Mark, my father bought one of these in the 40’s right after he came home from the Pacific. He hunted with it till it was stolen in the 60’s. I have always regretted the loss of that gun. It’s like you took me back in time with this one. Thank you.
I use to work on high end pool cues. I used steam to remove dents but also used a glass rod to finish it off. By rubbing the rod with the DRY grain over the dent at least 1 inch ahead and behind the dent, more is better, you can remove almost any dent completely. No sanding required 90% of the time and then only with 220 or finer very lightly mostly to just clean up the surface. Used this many times on gun stocks too. The best glass rod I found was a glass pestle, like you use with a mortar. Just another trick to add to the tool box. Beautiful rifle, thanks for sharing.
I like watching your videos because, unlike others, you respect the weapon and take great care no to destroy any patina. The idea is to only do what must be done and blend it in to look original. Your jobs enhance the look of a 50 yo gun that was loved and cared for, not a new old gun or one that was completely refinished. "The gun's only new once!" Best advice ever! 👍
Watching a master craftsman at work is an absolute joy. Thanks for sharing your phenomenal work into restoring this beauty. That checkering work was awesome, especially showing how one can overcome mistakes. That border around the checkering makes it visually pop. And after the oil, Just.. beautiful wow.
I inherited a Model 71 when my father passed away. He inherited it from my grandfather who inherited from my great great uncle. Manufactured in 1936 the first year of production. Three digit serial number. It’s my favorite rifle. I also have a Browning reproduction 71 manufactured in 1987. Both are beautiful rifles.
Outstanding job on that checkering, I have neither the skill nor the steady hand to do checkering. I have determined that the people who criticize a skilled craftsmen on the internet are neither skilled nor craftsmen.
Mine has a Aperture Site on the bolt. and a side mount scope. My Grandpa bought it in a panic, when the Japanese submarine shelled Elwood Beach CA near us. in 1942
Currently conserving a 1915 Steyr M95 with your tips and tricks in your conservation and rust bluing videos. Your wit and wisdom never ceases to amaze me
Love your work! When steaming deep dents, here's a trick: stick a Band-Aid over the dent, and then wet the pad. Allow it to sit for about 30 minutes. This allows water to soak into the wood under the dent. Remove the Band-Aid. When you apply heat with a wet cloth and a small iron or a soldering stick, the water under the dent turns to steam and puffs up the crushed fibers.
Mark, as a very modest collector from what I've seen the rifle stock and forearm haven't been "completely" refinished and none of the edges have been rolled and the inletting looks sharp. I applaud your efforts and wisdom in resetting this and giving future generations a chance to use a functional classic. This rifle is just as lucky to find the newest owner as the rifle was to find him. Regards.
I put a Springfield J Stevens, 16 gauge shotgun made in 1921 back into the gene pool. It should be good to go for another 102 years. Thanks for the videos, Mark
I love hand checkering, so I guess that I am an oddball. A friend of mine that was a gunsmith gave me a really nice set of tools for Christmas one year after he let me practice on some blanks and found that I enjoyed it. It is more relaxing than stressful to me, but I spend way more time on doing checkering jobs than I should because I am anal about getting it perfect. I just grab a 12 pack and watch TV while doing it in the evenings.
Hand checkering is just one of those skills that terrifies me- so much precision work and so much possibility for a small error to ruin it. Just watching it being done makes me nervous, LOL. Great work Mark, that is real skill earned through lots of practice!
Totally in awe at watching a master wizard at work! I have always wanted to checker but I know I lack the Zen to pull it off. Thank You Mark as always for sharing your skills and knowledge!
What a beautiful checking job, and the danish oil really makes it pop with the red infused with the oil. It's just gorgeous to see it sucking in all that stunning color hope to see the complete finish on that old Winchester I imagine it will be spectacular.
Ive restored my 1886 (38/56) and my 71, the 71 is a a very early long tang. I did the take down and parts refit but sent the bluing out to Fords 20+ years ago. Fire blue like the commercial older 1911's. I Love large frame winchesters. 71's with checkering were deluxe rifles, 12.98$ extra in 1937.
