Type 53 Nagant restoration

[JustinB]

Bought a Type 53 Nagant from JG sales last week for $130 ($99 + $30 for the hand select bore.) When it arrived the stock was in pretty rough shape. I wasn't expecting much for a $100 gun. Gun was made in 1954 and is the same size as my M44. As you can imagine cosmoline and gun grease was caked on there pretty good. So I got bored over this past weekend and I decided to clean it. After taking it apart and cleaning the bolt and internals very well I just decided to go for broke and sand the stock and refinish it. Here are the results. This is my first attempt at something like this. (Dammit man I'm a nurse not a carpenter )

Before shots

Removed the cosmoline (pre-sanding)

Close up of what I was dealing with. Most of the scratches were superficial and came out with minimal sanding.

Rough sanded it - After this pic I sanded it more with a hand sander. Don't have pics of that sorry.

Stain was applied before three coats of semi-gloss finish.


Here is the final result

 

[sportsbud]

That turned out nice, I had one that I sanded and stained, I didnt sand too deep, as it had some trench art, and the stock looked like it went through a wood chipper, so I too the rough edges out and it looked like a slightly used one, and the metal matched it with some of the bluing worn off...

These are the after sanding before staining, the damn chu wood can be picky all the little dings made the wood a different color permanently...



This is the trench art that was on it..

This was the before anything...

 

[dwr461]

That's not a restoration. That's a refinish. That are some sources for the same type of shellac that the Russians' used if you'd like to do a restoration on another one later. You'd have to replace the stock now that you've sanded it to do a refinish. As far as what the Chinese used to finish the wood I think it was similar to the Russian shellac but I'm not sure.

The wood in these stocks does look much nicer with a better finish on it. But that's not what C&R collectors want. They want the original finish, just cleaned up.

Dave

 

[MALIBU12]

WOW! looks great !

 

[JustinB]

Pardon the terminology, maybe I'm watching too much Ricks Restoration.


Thank you.

WOW! looks great !

 

[dwr461]

No problem, I'm glad I didn't upset you. Sometimes I'm just too darn abrupt. The stock looks really nice and it was a good job. It's amazing just how nice the wood looks on these rifles. It's a darn shame that red shellac was slapped on them when they were made instead of BLO for example.

Dave

 

[gandog56]

I just got a "U-Fix-Em from Century International for $54. The wood looked even worse than yours, the bolt was badly tarnished (Though it passed my headspace gauges), and it was missing it's cleaning rod. Found a cheap cleaning rod on Amazon.com of all places. Numrich has Russian M44 stocks and handguard, so I ordered one of them to replace that god awful Chinese "Chu" wood stock. And a bit of simichrome and a polishing wheel made the bolt look much better. All and all I am out about $120 altogether.

Why I hate Chu wood:

 

[Candyman]

Nothing like a pig in a prom dress.
Just giving you a hard time.
Your stock looks great, but like dwr461 said it's a refinish, not a restoration.
Most often over looked when someone works on a stock is the condition of the metal. If the metal showes wear then the stock should also. If you make the stock look new and leave the worn look on the metal, you just end up with lipstick on a pig.

Years ago a lot of surplus guns were cleaned up, stocks refinished and metal reblued, because that was the thing to do. People wanted pretty guns.
Back in the 80s you could find just about any type of surplus gun for cheap. Hell, I picked up a 1916 Spanish Mauser in 7.62 for $75 and 200 rounds of ammo for $15. Now days that ammo will run you right at $200 and the rifle, un-molested, right around $250 to $300.
Now days surplus guns are getting harder to find and Collectors are looking for correct peices. So any type of refinishing will cause the gun to loose value in the collecting world. This is not to say that a non collector would not be willing to pay more for a refinished gun.

I have been doing stock work for over 24 years and always willing to help those that are willing to learn.
Here is a link that will take you to where my repair post are. http://www.bayoushooter.com/forums/showthread.php?5439-How-To-Repair-Firearm-Stocks&highlight=
Remember that when restoring something it is not always making it look new or just wipping it off. It is sometimes making it look like it should.
I'm not taking in work, but if you live in the Denham Springs area and would like hepl with your project, I would be more then willing to help.

 

[GaryCCR]

That came out beautiful. I had bought a T53 from SOG, Theirs was $100 + $10 hand-select and the bore was mirror bright, the metal was pretty good, all matching.





I didn't try to do anything to the original stock, it was ugly so I filed it... File 13. I had an extra M91/30 stock I cut down and refinished with b.l.o. and sealed it with wipe-on poly.

 

[gandog56]

Why the turned down bolt if it has no scope on it?

 

[erazir]

I have 2 type 53. One is a trophy of war and I have the certificate on it. I don't want to do much more than clean it and frame it. A friend of my dads brought it back. I like the work ya'll have done. I've been hesitant to tamper with any of mine. I bit the bullet and started an arch angel on a Frankenstein force match m44 that I got this summer. Yes I know it has no C&R value now, but it is giving a new interesting life to a cobbled together rifle.

 

[dwr461]

Why the turned down bolt if it has no scope on it?

B/C most of these guys are not collectors. They like to modify inexpensive rifles.

Dave

 

[gandog56]

Can't believe I did not jump on you for calling it a Nagant! Have to bring out the Gunny!

 

[gandog56]

Oh yeah, my finished restoration....

 

[gcoulter]

Can I buy a bolt for Nagant or do I just cut the handle and have it welded?

 

[CHW2021]

http://mosinnagant.net/Boltman/Boltman.html

 

[gandog56]

Can I buy a bolt for Nagant or do I just cut the handle and have it welded?

See my comment above about a "Nagant"

 

[alfalfa]

I have 2 type 53. One is a trophy of war and I have the certificate on it. I don't want to do much more than clean it and frame it. A friend of my dads brought it back. I like the work ya'll have done. I've been hesitant to tamper with any of mine. I bit the bullet and started an arch angel on a Frankenstein force match m44 that I got this summer. Yes I know it has no C&R value now, but it is giving a new interesting life to a cobbled together rifle.

How do you like the archangel stock?

I've got three U-fix-em Type 53's I'm considering putting that stock on (along with a base and scope). Was wondering if they're still having problems with stock fit and magazines falling out.

 

[erazir]

The archangel is nice. I waited until the prices went to normal. I've taken it to the range a couple of times and it shoots well. The recoil is dampened. The mags have not fallen out at all. The tough part is getting a good scope on it. I ended up using a 91/30 scope mount and spent a few hours at cabelas trying out a dozen scopes and finally found a Nikon that worked. Bad ass gun, but it not original. It falls more into the scary black gun category.

 

[erazir]

Just an FYI...I did not have to cut, weld, alter or change the rifle to put it in the stock.