I would like to share with you my first ever restoration project and get your feedback in order to improve my approach as I have several antique auto 5s to restore. It is not perfect but we have to start somewhere.
The original bluing of that example was in good condition therefore I decided not to touch it.
However, one of the previous owner, instead of fixing the front trigger guard safety decided to altered it in order to accommodate a new cross bolt safety. As I want to keep the historic integrity as much as possible, I am going to fix the original front safety and fill the holes of the removed cross bolt safety. What would be the best way to do that repair?
Here is the shotgun when I acquired it. The buttstock is original but was shortened to accommodate a Rubber recoil pad. The forearm is post second war.
The new stocks is made of European walnut. Notice the groove on the forearm. It doesn’t extend to the full length of the forearm. Due to the fragility of the forearm construction, it is very difficult to find these early model with an original forearm.
The original buttplate was made of hard rubber. It is extremely rare to find a pre 1909 with such a buttplate. The 1909 I installed on this Browning has the exact same look but it is made of water buffalo horn. I reworked it and polished it.
Following your experience, what will be the best way to fill these holes?
The original bluing of that example was in good condition therefore I decided not to touch it.
However, one of the previous owner, instead of fixing the front trigger guard safety decided to altered it in order to accommodate a new cross bolt safety. As I want to keep the historic integrity as much as possible, I am going to fix the original front safety and fill the holes of the removed cross bolt safety. What would be the best way to do that repair?
Here is the shotgun when I acquired it. The buttstock is original but was shortened to accommodate a Rubber recoil pad. The forearm is post second war.
The new stocks is made of European walnut. Notice the groove on the forearm. It doesn’t extend to the full length of the forearm. Due to the fragility of the forearm construction, it is very difficult to find these early model with an original forearm.
The original buttplate was made of hard rubber. It is extremely rare to find a pre 1909 with such a buttplate. The 1909 I installed on this Browning has the exact same look but it is made of water buffalo horn. I reworked it and polished it.
Following your experience, what will be the best way to fill these holes?