Watching you explain how yiu can fix the lines in the checkering is exactly how I get the body lines right when doing body work as am autobody technician. Sometimes you gotta make that body line straight or crisp where it isn't anymore & you really just have to guide your removal process until you get the desired shape and lines
thanks for doing these! enjoy watching this stuff immensely. thank you for sharing your knowledge of firearms work. i redid the checkering on my 1945 savage 720 (browning a5 clone for those that dont know.) its awesome to see it go from rounded flat to these popping diamonds. used a cheap tool from Brownells and just took my time with it on my lap. i took my first turkey with this gun. 12g, 28 or 30 inch full choke barrel. it also has a nice game scene on each side of the receiver. found it for 195 at Kittery trading post years ago. i sanded it down to 600 grit and i think i did 7 coats maybe more of tru oil to get that glossy finish.
really enjoyed this one you covered things i'm lacking on in the woodwork department ...practicing on an old piece of walnut trying to improve my checkering skills but not brave enough yet to try on a stock....looking forward to seeing the metalwork being done on this one too...i hope.....thanks for teaching an old dog some new tricks.
Thank you sir this has been a very enjoyable and informative video we appreciate your knowledge and that you are willing to share it with us six stars brother
Oh, dang it Mark. I have been sick the past couple days and then you say "Pop you open like a grape". Thanks goodness I have not been eating as it would be back up here already!
I had one, a delux model in the 1960s. Stolen in 1970. One problem it had was that the lever would open (pop down) about 1/4 of an inch when fired with factory ammo. There’s a reason for this which of course I knew nothing about at the time and I ruined the the collector value by having Ackley’s shop chamber the gun for the improved (reduced body taper) 348 cartridge which of course made no difference. Mark, I hope you look into this.
I really like the pun about the checkering, not creating diamonds only removing everything that isn’t a diamond I think it was Michelangelo that said something similar about his sculptures.
Once more, an excellent video! I sat and polished my hammers while I watched. I am getting ready to start an 1892 restock project (a total ugly duckling). Winchester Red is as hot as a fine looking individual… trying to keep this within the scope of being a family show… 😊
Very nice work. I’ve heard not to sand wood with anything finer than 220. The dust will actually clog the pores of the wood. That’s why I’d doesn’t take a finish well.
What the human eye sees and what the human mind thinks is right are surprising different. Even more interesting the difference in how the time frame that the human lived in, the machine perfection that we think is great vs the human hand imperfections that work creates.
Great content! I’ve never really understood the aversion to conservation or restoration work on older guns, assuming they weren’t the personal property of Nelson or King Edward . Always seemed the alternative was to let them disintegrate into rust and dust.
It's the patina craze, started by all the Picker shows and Pawn Shop slobs (self described experts) putting that aspersion into the minds of the populace.
14:35 Same with plastic, taking it to 600-1000grit looks nice but it'll craze when you hit it with clear coat. Learned the hard way, easier and better to stop earlier and add more coats
Iron and steel RUST. But does Brass PAYtina? I bought a worm eatin Brunswick and im going to conserve the metal but just going to get all the dirt off the brass and just leave it. Right or wrong im asking.
Disassembly is certainly a process on the 71! Can't wait to see it finished up. I am working on one right now that was neglected and forgotten in the back of a safe. Do you have any suggestions for removing the magazine tube? Mine is throughly stuck.
Yet another great video and I appreciative you taking the time to do and show. Thanks Mark! P.S. For those of us not in the know, it’d be nice to see and get a close up while seeing the tools you use for this kind of work. While you were talking about and mentioning the fence on the cutting tool it was out of camera view. Also, can I assume I that the diamond shaped card was also a tool used when checkering.’? Or no?
