I posted this rifle 10/10/13 after your help established the rifle had all of its finished removed, bead blasted ?So damage done and two weeks trapped in the house recovering from surgery this is the result.   (You need to Login   Before.                                                                                 (You need to LoginAfter.                                                                                 (You need to Login                                                                                  (You need to Login                                                                                  (You need to Login                                                                                  (You need to Login                                                                                This was my first time using rust bluing but I'm sure it wont be the last.   

   I also removed varnish from stock ,replaced hand guard and gave it an oil finish.

    When I looked at my own pictures again I saw that the blue on the receiver looks like it has rust patches in reality you are only seeing some of the almost layering affect of the original heat treatment.I am posting several pictures of what it looks like in your hands.                           (You need to Login                                                                                  (You need to Login                                                                                     (You need to Login                                                                                  (You need to Login                                                                                I only used steam on the stock and 400 grit on two small areas that the steam raised the grain.
                                 

Very Pretty!  Now how does it shoot?

    I only fired 4 rounds off hand from 50 yards before I saw a ground hornets nest getting stirred up.My shots were all high and above my target but in a fist sized group just above it.I've had and shot an 1898 sporter that was my fathers favorite deer rifle and thought it was a pleasure to shoot until I fired this one. The extra length and balance of the long rifle makes it very easy to hold on target.As soon as I can clear out the hornets and relax and shoot I will post results.My son who collects and shoots a wide range of milsurp rifles but for cost reasons mostly has avoided U.S.rifles has had a change of heart after shooting mine and seeing how much machine work went into these guns.

Awesome job on the finishing!  Can't wait to hear how she does once you get her sighted in... 

Oh, and foaming wasp killer works wonders.  My son calls it "Instant Death!"  LOL

I discovered some of the chemicals I worked with for many years in printing had the same effect on wasps!  Yes, nice refinishing, wanna do one of mine next?

      This is the first time that I've worked with rust bluing.After learning that this was the process and its history I was determined this was how I was going to finish my new Krag. After hours of working on a plan to do this project with a way to boil the barrel I started following line on steam to convert the rust.There are also a lot of recipes out there but decided to go with Brownells classic rust blue.This is what I put together as odd as it looks it could not have worked better.                                                                                 (You need to Login                                                                                  (You need to Login                                                                                  (You need to Login                                                                                                               

where did you find the info for that contraption looks very easy to build, would be nice to have as I have two Krags i am woring on to restore over time as money allows and if I can get the parts. No I have no exrta children to give as servent for the HIGH price of the part that I will need for my 96 Carbine.

    Top Dean,after researching original finishes I found that rust blue would have still been the most common refinish in the late 1800's. With much digging through old articles and web sights most describe using a tray long enough to boil barrel or barreled action in ,at least one said you could just pour boiling water over the parts but then I saw how steam would have been used originally. From there I found where someone wrote about using PVC pipe fitted over a pan of boiling water.                                                                                 While most small parts can be boiled on top of the kitchen stove,for the barrel I first found a pan that my wife was going to toss because of chipped porcelin.my first thought was to cut a piece of plywood to fit which should work for the short term then use a piece of 4'' schedule 40 PVC long enough to fit the barrel in.Note that thin wall pipe will start to melt,my biggest mistake but once changed worked great.The part used to adapt the pipe to my bucket or what ever cover you use is a toilet flange.The cover can be anything,I found that a little back pressure seemed to even the conversion faster.Also by leaving it uncovered and just warming the water it made a perfect humidifier for the rusting process.                                                                               What ever you do don't forget to protect the bore.If you want any more help just contact me,I can probably find the bracket I made to hang the barreled action straight in the pipe and take a picture of it.I was able to devote a lot of time that I couldn't normally but I was confined to the house after surgery.                                                                                John.

I just drop a set of shotgun barrels or a rifle's barreled action into a PVC tube, fill it up with boiling water, cap it and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Simply works.

I plug both ends of barrels with tight fitting tapered wooden plugs, but expansion of heated air inside the barrels tends to force them out, letting water in. A swab pushed through afterwards takes care of that. I thought of dispensing with the barrel plugs altogether, but decided they have a use for while the barrel is rusting in the sweat box, so I put them in.

sounds simple enough, better than what I did when i was 16 with my mussle loader, I used a propane torch on the barrel to heat it up, and then applied  the antique stain to the barrel. Cnsidering I was 16 and never done it before or anything like it it turned out very well. Make it look may years older that it is.