FredC,
After making an action wrench similar to yours I got the old barrel off my 1898 Krag today and replaced it with a barrel that was much better. I'm anxious to shoot the rifle now and see if it will group instead of pattern. I also refinished the stock as the rifle when I got it had been refinished sometime it's past and was terrible however the wood itself was in good condition with a 1901 cartouche  on the left side wrist. After removing the old varnish it was found that the wood was very light in color and I think I read someplace that in 1901 they used some Italian walnut that was lighter colored. I don't know if that is true or not. I used some raw linseed oil and put several coats on the wood and it all turned out very good.

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