Uhhh for some pictures, if you google power checkering tool one of the first results should be ullman precision, looks like the same tool mark uses The fence in just a guide that runs in the previous slot The diamond shaped card is probably just a template for the angle of the checkering *not a gunsmith
@@thomasa5619Uhhhhhhhhhhh, what makes you think I didn’t do that or wasn’t aware I could do that. Maybe I wanted and hoped Mark would do, what he actually did because I think besides being the best gunsmith, my opinion, I think he’s a great teacher as well and I I wanted him to, well, do exactly what he did with his latest video I just watched. But hey, thanks anyways.
Please show the reassembly of the gun. Please. Please. Please. I hate begging but I've got a Model 71 that was my dad's. It's the only gun I have that I have never disassembled and would love to see a tutorial. I doesn't get shot much, primarily because of ammo availability, so it's not a mess. I just want to be more comfortable with it.
I'm curious, how and who cut the original checkering? Obviously, it isn't like a pressed checkering. A little old man with a checking tool and a lot of little old men?
Hi Mark, I love seeing your work! It inspires me to want to get more into gunsmithing, and particularly gun finishing. While I am starting to practice on items of no significant value, I do have a French contract Savage 1907 that came to me in rather poor shape, and a nice all numbers matching Luger from 1916 that has a “purple” hue to it… Are you still taking on new projects? And if so, how should I contact you? Thanks!
Mark I live your videos. I just watched a video you did on a Bergman bayard and you bead blasted the frame due to it being in a fire. What media do you use and at what psi setting? Thank you for all the great info you give us.
Mark, my father bought one of these in the 40’s right after he came home from the Pacific. He hunted with it till it was stolen in the 60’s. I have always regretted the loss of that gun. It’s like you took me back in time with this one. Thank you.
I use to work on high end pool cues. I used steam to remove dents but also used a glass rod to finish it off. By rubbing the rod with the DRY grain over the dent at least 1 inch ahead and behind the dent, more is better, you can remove almost any dent completely. No sanding required 90% of the time and then only with 220 or finer very lightly mostly to just clean up the surface. Used this many times on gun stocks too. The best glass rod I found was a glass pestle, like you use with a mortar. Just another trick to add to the tool box. Beautiful rifle, thanks for sharing.
Oh Magoo! You've done it again!
Out flippin standing! Thanks Mark & Bruno!
I like watching your videos because, unlike others, you respect the weapon and take great care no to destroy any patina. The idea is to only do what must be done and blend it in to look original. Your jobs enhance the look of a 50 yo gun that was loved and cared for, not a new old gun or one that was completely refinished. "The gun's only new once!" Best advice ever! 👍
Watching a master craftsman at work is an absolute joy. Thanks for sharing your phenomenal work into restoring this beauty.
That checkering work was awesome, especially showing how one can overcome mistakes. That border around the checkering makes it visually pop. And after the oil, Just.. beautiful wow.
I inherited a Model 71 when my father passed away. He inherited it from my grandfather who inherited from my great great uncle. Manufactured in 1936 the first year of production. Three digit serial number. It’s my favorite rifle. I also have a Browning reproduction 71 manufactured in 1987. Both are beautiful rifles.
Outstanding job on that checkering, I have neither the skill nor the steady hand to do checkering. I have determined that the people who criticize a skilled craftsmen on the internet are neither skilled nor craftsmen.
The attention to detail done in this work is exemplary.
Mine has a Aperture Site on the bolt. and a side mount scope. My Grandpa bought it in a panic, when the Japanese submarine shelled Elwood Beach CA near us. in 1942
This one is also cut for the bolt mounted peep
Thank you for your art again Mark! Greetings from Finland!
Currently conserving a 1915 Steyr M95 with your tips and tricks in your conservation and rust bluing videos. Your wit and wisdom never ceases to amaze me
One of the best RUclips channels I subscribe to. Thanks much Mark.
Love your work! When steaming deep dents, here's a trick: stick a Band-Aid over the dent, and then wet the pad. Allow it to sit for about 30 minutes. This allows water to soak into the wood under the dent. Remove the Band-Aid. When you apply heat with a wet cloth and a small iron or a soldering stick, the water under the dent turns to steam and puffs up the crushed fibers.
