In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Plated Win 1894 rifle
flashbackjack
Member Posts: 30 ✭✭
I have a Winchester 94 rifle(cr 1917) that has an odd silver like matted finish on the lever, top of bolt, mag tube and ring and butt plate At first glance it looks like the metal parts were painted with silver paint but it is a coating.. Any clues?[?]
Comments
Bill
As for the "odd silver" finish, it might have been factory original nickel or silver plating.
WACA Historian & Life Member
Your firearm will catch someone's eye. And if priced right, you will also get a buyer for it. However If you put it on Gunbroker for sale, I recommend that you indicate up front that it's been re-done. Will save you the hassle of having to take back a return.
Here's a for instance scenario. The 1913 Colt below is completely original, all parts 1913, lettering perfect, edges crisp, etc. But it's been re-blued. Re-bluing really made it look good. Re-bluing dropped the value of it by almost $1,000. It is no longer in the "collectible" category. Joe
So your take on this is I should have left the rifle in the condition I found it??? That was not a logical or financial option. The remaining plating was carefully removed from the reciever and the file marks were finished off with emery cloth. It has nice crisp lettering and corners. A nice even blue brown patena was applied. Even a real expert like you couldn't tell it was once a worthless piece of junk. Want some amateur photos of the results??
I have to agree fully with Bert on this one. I have seen a fair amount of guns that someone has "rescued" and totally destroyed the value and collectability of. Just to give an example, not long ago, there was a Fayetteville musket on here for sale. As is typical with Confederate pieces, it had a fair amount of pitting, and showed some hard use. The owner decided to make it look nice for sale, and buffed it out, refinished the stock etc. After he was done, it was a nice looking piece, but it didn't sell. The highest bid as I recall was $2,500.00.
A Fayetteville musket in unaltered condition, as his was before he refinished it would have easily sold for between $18,000-$20,000.
So, to answer your question, yes, you should have left it in the condition in which you received it. I'm sure it looks nice since you worked on it, but the value of it to anyone looking for one just took a serious nosedive.
I buy refinished pieces from time to time, but I buy them as shooters, not as collectables. I picked up a Springfield model 1888 that had been reblued for $450.00. Had the previous owner not reblued it, it would have been a very valuable rifle, as it is in the last few black-powder rifles ever made for the US Government.
quote:Originally posted by flashbackjack
So your take on this is I should have left the rifle in the condition I found it??? That was not a logical or financial option. The remaining plating was carefully removed from the reciever and the file marks were finished off with emery cloth. It has nice crisp lettering and corners. A nice even blue brown patena was applied. Even a real expert like you couldn't tell it was once a worthless piece of junk. Want some amateur photos of the results??
I have to agree fully with Bert on this one. I have seen a fair amount of guns that someone has "rescued" and totally destroyed the value and collectability of. Just to give an example, not long ago, there was a Fayetteville musket on here for sale. As is typical with Confederate pieces, it had a fair amount of pitting, and showed some hard use. The owner decided to make it look nice for sale, and buffed it out, refinished the stock etc. After he was done, it was a nice looking piece, but it didn't sell. The highest bid as I recall was $2,500.00.
A Fayetteville musket in unaltered condition, as his was before he refinished it would have easily sold for between $18,000-$20,000.
So, to answer your question, yes, you should have left it in the condition in which you received it. I'm sure it looks nice since you worked on it, but the value of it to anyone looking for one just took a serious nosedive.
I buy refinished pieces from time to time, but I buy them as shooters, not as collectables. I picked up a Springfield model 1888 that had been reblued for $450.00. Had the previous owner not reblued it, it would have been a very valuable rifle, as it is in the last few black-powder rifles ever made for the US Government.
Did you get that at the Hampton show? I saw one there that was beautifully refinished but it had a blued breechblock rather than case hardened. It was probably in excellent shape before rebluing. I almost bought it myself. If not the Hampton show, maybe it was still the same rifle at another show. It was definitely nice for a shooter.
So your take on this is I should have left the rifle in the condition I found it??? That was not a logical or financial option. The remaining plating was carefully removed from the reciever and the file marks were finished off with emery cloth. It has nice crisp lettering and corners. A nice even blue brown patena was applied. Even a real expert like you couldn't tell it was once a worthless piece of junk. Want some amateur photos of the results??
Yes, you should have left it alone. I fail to understand what "logic" you used to dictate that it was not an option to leave it as is. Your statement concerning it not being a "financial option" is completely ludicrous. Please, and for my benefit, explain exactly how it was finacially benefical to expend your time and effort filing and sanding away on the various parts of that gun, and then applying the "blue brown patena" (sic) (BTW, it is properly spelled "patina"). Leaving it alone cost you nothing[:0].
As for your statement quote:Even a real expert like you couldn't tell it was once a worthless piece of junk. I can absolutely guarantee you that I can spot your handy work from at least two rows away. By all means, please post pictures of it.
WACA Historian & Life Member
Without pics, nobody can be SURE what the piece is, so post them.
I fully agree with the comments of Bert, Givette, and others on true collectibles. But I don't have the wallet for that, I have to go to museums.
That said, there is a place for restored shooters, which may have been your intent. To repair or restored the ability to shoot, or to be maintained in operating condition. OK, maybe you made a mistake here..not knowing what you had...or what techniques to use...but I'm pretty sure everyone on this post has made mistakes, and learned something from them.
SHOW PICS. Even if it confirms other's opinions, you've gone this far. Enlighten us all.
To clear up a few points.....The rifle was purchased as a shooter Because I do not have a 38/55 and always wanted one. I did not say or infer that I was going to "fix it up" to sell. I got it at the the right price. I traded even over for a '97 Winchester I had $250.00 tied up in. The gun was already plated (it has been determined that it did not leave the factory that way) with the uglyiest coating you have ever seen. About 99%of the coating had already been filed off the frame and a great deal of rust had settled in. It took about an hour to remove the left over coating and reblue the frame. ( The coating was fairly soft so most of file marks were removed with emery cloth wrapped around a flat file).The rifle has great wood ,very good bore original sights And a nice shooter............I am replacing the mag tube and other plated parts with original vintage 94 parts I have on hand.... There is a Dilemma though .... The butt plate is numbered to the gun. Are you all going to freak out if I remove the plating from it and reblue.?.......Jack
I will send photo as soon as I figure it out.......
Gentelmen
To clear up a few points.....The rifle was purchased as a shooter Because I do not have a 38/55 and always wanted one. I did not say or infer that I was going to "fix it up" to sell. I got it at the the right price. I traded even over for a '97 Winchester I had $250.00 tied up in. The gun was already plated (it has been determined that it did not leave the factory that way) with the uglyiest coating you have ever seen. About 99%of the coating had already been filed off the frame and a great deal of rust had settled in. It took about an hour to remove the left over coating and reblue the frame. ( The coating was fairly soft so most of file marks were removed with emery cloth wrapped around a flat file).The rifle has great wood ,very good bore original sights And a nice shooter............I am replacing the mag tube and other plated parts with original vintage 94 parts I have on hand.... There is a Dilemma though .... The butt plate is numbered to the gun. Are you all going to freak out if I remove the plating from it and reblue.?.......Jack
I will send photo as soon as I figure it out.......
No one is going to freak out. It's your rifle and yours to do as you wish. However, once you're finished, I'm sure you will extend Bert's field of vision from 2 rows to 6.