06/30/2021
We apologize for not posting more of our work but we felt it was adding fuel to the fire based on our very long waiting list. Thank you for your patience. We take tremendous pride in our craftsmanship and we put a lot of hard work into it. We will try to share more projects.
We just finished the restoration of this C**t Lightning 22 rifle. The rifle has been in the customer’s family for generations. Due to the extensive amount of work that took place to make it a safe and functioning work of art, we decided to post this project. I will list the different types of Gunsmithing techniques we used to complete this project. We provide technical support for several Gunsmithing students as well as Journeymen Gunsmiths. This posting was written in a technical manner for their benefit and anyone else interested. I can reply with more technical information requested.
When we received the rifle we found the following: The C**t horse was gone and much of the steel was pitted. The entire cartridge feed system was gone. The bolt and firing pin were damaged beyond repair. The barrel’s rifling was corroded and unusable. The butt stock had been repaired and needed refinishing and the hand guard was modified to stay in place without a feed system. All of the screws needed replacement or repair. The bolt guide and screws were missing, along with the butt plate and screws.
We located all of the missing parts needed for the feed system except the magazine plug which we fabricated on the lathe. Each of the 6 feed system parts we purchased were used and worn. Each piece required welding to build up the surface, machined to fit, hardened and correctly tempered. Parts of the feed system also provide a bolt lock when the hammer is in full c**ked position. The difficulty in the feed and bolt lock systems nearly ended the project but we finally got the timing right with a welding machine and a file. We referenced Leeroy Wisners’ Gun Parts Drawings Book to make the mag plug as well as verifying dimensions of every internal part we built up due to wear. The barrel was removed, drilled and relined using a Brownell’s barrel liner. The new bolt and guides were mated to the barrel and head space set using a finish reamer. The operating slide bar and the locking block were timed to the feed and bolt lock system. The bolt guide that was previously timed for feed and lock were modified to be in time with the extraction and ejection position of the bolt and operating slide. The entire feed and lock system was readjusted to this new dilemma. Always set the carrier to eject upward with a rearward slide movement first, then time the feed on the return action of the slide and then hammer interlock when bolt is closed. A new wood forend was found and fitted to the slide bar, slide bar screw, and a homemade escutcheon was inserted to shoulder the screw. We engraved the horse into the steel using our electro chemical engraver. A custom stencil was created in Illustrator, developed in our dark room, tested for current and chemical flow, was used to engrave the horse. If the stencil is done right, it looks factory. We use this system for barrel calibers, a ton of other jobs including a Pink Floyd “Division Bell” pistol for my Uncle Steve. The steel was prepped using Roloc 120 & 320 grit rotary sanders, 3 different belt sanders, several rotating scotch bright, wire and polish wheels. Some pitting could not be removed. The steel was hot blued, rinsed and oiled. Most of the screws were Nitre blued to match the original C**t “fire blue”. The final assembly took several hours. It turned out great and functions flawlessly. It brought tears to the customer and they will hand it to the next generation soon.
Wayne & Lisa