Mark, as a very modest collector from what I've seen the rifle stock and forearm haven't been "completely" refinished and none of the edges have been rolled and the inletting looks sharp. I applaud your efforts and wisdom in resetting this and giving future generations a chance to use a functional classic. This rifle is just as lucky to find the newest owner as the rifle was to find him. Regards.
Amazing the amount of thought you put into an old chunk of wood and still keep it interesting... magical.
Mark these restoration videos are exactly why your my favorite guntuber... it's relaxing to watch you work your magic. 😊
I put a Springfield J Stevens, 16 gauge shotgun made in 1921 back into the gene pool. It should be good to go for another 102 years. Thanks for the videos, Mark
I love hand checkering, so I guess that I am an oddball. A friend of mine that was a gunsmith gave me a really nice set of tools for Christmas one year after he let me practice on some blanks and found that I enjoyed it. It is more relaxing than stressful to me, but I spend way more time on doing checkering jobs than I should because I am anal about getting it perfect. I just grab a 12 pack and watch TV while doing it in the evenings.
Awesome Woodwork greetings from Germany.
Wow this is why I watch all your videos, beautiful!!!
As soon as the stain went on you could see the beauty of the work you've done
Hand checkering is just one of those skills that terrifies me- so much precision work and so much possibility for a small error to ruin it. Just watching it being done makes me nervous, LOL. Great work Mark, that is real skill earned through lots of practice!
Totally in awe at watching a master wizard at work! I have always wanted to checker but I know I lack the Zen to pull it off. Thank You Mark as always for sharing your skills and knowledge!
This man is a professional. Love your videos Mark, always a learning session. 👍🏼
What a beautiful checking job, and the danish oil really makes it pop with the red infused with the oil. It's just gorgeous to see it sucking in all that stunning color hope to see the complete finish on that old Winchester I imagine it will be spectacular.
"Polised hammer faces"
Best advice ever! I wish I'd learned it earlier. Thanks Mark.
Ive restored my 1886 (38/56) and my 71, the 71 is a a very early long tang. I did the take down and parts refit but sent the bluing out to Fords 20+ years ago. Fire blue like the commercial older 1911's. I Love large frame winchesters. 71's with checkering were deluxe rifles, 12.98$ extra in 1937.
Watching you explain how yiu can fix the lines in the checkering is exactly how I get the body lines right when doing body work as am autobody technician. Sometimes you gotta make that body line straight or crisp where it isn't anymore & you really just have to guide your removal process until you get the desired shape and lines
Marks videos are the only ones I watch at normal speed. Everything else gets the 1.5-2x treatment. Cheers from WA state.
As always, excellent content Mark. Thanks for sharing. Best Wishes to You and Your Family.
thanks for doing these! enjoy watching this stuff immensely. thank you for sharing your knowledge of firearms work. i redid the checkering on my 1945 savage 720 (browning a5 clone for those that dont know.) its awesome to see it go from rounded flat to these popping diamonds. used a cheap tool from Brownells and just took my time with it on my lap. i took my first turkey with this gun. 12g, 28 or 30 inch full choke barrel. it also has a nice game scene on each side of the receiver. found it for 195 at Kittery trading post years ago. i sanded it down to 600 grit and i think i did 7 coats maybe more of tru oil to get that glossy finish.
love watching the process of restoration
Thanks for another great video. You do amazing work!!
I love the red too. As you were talking about how old the gun is, it made me think of how old the wood must really be. Maybe another 200 years?!
That electric checkering tool is really cool...
Yes, yes it is. Well worth it
really enjoyed this one you covered things i'm lacking on in the woodwork department ...practicing on an old piece of walnut trying to improve my checkering skills but not brave enough yet to try on a stock....looking forward to seeing the metalwork being done on this one too...i hope.....thanks for teaching an old dog some new tricks.
