I stopped at my gun shop I deal with on occasion, and noticed a new addition to her rack. When I asked I was told this was consignment, an older fella owned it and didn't want it any more.
She said he wanted to sand the stock and refinish it and thats what he started to do. But, there's a whole lot more going on here as you will see. In the short of things, this Para was kept in a damp if not wet location. Beings I live in a shore area, it's not uncommon. The store owner said he had/wanted $400.00 on it but after a very close look I offered $300 and eventually settled on $325. This all said, I basically stripped it in the store. Amazingly all the working parts, bore, bolt and trigger assembly is nearly perfect. The breech doesn't even look like a round has been through it. If anything, this rifle had very little use. nea1. I have some work to do to it, I'm going to bring it back the way it should look, I happen to have a bayonet for it, one I got at a gun show years back. It didn't have one there at the shop.
The Importer is B-west out of Tus. AZ. The print is so dam small I needed a magnifying glass AND my reading glasses to see it. With the mag glass, I also did see a faint /816\ and 3 chinese letters next to the serial number. Ironically everything matches, not that it matters, it's a bast@rd child I know. I'll post the progress as I go along. Should be fun and a neat shooter. thumb1
(https://i.ibb.co/vsPZFSY/DSCN5344.jpg) (https://ibb.co/WDyghLt)
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Nice score.
Wow, the previous owner must have really hated grasping grooves, or loved 80 grit sandpaper, or both :o rofl
A new pinned barrel stock and handguard and a cut down spike bayonet will have it back to normal thumb1
SCORE!!! The hammer looks new. Nice grab for sure. PAX
Quote from: Phosphorus32 on November 06, 2022, 12:16:38 PM
Wow, the previous owner must have really hated grasping grooves, or loved 80 grit sandpaper, or both :o rofl
A new pinned barrel stock and handguard and a cut down spike bayonet will have it back to normal thumb1
I'm gonna go lightly over it with some 220 grit then a light 400 grit. Not much more, then all do a boiled linseed oil coat, see how that comes out.
Whoa...easy with the sand paper sandyman... it's not far from just being dust in the wind as it is.. rofl2 I'd probably just stain it, give the boring chu wood some pizazz and coat it nice and thick and call it good.. you cant see the wood when your shooting it anyway, just say the roughness is natural antislip.. :) chuckles1
Quote from: Greasemonkey on November 06, 2022, 01:13:43 PM
Whoa...easy with the sand paper sandyman... it's not far from just being dust in the wind as it is.. rofl2 I'd probably just stain it, give the boring chu wood some pizazz and coat it nice and thick and call it good.. you cant see the wood when your shooting it anyway, just say the roughness is natural antislip.. :) chuckles1
Good point, I
didn't do the last batch of sanding, It was the last owner. I agree it was a bit excessive ??? I'll make it look decent, I'm gonna cut the bayonet I have this evening, I got the measurements and I'll get the taper on my fine belt sander.
Wasn't blaming you.. I've seen bunches of them that way.. thumb1 sometimes in refinishing.... people dont understand, less is more. I'm more.. the more beat to death, scarred, and ugly it is.. sometimes the better it looks.. like chicks :o ..ugly ones need love too. rofl2 chuckles1 All the fluff and buff, artsy fartsy stuff isnt really needed.. it's not a Weatherby or Kimber.. thumb1
Sorry.. forgot my meds.. rofl
Quote from: Greasemonkey on November 06, 2022, 02:27:00 PM
Wasn't blaming you.. I've seen bunches of them that way.. thumb1 sometimes in refinishing.... people dont understand, less is more. I'm more.. the more beat to death, scarred, and ugly it is.. sometimes the better it looks.. like chicks :o ..ugly ones need love too. rofl2 chuckles1 All the fluff and buff, artsy fartsy stuff isnt really needed.. it's not a Weatherby or Kimber.. thumb1
Sorry.. forgot my meds.. rofl
Oh, I know you wern't ! thumb1 When I said I was going to (touch it) with some 220 and 400, there are some "sharp" places that splintered I need to fix, not many! I felt the same as you, I looked at it and said to myself W.T.F..... :o
Take some #000 or #0000 steel wool and smooth it out then do your stain and finish
Nice grab BTW
Thanks Gg's. I'm gonna give it a coat of Linseed oil today, I had an old beat up Winchester shot gun I did about 30 years ago that turned out nice. Gonna see what happens here with the Chu wood. Either way, it'll be better than it was. There is about 50 different directions I could go with this, I think GM, a few others as well as my thoughts are keep it simple. I do have 000 and thats a good thought. I'm gonna lightly wipe this down this morning with some lacquer thinner, let it dry well and put on a coat about noon! Pics, later... thumb1
My suggestion is a nice stain (I like darker) and stop there. Then go enjoy it at the range!!
