[mg34nz]

I had my reservations about posting this....I took possession of this on Sunday and no it wasnt pimdaddys or a Mexican drug lords gun. Its a NZ war trophy gun which I hope to be able to trace the history of.the price was high and it was meant to be complete with the exception of the barrel and sadly its anything but.Feed block is stripped out shell,the filler pieces are missing from behind the recoil plates and no trigger parts what so ever and the flash hider is missing from booster.It is however a mostly matching numbers 1915 gun so that is about all that's preserving my sanity at this stage. I have discussed the de chroming process and have found a place that can do it without risking chewing all the carbon out of the steel in the process so Im thinking i will get that sorted sooner rather than later as Im blinded every time I enter the gun room with it the way it is! Just started stripping it down tonight then may hide it in a box for a while until It stripped of its Bling.
Any way I just thought you may appreciate seeing it and maybe you can see that it has some potential

Regards
MG34NZ

 

[bmg17a1]

Over the years I've had a number of plated MGs into the shop for restoration or repair. Nickle plate Uzis that have broken trunnion welds have shown up; just finishing up a gold plate 1928A1 Thompson that had a plugged breech, etc and is going back to original finish; chrome plated MP40; chrome plated Garand etc.
Reverse electroplating is quite inexpensive, can be done by many gun plating shops and will leave the metal in the condition it was in prior to plating.
I advise not to us abrasives, wire wheels, or any other sort of method to remove the plating as the removal will not be completely down to the metal without damaging the metal.
Chromed MGs is one of those ideas that is fun to think about but not really be done!

Bob Naess

 

[IMBLITZVT]

It actually does not look so bad in Chrome! It does have that Trophy look!

 

[mg34nz]

Thanks for the reply Bob, I hope to get the chrome attended to in the next couple of months and think when that's done i will be feeling a lot happier about the project

Regards
Andrew

 

[mg34nz]

It actually does not look so bad in Chrome! It does have that Trophy look!

I promise you it does look bad! definately a case of sun glasses required! No doubt in its heyday it was someones prized possession!

 

[curly1]

Oh Bubba what have you done. http://eyebleach.com/

Well at least it looks like it has been rescued and is finally in good hands.

Good luck Andrew with the restoration and I am looking forward to your after pics.

 

[gunguy45]

Is the gold Thompson a West Hurley, or a Savage, or AO Bridgeport?
I hope it turns out well, because that's hard to look at.

The MG08 isn't pretty, but the Thompson.....AAAAAARRRRRGH!

 

[mg34nz]

LOL thanks curley..."eyebleach' made my day!

 

[bmg17a1]

The gold plated Thompson is a 1928A1, Savage. Now, former "gold plated" Thompson......

Bob Naess

 

[nfafan]

Well, I was looking for ideas on things to do with an uwanted 08/15... where'd I put that spray paint....

 

[mg34nz]

well the bulk of the parts are off getting the shiny stuff removed.....hope to update this in a couple of weeks.

 

[jbc98k]

How are the internals, and is she going to be able to run again?

 

[mg34nz]

Actually what there is of the parts are generally in nice condition,there is quite a lot missing,I think bubba may not have been able to fit everything back once it had been chromed so binned all the bits that wouldnt fit... I have found a few parts but still have a few to go to complete the old girl.need feed block internals,barrel,and a few other bits and pieces.Also need a bit of a heat and a beat to straighten receiver bottom plate, looks like it had a round through it to "deactivate" when captured,the bullet would have taken out the trigger bar leaving a jagged hole that wont allow a trigger bar to fit back it and also damaged the sled mounting point so it couldn't go back into the sled. I hope to have in back in working condition and see no reason why it wont be.

 

[amafrank]

Frequently the biggest issue with chromed, nickeled, and otherwise plated guns is that they have been buffed badly to make the plating shine up. Nickel and Chrome can bring up a shine but for some reason platers feel a need to knock off corners and make nice swirlies and divots with the buffing wheels. If your gun is nice in that respect than electro stripping is the way to go. You basically unplate the shiny stuff and put it back into solution. After that a good bluing guy can get it nearly back to proper. Hope yours turns out ok.

Frank

 

[mg34nz]

Here are some pics to update the thread,its been stripped and looks to have had a fair old polishing before being plated.Worked on freeing up the rear sight slider,removing stuck screws and the broken off water jacket filling plug,replaced the damaged drain valve housing and closed up the bullet hole in the receiver bottom plate so the trigger bar will go back in and work....this must have been "in the field" deactivation. Still a few parts to find but the list is now quite short.Anyone with a ratty feed block or the lower feed arm that engages the recoil plates and the shaft that it attaches to let me know as I need the parts to complete the feed block...any condition will do.
Will look at a re blue soon but a bit more work to be done before then.
Andrew

 

[curly1]

Looking good Andrew.

 

[mg34nz]

Looking good Andrew.

Thanks Gary

Dropped off to be blued today,from the samples I saw its going to come out as black as coal.So will have to weather it a little to tone it down a bit.

Will update when done

Regards
Andrew

 

[jbc98k]

On a good note it looks like the serial numbers and markings are intact.

 

[mg34nz]

On a good note it looks like the serial numbers and markings are intact.

Yes the markings are still quite nice and look to have been undamaged by the enthusiastic buffing it has endured.A few nice imperial proof's also appeared after removal of the plating.Worst bits were the oil brushes from the grips,no numbers or proofs visible on them...buffed smooth.
"Found" another feed block,stripped of its slider and the arms and axle that drive it.It has been under a guys bench and he never knew what it was from and its only a short drive from where I live and I had a look at it a few days ago when we identified it.....even though it would look great sitting in my other MG08 which currently has an 08/15 block crammed into it at this point its not obtainable....drat!

 

[mg34nz]

At last I can update this thread with some more progress pictures! The re-blue was a longer process than expected as my gunsmith friend had to make bigger bluing tanks to fit the receiver and water jacket so I have had all the parts except the big bits done for months and only yesterday took delivery of the last of the items. Today's effort was reassembly of the original parts and a few that I have accumulated to further the project.I will probably "weather" the blue finish a bit to make it look a little more authentic/aged looking but whatever I do it has to be a thousand times better than the dreaded chrome plating! For me seeing the results to date have made all the effort well worthwhile.
As you can see there are still a few bits missing including the water jacket drain valve,two sight bracket screws,the front sight blade, Steam tube and retaining screw, barrel and the feed block internals.

Andrew