Remodeling a BRNO Mauser, Part 8: Putting It All Together

In my previous posts, I have concentrated on the various elements of remodeling this 7x57 Mauser: reworking the stock, say, or bedding the action.  Now, everything is about to come together, and I am hopng, as I always do at the end of one of these projects, that the whole magically will become more than the sum of its parts. For me, at least, this final assembly typically involves some pesky last minute adjustments before the magic can happen.  In this case, I had to remove some stray AcraGlas to make the bottom metal fit properly again.  

I'm planning to shoot the BRNO first with iron sights, partly because I like the look of a rifle uncluttered with a scope, partly because the rifle will weigh at least three quarters of a pound less than it would with a scope, and partly to see whether my aging eyesight can manage one minute of whitetail deer.  What this means in practical terms is whether I can still keep all my shots at 50 yards on an eight-inch paper plate--offhand.  

Although the BRNO lacked a front sight when I bought it, it did come drilled and tapped for a Lyman 48.  Fortunately, the RS model Lyman 48 I already owned fit this Mauser 98 perfectly, so that's what I'll try.  If I no longer see well enough for iron sights, I can always take off the peep sight and mount a scope, making use of the BRNO's tapped holes for Weaver bases.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, despite my amputating the Monte Carlo comb, the comb is still high enough that I can use a low-mounted scope.

Here's a shot of the altered pistol grip, the receiver with the Lyman 48, the checkering, and the shortened fore end with a barrel band.  The magazine release is just visible, and as I said in an earlier post I've swapped the two-stage military trigger for a Timney I already had on hand.



The finishing touch, so to speak, wasn't a matter of seeing so much as a matter of feeling.  After assembling the rifle and holding it muzzle down in my right hand, I noticed that the edges of this Lyman peep were digging uncomfortably into my hand.  Looking more closely, I saw that the edges had been chamfered, but only minimally.  Following a suggestion by E. C. Crossman in The Book of the Springfield (1931), I picked up a needle file and in a few minutes had softened the edges of the sides and the adjustment knobs.  Some cold blue made it look new again.  It's surprising how much difference a little detail like this can make.


Looking back to the beginning of this project, here's the BRNO as I bought it, complete with a Monte Carlo comb, a bulky, closed pistol grip, and an extended, angular fore end (the odd bump on the bridge is a Weaver scope base):

And here's where we've ended up: a new front sight, set back a tad in the English style, and a Lyman 48; a barrel band for a sling; a slightly truncated fore end to balance the 21 1/2" length of the barrel; and a more open pistol grip together with a much altered butt stock, a recut cheek piece, and a new recoil pad.  And now the much slimmer stock is checkered:

Assembled with iron sights, the rifle weighs 7 1/4 pounds. 

This BRNO 7x57 now fits me.  It balances just the way I like, very slightly muzzle heavy.  Unloaded, its balance point is five inches in front of the trigger.  It feels lively in my hands.  Almost as important, it is very close to my Platonic ideal of a bolt action sporter, an elegant and altogether personal rifle.  Its styling is conservative:  I like to think that Bell or Corbett would have approved of this 7x57.  I'm looking forward to practicing with it and then taking it afield.  In the meantime, I am deriving pleasure from just holding it in my hands and dreaming big dreams!


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Remodeling a BRNO Mauser, Part 6

I've made some progress since my last post.  I've swapped out the military two stage trigger for a Timney, which necessitated some inletting for the larger trigger mechanism.  I have added a Talley barrel band for a sling swivel.  I happily paid $15 to get it professionally blued (it was sent as part of a batch from a local gunsmith and was back in a week), so it's a much better match with the bluing on the barrel than a cold blued band would be.

I've also substituted an "Extended Floorplate Release" for the military one.  It's available from Midway.  This is simple to do:  just drive out the pin visible below in the upper left corner.  There's a spring in there, so guard against its flying across the shop.  I had to file a bit to get the release to fit properly.  If you also cut a coil off the release spring, it makes it easier to release or replace the floorplate.