Thank for the video,Now I can clean my 71 proper,didn’t know the magazine tube was threaded.Had a feeling but wasn’t sure now I know.
I have a 1938 Model 71. It's such a beauty.
Always a pleasure to watch your vids and to partake of some of your extensive experience.
Oh man, I have its twin in parts next to my desk. You're a good (bad) influence!
Thank you sir this has been a very enjoyable and informative video we appreciate your knowledge and that you are willing to share it with us six stars brother
Oh, dang it Mark. I have been sick the past couple days and then you say "Pop you open like a grape". Thanks goodness I have not been eating as it would be back up here already!
The new mic sounds great Mark!
Great to see a well cared for rifle made much better.
@ 13:41 BTW ... Happy Birthday Mrs. Novak.
Awesome as expected Mark. God Bless
Master at work
I have an early 1957 Winchester Model 71 in my safe. I love a lever action rifle.
I had one, a delux model in the 1960s. Stolen in 1970. One problem it had was that the lever would open (pop down) about 1/4 of an inch when fired with factory ammo. There’s a reason for this which of course I knew nothing about at the time and I ruined the the collector value by having Ackley’s shop chamber the gun for the improved (reduced body taper) 348 cartridge which of course made no difference. Mark, I hope you look into this.
Mark, is there going to be a part 2? I hope so, I really enjoy your videos.
I really like the pun about the checkering, not creating diamonds only removing everything that isn’t a diamond I think it was Michelangelo that said something similar about his sculptures.
The David, in particular
Mark, my submarine brother...some pretty impressive work!
Once more, an excellent video! I sat and polished my hammers while I watched. I am getting ready to start an 1892 restock project (a total ugly duckling). Winchester Red is as hot as a fine looking individual… trying to keep this within the scope of being a family show… 😊
I was lucky enough to have briefly owned a 71 clambered in .348. No checkering but a thing of beauty just the same.
👍👍
Skills to pay the bills !
Some days I can watch for hours
Very nice work. I’ve heard not to sand wood with anything finer than 220. The dust will actually clog the pores of the wood. That’s why I’d doesn’t take a finish well.
You are an American treasure.
What the human eye sees and what the human mind thinks is right are surprising different. Even more interesting the difference in how the time frame that the human lived in, the machine perfection that we think is great vs the human hand imperfections that work creates.
Some nice wood & finish work.
I hope we get a video on the medal but this was awesome 😊
You're doing it all wrong. The only way to rectify is to have me there in person.
As always your work is amazing! Wow! 🇦🇺🍺🍺
"this is sculpture, not art!" Gotta tell that to my carver friends :)
Great content! I’ve never really understood the aversion to conservation or restoration work on older guns, assuming they weren’t the personal property of Nelson or King Edward . Always seemed the alternative was to let them disintegrate into rust and dust.
It's the patina craze, started by all the Picker shows and Pawn Shop slobs (self described experts) putting that aspersion into the minds of the populace.
@@Hjerte_Verke The same crowd I once saw trying to sell a rusty jack handle from a ‘97 Chevy pickup as an “antique” ratchet wrench.
Wow I am currently conserving one a friend of a coworker inherited
Very enjoyable
14:35 Same with plastic, taking it to 600-1000grit looks nice but it'll craze when you hit it with clear coat. Learned the hard way, easier and better to stop earlier and add more coats
Would love to see a whole video about cigars. What kind you like, how you picked it up, etc.
Absolutely beautiful rifle!
Iron and steel RUST. But does Brass PAYtina? I bought a worm eatin Brunswick and im going to conserve the metal but just going to get all the dirt off the brass and just leave it. Right or wrong im asking.
Rust destroys iron. Surface oxidation does not destroy brass, I leave the brass alone.
Disassembly is certainly a process on the 71! Can't wait to see it finished up. I am working on one right now that was neglected and forgotten in the back of a safe. Do you have any suggestions for removing the magazine tube? Mine is throughly stuck.
ruclips.net/video/JFMN2Lrctbk/видео.html try this, better than I can describe it here
@marknovak8255 thank you for the tip! I'll give it a go this week.
