Ross Work in Progress

bushwhacker

bushwhacker

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This is what I have accomplished so far on the full length Ross I bought from another member. The forestock was cut. I was able to find a mid-band and nosecap and fabricated a new forend and a handguard from a #4 handguard. I still have to make or find the clips that hold down the rear of the handguard and radius its rear. I think it is still a little long, but want to get a measurement from the action opening to the back of handguard before I cut it any shorter. I am missing the front sight hood as well. I had to move the mid-band back a little to get a good fit on the remainder of the forend. Unfortunately there are no stamped markings left on the right side of the butt, but I worked with what I could find. Someone beat me to the bayonet that was in the Blade exchange yesterday.

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Good work. It seems you can turn any $150 dollar Ross Sporter into a $500.00 restoration if you do this splice work right!

I am restoring a Ross right now too... a Cadet...It still needs an extractor which is being made right now hopefully!
 
Another member here has a sight hood for me. If anyone has fabricated the rear handguard clips, I would appreciate their knowledgeable input. I would appreciate a measurement from action opening to back of handguard. I have photos of a handguard someone sent me, but don't know the spacing of the rivets or their diameter, would appreciate that information. Don't have any step by step photos. Cut the blank in my table saw from a piece of walnut from an old pump organ my sister gave me. Finding wood that is close to a match is hard. Used a router & router table with a 3/4" diameter "core box cutter" which I would describe as a ball nose cutter, to cut the barrel groove. Takes some offset cuts to accomodate the taper of the barrel. Started working with a fine wood rasp, finished with sandpaper, until I had the ends of the forend fitting the bands, Rough sawed the bottom angle by taping a piece of thin wood to the forend to get the angle in the table saw. Tapered down the forend with a jack plane with blade set really fine, smoothed out with my vibrator sander with 220 grit, finished with fine paper by hand. Repeated the process for the handguard. Had to open up the barrel channel at the back using an air grinder and carbide burr with a radiused end. Didn't remove the steel band inside the front of the LE handguard, just filed down the top of the rivets until it fitted. If I was going to make money by selling it for $500 my labour would have to be pretty cheap. Probably have about 40 hours into it.
 
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H Wally said:
Very nice!!!

As a side note, if you had a sight hood to copy, do you have the facilities to fabricate another from sheet metal?
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Remember that Ross you got from the guy I know, with the lengthened forend and fine bluing? I'd imagine it was also a lot of work. Bushwhacker's wood matches up a lot better.
 
I don't think you were there that time, Tom, but I remember that guy with the Enfield rarities and the Ross Sniper rifles at the Woodstock show had a Ross that was restored (and the grain match was rather poor for the splice) that he sold for $500.00.

Perhaps one with a match as good as the one above would command more. There's only one way to know for sure and I'm convinced the restorer has way too much emotion and time invested at this point to sell it!
 
The Ross looks great Bushwacker. My dad shot a lot of deer with it when he bought it 50 years ago (already bubba'd) and I'm sure he'll enjoy seeing it in it's restored condition. Keep up the good work and keep us posted.
 
skirsons said:
I don't think you were there that time, Tom, but I remember that guy with the Enfield rarities and the Ross Sniper rifles at the Woodstock show had a Ross that was restored (and the grain match was rather poor for the splice) that he sold for $500.00.

Perhaps one with a match as good as the one above would command more. There's only one way to know for sure and I'm convinced the restorer has way too much emotion and time invested at this point to sell it!
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That's the same rifle I'm talking about, HWally ended up getting it. It was a nice job but yeah, the wood didn't match very well.
 
The new wood on mine needed several treatments with a mix of mahogony and walnut stain. It is still a little light. There were a few small drilled holes in the wood from the old organ which didn't all come out. I filled them with walnut filler, but it absorbs more stain than surrounding wood. You can just see one in the forend if you look closely. My sister also gave me some wood from a walnut tree they cut, but it lacks the reddish tone and is somewhat lighter.
Bill
 
cantom said:
That's the same rifle I'm talking about, HWally ended up getting it. It was a nice job but yeah, the wood didn't match very well.
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It's true, but still was a pretty gun. FYI since those seem to be the kind selling these days, it went for $800+shipping.... But I paid more than $500 for it too...
 
skirsons said:
I asked him at the show and 500 was the price he quoted me.
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Would have been a good deal indeed!:p

Ah well, I would say it was worth $800. Even with the slight mismatch in grain, it had been reblued and looked beautiful, almost like new. I guess the tradeoff is, Rougher gun=more markings or Like new=less markings.

Either way they're so rare it's pretty much a sellers market.

Sporters on the other hand... meh. Sometimes it's easier to buy a parts gun than the bands!!
 
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