Plus I'll join in and say...... thumb1 thumb1 thumb1
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Heck, that's a great price for a shooter such as this! You made out Dave! thumb1
I've seen some guys really push for keeping the original heavily sanded stock on a save such as this, only to relent and slap on a mismatch/no S/N stock once they truly realize how far gone it is and whatever they do it never gets any better.
Good luck on this one! thumb1 Looking forward to see what you wind up with (I'm partial to red stocks myself).
I now have every moving part and metal soaking in PB blaster, (I love that $#!T). I have several small brass brushes I'll start hitting the small rust areas on the barrel. I just gave it it's first coat of Linseed oil, I know Chu wood is "Very Boring" but it doesn't look all that bad on the first coat and it darkened it up a tinge. In a way, having this one almost "Blond" is a bit fascinating, some of the dark streaks came out in the stock and it may look decent. I know it's not to everyones liking, but I'll see how it turns out. What's the worst can happen, I strip it and start again? wink1
(https://i.ibb.co/1sBRyCW/DSCN5360.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dbXkCNY)
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First light coat.
I cut and shaped the bayonet earlier today, came out decent. I had a "pipe dream" and an old 59/66 bayonet... nea1. then I went and got a Beer, realized NOPE! What the hell am I thinking... whistle12 Besplode
Anyway, it came out nicely and cut to the specs I found in here, 8" Angles came out as close as I could get them by eye on my little belt sander. Anyone need a 59/66 bayonet?
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Looking good Dave! How hard was the steel on that bayo? I've not heard of them being all that hard/tough, but I do know they are indeed hardened based on the fact that Russian civilians cannot own bayos that haven't been full annealed or notched such that they no longer pose a danger of being used...
Quote from: running-man on November 07, 2022, 02:59:49 PM
...I do know they are indeed hardened based on the fact that Russian civilians cannot own bayos that haven't been full annealed or notched such that they no longer pose a danger of being used...
Cuz getting stabbed with a softened steel bayonet would be нет проблем :o rofl
Nice job Dave. That stock looks way better than I thought it would turn out thumb1 Definitely a bargain paratrooper acquisition.
Quote from: running-man on November 07, 2022, 02:59:49 PM
Looking good Dave! How hard was the steel on that bayo? I've not heard of them being all that hard/tough, but I do know they are indeed hardened based on the fact that Russian civilians cannot own bayos that haven't been full annealed or notched such that they no longer pose a danger of being used...
I wasn't "Hardened" to the point where I couldn't get through it with a hacksaw! I don't have my test kit for hardness anymore but if I were to guess, a grade 3 or 5 bolt. I have a fine paper roll on my belt sander and it had real (pleasant fine) whiteish sparks which indicates some hardness.
Quote from: Phosphorus32 on November 07, 2022, 03:46:01 PM
Nice job Dave. That stock looks way better than I thought it would turn out thumb1 Definitely a bargain paratrooper acquisition.
Thank you! I'm gonna do at least 3 coats. I'm not in some great hurry, things are progressing, I believe it'll darken up a bit more with the linseed oil. I gave all the metal parts the once over today and all that is ready! I got a new Butt plate coming in and I'll put this one aside and bead blast it at a later date. thumb1 I'm a bit excited on this one. I got a Garand match on Wednesday afternoon which I'm kinda bummed because it's gonna take some time away from this! Oh well... :(
If you mean a National Match M1 Garand, yeah, that’s really too bad :o rofl
Post it please! thumb1
Quote from: Phosphorus32 on November 07, 2022, 03:44:17 PM
Cuz getting stabbed with a softened steel bayonet would be нет проблем :o rofl
Laugh, the laws don't have to make sense!
The morbidly curious side of me wonders how much force is actually needed to get an SKS bayo through heavy outwerwear, but then the pragmatic side of me realizes I really don't want to know! :P
Quote from: Phosphorus32 on November 07, 2022, 04:46:19 PM
If you mean a National Match M1 Garand, yeah, that’s really too bad :o rofl
Post it please! thumb1
I "wish"! :o. I'm a fair shooter but not that good! No, my local gun club has several different matches through the winter months, our evening .22 matches start at 6pm and the 100/200 yard Garand matches start at 4 pm. We have "Hunting rifle matches", Mauser matches, (I shoot those as well) AR matches, etc... All to keep folks occupied through the season. thumb1
Quote from: Weldrdave on November 07, 2022, 05:21:32 PM
Quote from: Phosphorus32 on November 07, 2022, 04:46:19 PM
If you mean a National Match M1 Garand, yeah, that’s really too bad :o rofl
Post it please! thumb1
I "wish"! :o. I'm a fair shooter but not that good! No, my local gun club has several different matches through the winter months, our evening .22 matches start at 6pm and the 100/200 yard Garand matches start at 4 pm. We have "Hunting rifle matches", Mauser matches, (I shoot those as well) AR matches, etc... All to keep folks occupied through the season. thumb1
Ah, very nice. I have a very good local range but there aren’t anywhere near that many matches.
