Jump to content

US Model 1917 Attic find!


kilgarvan
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hello All. Found this in my father - in - laws attic! Model 1917 that looks to have a 1918 manufacture date based on the serial number. Bore is excellent condition. Bolt works fine. SERIOUS dirt and dust as well as surface rust seen in pictures. Looking for any an all comments! Is this world war 1? Reworked for WW2? What markings should I look for? AND....how to clean it up! Looking for help on cleaning the stock, metal, etc, etc.

 

Thanks!!

post-150849-0-76618900-1421703872.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really, really neat find! Looks like a great project and very complete Eddystone. All parts should have an "E" on them if it's an all-correct WWI one. Look for a date/manufacture on the barrel near the muzzle as well. Any stamps in the stock (these would indicate an arsenal rebuild)? Looks like this needs a little oil and TLC.

 

Congtats! I recently found an Eddystone in similar condition and brought it back to life with Break-Free CLP, a brush, and couple days on the workbench.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How old of a house is it? Might be interesting to go down to the county records and see who owned it over the years......might match a WWI veteran who brought it back ;)

 

Seriously, awesome rifle and nice save.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You wouldn't think it would rust like that in an attic (a basement - yes). Maybe there were big temp changes. I suppose you could get condensation with temp changes. In any event, a great find and an enjoyable project. Congrats!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a great find! Best of luck bringing it back to life. You'll want to separate the stock and handguard from the barreled action to give them different types of TLC. "Less is more" as you work on it, and be patient.

 

Metal

- Break Free is a good start point; if that doesn't work, get some Kroil, which is a great penetrating oil. Scrub with some old rags to see how much of that rust will come off, before doing anything more aggressive.

- You may want to get some JB Bore Paste to clean the rust out of the barrel (which I assume is in about the same condition as the externals).

 

Wood

- I'd start with something gentle, just to get the dust and dirt off, and then see what's left. Maybe some warm water and a scrub brush. Once it dries out, then you can assess its condition.

- That wood should soak up a BUNCH of BLO (boiled linseed oil, available at any hardware store, and maybe even Wallyworld). You'll be amazed how much better it'll look with a few applications.

 

Enjoy this find, & let us know how it shoots.

 

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of the above suggestions are spot on... But me, I'd start with a good gunsmith and an estimate... I'm sure I may miss the "project" part, but the outcome will be ten times better...

 

Jon B.

Newaygo MI

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very neat find. If it were mine I would leave it as it sits. Looks almost like a battlefield pickup. There are plenty of nice shoot-able M-1917 out there but not solid relics like this one. I have seen more military rifles ruined (Civil war, Indian War, Span Am, WW1 ) because individuals wanted to restore them. It is what it is. I find pieces like this more desirable than a 99% rifle that went from the factory to the crate to a collector. Thin coat of oil and that would be it.

 

Regards,

Terence

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You should most certainly try to clean this rifle up. Leaving it in its present condition will actually do more harm than good. Do not "restore" this rifle, just preserve and clean it. Leaving it coated in dirt/rust will only serve to promote further oxidation of the metal. If you have the appropriate tools, disassembling the rifle should be simple. Make sure that you have properly fitting screwdrivers before attempting to take the rifle apart!!! One of the best investments you could make would be for a small "gunsmith's" screwdriver set, which will include a good variety of flathead/plain screwdriver bits. Typically $30-$50 online. One of the worst mistakes you could make would be to use an improperly fitting screwdriver and foul up the heads of the screws. Firearm collectors hate trashed screw heads.

 

Disassemble the rifle and lightly clean the metal surfaces using a good penetrating oil/solvent (Kroil is great, as mentioned ealier). Most any average "gun cleaner" will work as well. If you don't know how to disassemble the rifle, there are a lot of good online resources, exploded view diagrams, and books that could give you some helpful information. I would imagine that the surface rust shown in your pics won't be removable via a light cleaning, so you may need to take further steps to effectively clean off the oxidation. The first thing you'll need to do is identify what type of finish is on the metal. It certainly looks like the metal has a blued finish, but WWII era rebuilds made use of parkerizing. The type of finish may affect the type of materials use for cleaning.