A new-in-the-box Lyman 18C front sight ramp came from E-bay ($10); it's a screw-on sight, but for a different size screw than the holes already tapped in the barrel, so I glued it to the barrel with Black Max (be advised, this sets up fast).  After doing some math, I ordered a front sight insert from Lyman.  A bit of filing with a triangular file on the insert (not on the ramp) resulted in a fine fit.  In a departure from tradition, I chose a fiber optic green bead.  Granted, the woods where I hunt whitetails are filled with hemlocks and white pine, but deer in late fall are a grayish brown, so the green should show up well.  More on that later.

Stockwork:  First came sanding and whiskering (wetting the wood with hot water to raise the grain, drying it, then sanding the whiskers off against the grain) through 320 grit.  I used sanding blocks whenever possible.  The difference between a first-class finishing job and a sloppy one lies in the sanding. Then came dyeing with a 2-2-1 mixture of dark walnut, red mahogany, and antique cherry dyes. (Let me emphasize the use of dyes, not stains which obscure the grain; they can be purchased at any decent woodworking supply house in powdered form, which you mix with water.  One source is Woodcraft.)  Try to be pleased when that first application of dye reveals blemishes you hadn't noticed.  After all, it's better to see them now rather than later.  Sand and whisker again, and then dye once more.  Repeat as necessary.

Given that the dye is water based, this may mean that you will have to do a final whiskering after dyeing the stock--I typically cut the whiskers off with the next finer grade of sandpaper, which in this case was 400 grit, going against the grain.  If you're going to checker the stock, make sure you've saved some of the dye to color the checkering.  I then applied two coats of  alkanet oil (if you want to make your own, see my post alkanet oil).  The alkanet oil should be applied sparingly, well rubbed in, and let dry for several days.  It's additive, so if you want it a bit darker, add another coat.  Make sure that no surplus remains on the surface of the stock.

Filling the Pores and Finishing:  When I can no longer smell the alkanet oil on the wood, the stock is ready for finishing.  I first applied two coats of marine spar varnish as a sealer (not that wood can ever be thoroughly sealed).  The first coat was thinned with mineral spirits.  Then I rubbed down lightly with 0000 steel wool.  Any hardware store will have some, but I prefer the extra fine oil-free steel wool sold by Lee Valley.  If the wood has really large pores, you may want to use a filler.  I've used Herter's French Red filler in the past, and it works.  Now, unless the pores are crater-like, I fill the pores by sanding in the finish. 

I have tried a variety of finishes and have settled on TruOil.  As with any finish, apply thin coats. I applied two coats of TruOil and then sanded in the third.  Typically, I use 320 or 400 grit. I wet a small portion of the stock with TruOil and then rubbed the sandpaper gently with the grain until the finish was almost dry.  Then, on to the next area.   A day later, I rubbed down the stock with 0000 steel wool.  I got rid of the steel wool particles by burning them off over my kitchen's gas stove (I have, fortunately, an understanding wife).  The pores were shallower but still visible, so I built up two more coats of TruOil and sanded in the following coat.  That filled the pores.  Another rubdown with 0000 steel wool and another coat of TruOil resulted in a finish you could see your face in.

I personally don't care for that high gloss, so I rubbed down the finish.  Tradition calls for using pumice or rottenstone, but I've found that auto rubbing compound works well and is cheap and readily available.  Just follow the directions, and as ever, use a light touch.  (If that finish isn't shiny enough for your taste, rub it down with--ready for this?--auto polishing compound.)  Wipe it down carefully and let it sit overnight.

At this point, either I apply two thin coats of furniture wax and buff it by hand, or a coat of alkanet oil, well rubbed in with the palm of your hand.  

The next post will deal with ways I've found to make checkering less error-prone.

Lee Valley