A wee Webley gets some TLC......
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 4:27 pm
This was originally posted in 2011.
A short while ago, this Webley "B" Series Premier was donated to me. Because of it's less than attractive condition, it was thought to perhaps be a good parts donor. Well, having searched for a "B" Series Premier for many years without any luck, I decided that this little gun would get "the treatment", in an attempt to restore it to it's previous glory. The barrel joint pivot screw was missing, with an old Phillips head screw just cross-threaded into the hole, and one grip had a minor gouge in the checkering, just below the "Webley" emblem on the left grip panel. Also, the small spring in the cocking shoe was broken, as is so typical of these vintage Webleys - but - it has potential !!
These pics show where it had been splattered with some solution that had not only removed the bluing, but had also etched the base metal - not very pretty at all. The other side of the gun was actually quite nice, with only light box-wear.
Phase one - chemically remove all the original bluing. I used Birchwood Casey Rust and Blue Remover, and it worked great. You can now see how badly etched some areas of the bare metal are.
Phase two - the affected areas have been carefully filed, then polished with progressively finer grits of emery paper. You can still see a few small areas that have yet to be cleaned up. The spring in the shoe of the cocking linkage was replaced during this phase as well.
Phase three - the entire gun is carded (wire brushed). This can be done by hand, or with a fine wire wheel in a lathe or on a pedestal grinder. Care must be taken if done by the latter methods, as too much pressure will cause abraiding, too little, will not produce the desired shine.
The gun is now ready for bluing. I wanted this gun to look as good as it did when it left the factory, or as close as was possible, and I knew that this was beyond my abilities using cold bluing, so I enlisted the services of a local airgunner that was equipped to do hot salts bluing. I had seen examples of his past work and I thought it to be of excellent quality.
And finally, phase four - the gun has been blued, and reassembled. Note the contrast between these two pics and the first two close-ups at the top of the post.
The bluing turned out absolutely fantastic.
So here we see the completely re-assembled Premier. A proper barrel pivot screw has been fitted, along with it's keeper screw, and the grips have been replaced with a much nicer set that I had on hand. The bluing and degree of depth are excellent, and has just the correct amount of shine, that only a keen eye could tell that the gun has been re-blued.
I could not be happier with the results, and I now have a very nice specimen of a "B" Series Premier in my collection.
A short while ago, this Webley "B" Series Premier was donated to me. Because of it's less than attractive condition, it was thought to perhaps be a good parts donor. Well, having searched for a "B" Series Premier for many years without any luck, I decided that this little gun would get "the treatment", in an attempt to restore it to it's previous glory. The barrel joint pivot screw was missing, with an old Phillips head screw just cross-threaded into the hole, and one grip had a minor gouge in the checkering, just below the "Webley" emblem on the left grip panel. Also, the small spring in the cocking shoe was broken, as is so typical of these vintage Webleys - but - it has potential !!
These pics show where it had been splattered with some solution that had not only removed the bluing, but had also etched the base metal - not very pretty at all. The other side of the gun was actually quite nice, with only light box-wear.
Phase one - chemically remove all the original bluing. I used Birchwood Casey Rust and Blue Remover, and it worked great. You can now see how badly etched some areas of the bare metal are.
Phase two - the affected areas have been carefully filed, then polished with progressively finer grits of emery paper. You can still see a few small areas that have yet to be cleaned up. The spring in the shoe of the cocking linkage was replaced during this phase as well.
Phase three - the entire gun is carded (wire brushed). This can be done by hand, or with a fine wire wheel in a lathe or on a pedestal grinder. Care must be taken if done by the latter methods, as too much pressure will cause abraiding, too little, will not produce the desired shine.
The gun is now ready for bluing. I wanted this gun to look as good as it did when it left the factory, or as close as was possible, and I knew that this was beyond my abilities using cold bluing, so I enlisted the services of a local airgunner that was equipped to do hot salts bluing. I had seen examples of his past work and I thought it to be of excellent quality.
And finally, phase four - the gun has been blued, and reassembled. Note the contrast between these two pics and the first two close-ups at the top of the post.
The bluing turned out absolutely fantastic.
So here we see the completely re-assembled Premier. A proper barrel pivot screw has been fitted, along with it's keeper screw, and the grips have been replaced with a much nicer set that I had on hand. The bluing and degree of depth are excellent, and has just the correct amount of shine, that only a keen eye could tell that the gun has been re-blued.
I could not be happier with the results, and I now have a very nice specimen of a "B" Series Premier in my collection.