rusty. Were these originally painted or just bare metal?

cheers

Jake

Jake I have posted pics of a similar target here, and you can see both the colour scheme before and after it was restored, although I doubt if any of the colours are the same as when it was first sold.

Does your target have the same 'made by BSA' brass plate?

[Huttles94]

Jake I have posted pics of a similar target here, and you can see both the colour scheme before and after it was restored, although I doubt if any of the colours are the same as when it was first sold.

Does your target have the same 'made by BSA' brass plate?

There is no brass plate with the BSA logo on. Could it be possible that both Lincoln Jeffries and BSA made these targets? The BSA one I have seen has a larger back plate.

[slug-gun]

Hi all,

You may have seen the post on here with someone points out a couple of old bell targets on flebay.

Well I went and won the Lincoln Jeffries target. Someone posted a link to an airgun magazine and it does match the picture of the one on there, though more heavily rusted.

It came today and boy, saying its rusty would be an understatement!

I have set about getting rid of the rust, or as much as i can. The rear plate has heavily rusted and seems to be quite thin and flimsy. But it is still sturdy and I think a nice amount of elbow grease and a file to smooth the edges will do the job nicely.

The bell is in good condition and still makes a nice 'ding' when hit, well it is just a bell so there is not much that can go wrong....

The worst of it is on the face. You can barley see the scoring markings. I have one hell of a job to get this looking pretty again but I am keen on it!

Ill keep this thread updated with any news about the restoration process.

Quick question though.... All the examples I have seen have been rusty. Were these originally painted or just bare metal?

cheers

Jake

Drop the whole thing into a bucket of Kurust solution, available from Halfords, which should remove much of the rust. You can then dismantle and clean the rest by hand and repaint with say, Hammerite?
Worked for me.

[Huttles94]

Jake I have posted pics of a similar target here, and you can see both the colour scheme before and after it was restored, although I doubt if any of the colours are the same as when it was first sold.

Does your target have the same 'made by BSA' brass plate?

Ah just checked those images. They look similar. The one BSA bell target that looks very identical that I have seen is near enough the same apart from the top of the back plate has a trapezium shape with the brass plate on. (It is the number 84 I think, the images are on your link)

The only evidence I have that it is a Lincoln Jeffries is that press reader link ( https://www.pressreader.com/uk/airgu...82875140592627 ) which shows one that is the exact image of the one I bought.

Still, it is a nice old antique which will look great on my wall once I am done.

Cheers

[Huttles94]

Drop the whole thing into a bucket of Kurust solution, available from Halfords, which should remove much of the rust. You can then dismantle and clean the rest by hand and repaint with say, Hammerite?
Worked for me.

Good idea! I have it sat in some vinegar at the moment (only the front of the target mind you) since vinegar is acidic, it works wonders on rust. Will leave it over night, and if it is no better I shall go with your idea.

[Huttles94]

Right after some time in a tub with some hammerite and a lot of elbow grease I have got it to come out the best I am going to get it.

I have even uncovered some old paint that was hiding! Dont know if it is original or what (Looks black and shiny).

The surface of the target looks like the surface of the moon! With all these small craters created by the rust. Apart from filling it all down, not much I can do.

I can make out the score groves, but they are faint, anyone know how to/what tool to use to get this to come up better? (I was thinking a triangle metal file and plenty of concentration, but I am by no means knowledge in this area)

I plan to just paint it black and paint the score markings in white eventually, would be good to get the groves back though.

Will post images when I have finished, hopefully by this weekend. Though the nut that keeps the bell on is well and truly rusted to the thread. I aint getting that off anything soon.

[averageplinker]

How wide are the grooves and how deep? Could something like a junior hacksaw blade be bent to the correct curve and then moved around the circumference to make them more clear?
Rich.

[trajectory]

Well, I think you've either got to go at it very cautiously by hand, chasing the original lines with something akin to a hacksaw blade ground to the correct profile of the scoring rings & work your way around each ring section by section taking care it doesn't jump or slip. If you don't press too hard a slip might not cause a deep gouge, so a little & often, bit laborious but maybe the way to go. Otherwise front target plate off, clamp it flat on a faceplate, & on the lathe, possibly turn by hand rather than power but setting up is obviously crucial. Or perhaps bush the bull & grind the blade in an adjustable tank cutter, might spin it by hand for better control so you can see it's ok as you go. Anything too fast to stop before it goes wrong might just ruin it. Or keep it original apart from a fake front plate you can either use if solid enough or hang over the existing one to display?

Up to you