Quote from: running-man on November 07, 2022, 04:51:05 PM
Quote from: Phosphorus32 on November 07, 2022, 03:44:17 PM
Cuz getting stabbed with a softened steel bayonet would be нет проблем :o rofl
Laugh, the laws don't have to make sense!
The morbidly curious side of me wonders how much force is actually needed to get an SKS bayo through heavy outwerwear, but then the pragmatic side of me realizes I really don't want to know! :P
I agree on both
points! rofl
Laws…that make sense?! That’s just crazy talk! ::)
Quote from: Phosphorus32 on November 07, 2022, 05:45:43 PM
Quote from: Weldrdave on November 07, 2022, 05:21:32 PM
Quote from: Phosphorus32 on November 07, 2022, 04:46:19 PM
If you mean a National Match M1 Garand, yeah, that’s really too bad :o rofl
Post it please! thumb1
I "wish"! :o. I'm a fair shooter but not that good! No, my local gun club has several different matches through the winter months, our evening .22 matches start at 6pm and the 100/200 yard Garand matches start at 4 pm. We have "Hunting rifle matches", Mauser matches, (I shoot those as well) AR matches, etc... All to keep folks occupied through the season. thumb1
Ah, very nice. I have a very good local range but there aren’t anywhere near that many matches.
I'm on the Board of directors of my club and here, in the Communist Socialist Republic of New Jersey, Everything is above board here and our club has lots of activities. We also have every Tuesday and 3rd Thursday Trap nights, Public pistol nights once a week and a cowboy (3 gun shoot) once a month. 8). Our club has been around since after WWII. We are lucky that we have a small community and everything is well planned. We are also an NRA sanctioned range/club. Here in NJ, if you don't have the "47 things you need to have a gun" rofl2 chuckles1 Besplode , YOU don't come in!!!
The final results are in; Some may like it, some won't, I actually grew fond of the "blond" color so I shifted gears in the refinishing process. What you are seeing is 1 coat of Boiled Linseed oil, dried 24 hrs, and 2 coats of Minwax "warm gloss" fast drying clear coat. I managed to get 2 coats on yesterday before my match, it dried in my cabinet, 76º and 40% humidity. I got it back together a few minutes ago. It's completely set dry. I'm not going to handle it much for now, but snapped some pics, back in the vault it goes. I'm overall happy with the results, I'll see how it shoots tomorrow or Saturday. :).
(https://i.ibb.co/47TbzdG/DSCN5379.jpg) (https://ibb.co/FKwQ2VM)
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I think you did a very nice job on that stock...Welder done Dave!! rofl
Nice save Dave, PAX
Nice save and great job on the refinish. Overall great deal on the Para!
Were you able to widen the bayo groove on the stock? The difference in width of the short para-style bayo's will need the slot in the stock widened to let the bayo fit flush into the stock.
firstchoice
Quote from: firstchoice on November 13, 2022, 01:54:50 PM
Nice save and great job on the refinish. Overall great deal on the Para!
Were you able to widen the bayo groove on the stock? The difference in width of the short para-style bayo's will need the slot in the stock widened to let the bayo fit flush into the stock.
firstchoice
I did not, when I cut the bayonet at 8", it was about 3/8" long so when I tapered the tip, it's smooth enough that it sits on the edge of the cut out and the tri-point fits up inside the groove. It seem's a bit unorthodox but it worked. You can see it from the pics. I know it's not the "correct" way but I has did the refinish first and it was an after thought. :-[ I'm gonna leave it alone, it works. thumb1
(https://i.ibb.co/C2CDVNp/DSCN5379.jpg) (https://ibb.co/sHxzskp)
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Still looks good sir.
I am working on a long term project in rescuing a Bubba'd SKS - eventually hope to get a wood stock for it. I would be ecstatic if it ends up anywhere as nice as yours.
Quote from: Ronin76 on December 19, 2022, 02:42:40 AM
I am working on a long term project in rescuing a Bubba'd SKS - eventually hope to get a wood stock for it. I would be ecstatic if it ends up anywhere as nice as yours.
Have you considered Lucky Shot SKS stocks? https://www.luckyshotwoodstocks.com/product-page/sks-stock-original-design (https://www.luckyshotwoodstocks.com/product-page/sks-stock-original-design)
https://www.luckyshotwoodstocks.com/?page=2 (https://www.luckyshotwoodstocks.com/?page=2)
Quote from: Ronin76 on December 19, 2022, 02:42:40 AM
I am working on a long term project in rescuing a Bubba'd SKS - eventually hope to get a wood stock for it. I would be ecstatic if it ends up anywhere as nice as yours.
Thank you! Take your time, don't hurry. There are lots of stocks to be found, E-bay has plenty from time to time. thumb1