 

In all cases... DO NOT USE STEEL WOOL ON THE METAL!!! This will remove the original finish and leave a ton of tiny little scratches behind. Again, do not listen to ANYONE that recommends the use of steel wool to clean off the rust.

 

If the rifle's finish is indeed the original bluing, and a light cleaning leaves quite a bit of surface rust in place, a better product to use would be something like the Tipton Gun Bright metal cleaning pad, which is basically a stainless steel pad often used for cleaning dishes in the kitchen. While it looks to be something that would wreak havoc on the finish of a vintage firearm, it is actually very gentle on the blued metal. These pads can damage a parkerized finish. I have cleaned off dozens of firearms using these types of pads with some oil to remove substantial amounts of rust. I once had a French Model 1874 M80 Gras rifle that I purchased from a gentleman who acquired it in the 1950s or 1960s, and who hung it in the rafters of his covered back porch for decoration. Its condition almost perfectly matched your M1917. While it was complete and in solid condition, it was covered in dirt/grime and most of the metal was covered in light to moderate surface rust. It was an interesting rifle, having been used by the French army in the late 1800s, shipped to Russia as aid from the French for use in WW1, and then sent to Spain by the Russians during the Spanish Civil War. As such, I wanted to preserve the rifle and clean off the 40-50 years of neglect. I used a very similar type of cleaning pad, and it worked great. Much of the original blueing still remained beneath the surface rust, and the pad did not affect the original finish in any observable way. The rifle looked 1000% better after the cleaning, the originality of the rifle was not affected, and any further rusting/oxidation of the metal was effectively stopped. I simply applied a liberal amount of oil to the surface of the metal, gently scrubbed the area with the pad, and periodically wiped off the dirty oil so I wouldn't rub any removed debris onto the metal's surface. Apply fresh oil, continue rubbing, wipe clean, and repeat as many times as necessary. It is a good idea to test this method on a small area that is not exposed when the rifle is assembled, just to make absolutely sure that this process will not scratch/damage the blued finish of the rifle. Soaking the smaller parts in your solvent or penetrating oil of choice will certainly help aid in cleaning them off faster.

 

Gpw_42 gave you some good suggestions for cleaning the wood.

 

When using any kind of solvents/cleaners/chemicals in any significant quantities, always do so in a well ventilated room. The fumes can build up fast. And wear gloves! This type of cleaning can get messy, and there is no reason to expose your skin to any cleaners/chemicals you may use.

 

From looking at your pictures, I would bet this rifle was in excellent condition before it was stored away in the attic. It wouldn't be difficult to have this rifle looking great again with absolutely no affect to it's originality. Just remember... no sandpaper and no steel wool.

 

If you take this rifle to a gunsmith for cleaning, be absolutely sure they won't in any way alter the original finish. Some gunsmiths may use chemicals to remove the rust, which also removes the bluing, and would then simply re-blue the rifle. This is a major no-no for collectible firearms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All great pieces of advice. Much appreciated. Thanks solcarlus for the pics.....although I can't read what you wrote!! All of the comments makes me feel confident I will be able to bring this back to life...and even the possibility of being able to shoot it as well!!

 

As far as an ammo belt for this rifle....would it also be the model 1910, the same as the one used for the 03 Springfield? What about the magazine clips.....what would those look like, etc......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bonjour.

 

Belle pièce. Il ne doit pas avoir de grande difficultés à lui redonner une deuxième jeunesse ;)

 

solcarlus.

 

 

 

 

Hello.

 

Beautiful room. It must not have large difficulties give it a second youth;)

 

Solcarlus.

Wrong?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice rifles - both of them!

Great advice by longbranch. Go slow and get in a hurry. When you're done you'll have the pride of having done it yourself. Please keep us up-to-date on your rifle's new life!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bonjour Kilgarvan.

 

 

There is no difficulty to disassemble and clean. It is especially softness and tact not to remove the tan (blued) of metal parts. For wood, a degreasing and linseed oil. The only part I had to change is the "guard screw"

Yes the belt and "cartridge clip of" are the same as for "03". except bayonet.

 

solcarlus.

 

My US17:

 

post-241-0-58533400-1421858539.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...