Lockdown fever

[CapitalBee]

Just bought the below on an auction site:





Friedrich Heym 4.5mm cal

From what I can research on the excellent VAG, it's an early version of the HW50, made by Weihrauch. Sadly, it's a bit of a dog, and I'll be on the lookout for open sights (when will Protek open??)

[Spanner.]

Think you must have a fever to have bought that

[Geezer]

Very nice indeed.

The other 1950s Heym has, to my eye, and only from a few photos on the net, a possible air of BSF to it.

[CapitalBee]

Another snap:


Small money but it could keep me busy....

[SCW22]

What auction site did you use ?

Cheers

Steve

[CapitalBee]

What auction site did you use ?

Cheers

Steve

Catawiki

[SCW22]

Ok thank you.

Steve

[CapitalBee]

Well, posted from Germany on Monday and delivered Thursday lunchtime, not too shabby at all. Wish I could say the same for the rifle, but I knew that before purchase. Well, I doubt the old girl has been apart too much. The cocking lever pivot screw had been sheered before I attempted to undo it (the one half just turned too easy) and I managed to get the remaining bit out by drilling it out on a pillar drill. Breech bolt and retainer came out, as did the detent. The bugger currently is one of the front stock bolts, which is currently having a WD40 bath (just freed it now!). In its' delivered state, she cocked and de-cocked nicely enough, with no alarming noises, but from what limited information there is available to me, I'm struggling to find a similar model. I'm guessing pre-1951 as it's a smooth bore and size wise, it's close to an Original 27. However, cocking arm is not articulated and no adjustment to the trigger.
Unwrapped


The stripdown starts

[CapitalBee]

All to bits now. Serial No.51, although, tbh I'm not sure on any traceability. For sure the bluing needs a good tidy up, but I'm not too sure about a total re-black, I may try rust bluing again.

[CapitalBee]

Spent a few hours this afternoon rust bluing the action. Too many marks and dents in the barrel to get too precious, but it's come out okay:

[Spanner.]

Well done, I eat my words

[ccdjg]

That's a lovely bit of rust bluing.

What did you use to accelerate the rusting process, and how many passes did it take? I have always used ammonium chloride, but this gives a slightly bronzy, dark grey finish, which is great for restoring very old antique guns but not so good for pre-war vintage guns.

[CapitalBee]

That's a lovely bit of rust bluing.

What did you use to accelerate the rusting process, and how many passes did it take? I have always used ammonium chloride, but this gives a slightly bronzy, dark grey finish, which is great for restoring very old antique guns but not so good for pre-war vintage guns.

I used hydrogen peroxide and salt. I'd tried a few before, but took extra care with this one to card it between each cycle. I took 7 passes to get this finish, about 2 hrs in total with the last 20 mins boiling the parts for the last time. The only thing I'll do now is leave it for a few days to allow the finish to age harden. Not allowing this time cost me some unsightly marks on the finish when I did my first full rifle, an Original mod 27.

[oldboyshooter]

Spent a few hours this afternoon rust bluing the action. Too many marks and dents in the barrel to get too precious, but it's come out okay:

hello, that is some nice work CB

[ccdjg]

I used hydrogen peroxide and salt. I'd tried a few before, but took extra care with this one to card it between each cycle. I took 7 passes to get this finish, about 2 hrs in total with the last 20 mins boiling the parts for the last time. The only thing I'll do now is leave it for a few days to allow the finish to age harden. Not allowing this time cost me some unsightly marks on the finish when I did my first full rifle, an Original mod 27.

Many thanks for the info'. I have never come across the use of hydrogen peroxide before and it's not mentioned in Angier's bible of bluing, so I will give it a try. Also your comment about age hardening was interesting.

ATB
John