Yet another great video and I appreciative you taking the time to do and show. Thanks Mark!
P.S.
For those of us not in the know, it’d be nice to see and get a close up while seeing the tools you use for this kind of work. While you were talking about and mentioning the fence on the cutting tool it was out of camera view.
Also, can I assume I that the diamond shaped card was also a tool used when checkering.’? Or no?
Uhhh for some pictures, if you google power checkering tool one of the first results should be ullman precision, looks like the same tool mark uses
The fence in just a guide that runs in the previous slot
The diamond shaped card is probably just a template for the angle of the checkering
*not a gunsmith
@@thomasa5619Uhhhhhhhhhhh, what makes you think I didn’t do that or wasn’t aware I could do that. Maybe I wanted and hoped Mark would do, what he actually did because I think besides being the best gunsmith, my opinion, I think he’s a great teacher as well and I I wanted him to, well, do exactly what he did with his latest video I just watched.
But hey, thanks anyways.
@@ronsorrentino6207 well now I hope you don’t find what you’re looking for. Have a good day.
Thanks for the awesome video!!!
Fascinating thanks Mark
I also prefer the deep red of many pre war gun stocks.
The grain really pops with an oil finish.
Excellent 👍👍
Please show the reassembly of the gun. Please. Please. Please. I hate begging but I've got a Model 71 that was my dad's. It's the only gun I have that I have never disassembled and would love to see a tutorial. I doesn't get shot much, primarily because of ammo availability, so it's not a mess. I just want to be more comfortable with it.
The project is taking long enough to split into 2 parts, so yes.
Reassembly of a 71 is very challenging. I wouldn’t take it apart unless you have a good reason.
Are we going to see a part 2 on this gun?
Yea
Mark, nice flintlock photo in Ducks Unlimited this month!
Saw that. A 1640 Snaphaunce in the photo
good stuff Mark !
Opinion of one…If I was the owner I would just ask for mechanical inspection/repair and stock redo…I’m a sucker for worn metal finishes on old guns.
great work
Wow thank's Mark 👍👍
Mark kinda unrelated but how would you go about repairing chiped out bone or antler would you go with black epoxy like walnut or something else?
Gel CA (cyanoacrylate or "super glue").
@@thedevilinthecircuit1414 I suppose but I kinda meant repairing a big gap from a missing splinter kinda like the kar 91 he did few years back
I'm curious, how and who cut the original checkering? Obviously, it isn't like a pressed checkering. A little old man with a checking tool and a lot of little old men?
Ladies, probably. They are better at it, actually. Just sayin
Definitely by hand.
Love to see you do a video on the Stevens 520/620
This guy is inspirational. Thanks for this
Hi Mark, I love seeing your work! It inspires me to want to get more into gunsmithing, and particularly gun finishing. While I am starting to practice on items of no significant value, I do have a French contract Savage 1907 that came to me in rather poor shape, and a nice all numbers matching Luger from 1916 that has a “purple” hue to it… Are you still taking on new projects? And if so, how should I contact you? Thanks!
Beautiful
Mark, love your content. How do i get in touch with you about a Drilling that i have thats misbehaving?
Checkering looks like more attention than I want to pay
Mark I live your videos. I just watched a video you did on a Bergman bayard and you bead blasted the frame due to it being in a fire.
What media do you use and at what psi setting?
Thank you for all the great info you give us.
Glass beads, 40 psi ish
@@marknovak8255 thank you Mark!
When do we get to see "The Rest of The Story"?
I gotta see it go back together.
What colour of danish oil are you using?
Black walnut, hard to find but worth the hunt
@@marknovak8255 thanks ill track it down. Great channel keep the vids coming.
Ideal tool for for taking out the dip would be a scraper plane.
my condolences to your old iron, seemed like a old workhorse
How do I get an iron like you are using? Brand, model etc.
Who drilled all those holes port side? 😕
Thanks again