Stevey3737. If you are really going to restore it, don't procrastinate on buying the parts. They won't be around for a long time. These parts don't come up for sale often and when they do, they are very limited in numbers.
Also, before you start your restoration, keep the sand paper away from the rifle and stock. Get in touch with some of the restorers here if you need assistance. Do it right or you are just wasting your money. If you have dents in the wood, steam them out with an iron and wet cloth, don't scrape or sand them. If you have cracks, use a good glue and use it sparingly. If you have to cut out a break to patch, do it right. Go onto the Milsurps Knowledge site for information on how to do it properly.
If you get the stock from Tradex, make sure you have the rear spacer/pillar etc.
Stay away from Tung Oil. Personally, if I see Tung Oil on a stock, I won't touch the rifle, even if it's an interesting piece. A very light swipe with 000000 steel wool will take off the feathers and then a coat of HOT boiled linseed oil will finish it nicely. That Swede model 96 is interesting in that it is one of the earliest Swede manufactured rifles. The real problem will come with the bands. On the earlier rifles, they were all serial numbered to the rifle. There are some un numbered pieces out there and I know that they were used as replacement parts at later times but they are from a later era. IMHO, perfectly acceptable.
Model 1896
Main article:
Swedish Mauser
On November 3, 1893, the United Kingdom of Norway and Sweden adopted the
6.5x55 mm cartridge. As a result, the Swedes chambered their new service rifle and carbine, the m/94 and m/96 Mauser, in this round. The Swedish Mauser was manufactured relatively unchanged from 1896 to 1944, and the m/94 Carbine, m/96 Rifle, m/38 Short Rifle, and m/41 Sharpshooter models are known by collectors as "Swedish Mausers". They are often sought after by military service rifle shooters and hunters. A small initial batch of Model 96 rifles were built in Germany by Loewe and later DWM, with the remainder being manufactured under license by Sweden's state-run
Carl Gustaf factory. The Type 38 carbine was produced by
Husqvarna, with additional carbines being converted from Model 96 rifles.
"Swedish Steel" is a term for the steel used by the German Mauser, and later Swedish manufacturing facilities to make the M96 rifles. By chance, Swedish iron ore contains the proper percentages of trace elements to make good alloy steel. Thus, though lacking the industrial base necessary for mass producing steel and iron, the Swedish steel industry had developed a niche market for specialty high-strength steel alloys containing nickel, copper, and vanadium. Swedish steels were noted for their strength and corrosion resistance and especially suited for use in toolmaking, cutlery, and firearms. As a consequence, when Mauser was contracted to fabricate the some production runs of Swedish Mausers in Germany due to production delays, Sweden required the use of Swedish steel in the manufacturing process. The Swedish Ordnance Office continued to specify the same Swedish steel alloy in Swedish-made Mausers until the last new-production m/38 barrelled actions were completed in 1944.
