1975 Winchester 94 Project

[Spots]

Just picked this one up off armslist tonight. Gonna make it into a nice brush gun hopefully. The stock has a 6" crack running forward from the butt plate and the bluing is starting to pop like most of the post 64 models. Plans are to either pin and refinish the stock along with the forearm or buy new and fit as necessary. Cerakote in Socom blue or whatever gets me the closest look to bluing from 5' since these models do not take bluing well. Add a Williams FP peep sight and a brass front blade. Shoot and enjoy. 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Spots
Added pics

[Handsome Rob]

Man, I own a 1974 model that could be that things twin. Bluing freckles & all.

Watching with interest. 

[Spots]

5 minutes ago, Handsome Rob said:

Man, I own a 1974 model that could be that things twin. Bluing freckles & all.

Watching with interest. 

This will be the first gun Ive done in a long time. And the first one where I actually have enough disposable income to be able to do it right and not cut every corner. 

[Grayfox54]

I think I'd just replace that stock. Shouldn't be hard to find one.

I know about the bluing issue. Never thought about Cerakoteing one. I'll be very interested in seeing how it comes out. 

[Photoguy67]

You can get a replacement stock from Boyd's for around 80-90 bucks.

 

[Spots]

Stripping it down. This is the stock crack. Im very tempted to attempt to fix it and refinish just to see if I can make it look right. As was mentioned earlier if i screw it up I can buy a new stock for under $100

[peejman]

Welcome back. Good luck with the refurb.

[Spots]

15 minutes ago, peejman said:

Welcome back. Good luck with the refurb.

Thanks man.  Its been a while for sure

[Moped]

33 minutes ago, Spots said:

Stripping it down. This is the stock crack. Im very tempted to attempt to fix it and refinish just to see if I can make it look right. As was mentioned earlier if i screw it up I can buy a new stock for under $100

That's what I would do!!!

[Handsome Rob]

1 hour ago, Spots said:

Stripping it down. This is the stock crack. Im very tempted to attempt to fix it and refinish just to see if I can make it look right. As was mentioned earlier if i screw it up I can buy a new stock for under $100

I Revlon some super, super thin CA glue dribbled in there, then bound tight for a few days will make that disappear entirely. 

[Ronald_55]

If Rob's idea turns out to not work, you could always drill a hole from the bottom and hide a screw in it to secure it. I would still add glue though. If done right, you might be able to put a sling stud in the hole to cover the screw. 

[papa61]

5 hours ago, Spots said:

Stripping it down. This is the stock crack. Im very tempted to attempt to fix it and refinish just to see if I can make it look right. As was mentioned earlier if i screw it up I can buy a new stock for under $100

Brownells did a utube vid on how to repair that. have to steam all of the oil and stain out before you epoxy it. I'll try to find it and post a link.

[xtriggerman]

 Another thing you might want to look at is the cartridge lifter. Those old cast steel 94's typically came with a over hardened stamped lifter that had a habit of cracking. Winchester made thousands of replacements in a nice cast steel. The stampings were blued while the cast replacements were in the white. Good Luck with the project!

[Spots]

3 minutes ago, xtriggerman said:

 Another thing you might want to look at is the cartridge lifter. Those old cast steel 94's typically came with a over hardened stamped lifter that had a habit of cracking. Winchester made thousands of replacements in a nice cast steel. The stampings were blued while the cast replacements were in the white. Good Luck with the project!

As long as its not cracked am I good? Or should i replace it while Im in there anyways

[xtriggerman]

If you intend to hunt with it, I would look for the replacement. Hate to see you loose a needed follow up shot with a fail to feed. 

[Spots]

Brought the stock into work with me today. Filled the cracked using the screw hole as an entry port, and pumped the entire hole and crack full of Acralock. We use this stuff to install boat decks onto hulls. 2750 psi working strength, 80-120% elongation before it sheers after curing. Its some heavy duty ####. I got it taped and zip tied up tight while that cures. Full cure is 1.5 hours so at lunch im gonna pull it down and drill it and dowel it with 1/4" diameter aluminum rods in a couple spots, again installed using acralock. My goal isnt an invisible repair, its a clean and neat repair with as much strength as possible. 

[Ronald_55]

22 minutes ago, Spots said:

Brought the stock into work with me today. Filled the cracked using the screw hole as an entry port, and pumped the entire hole and crack full of Acralock. We use this stuff to install boat decks onto hulls. 2750 psi working strength, 80-120% elongation before it sheers after curing. Its some heavy duty ####. I got it taped and zip tied up tight while that cures. Full cure is 1.5 hours so at lunch im gonna pull it down and drill it and dowel it with 1/4" diameter aluminum rods in a couple spots, again installed using acralock. My goal isnt an invisible repair, its a clean and neat repair with as much strength as possible. 

If you sink the rods a bit, you could plug the hole with a wood plug stained to closely match.

[Spots]

So this is where Im at now. The cracked is sealed completely with acralock. I drilled a blind hole through the bottom and seated a 1/4" rod about 4" long into the stock and acralocked into place. I decided to just leave the black dot. I can always use wood filler later to help blend it. The stock is hand sanded to 220. The pictures are with it whipped down with a damp rag. Thats the final color im after. Next comes hand sanding to 600 grit then a truoil finish.  Then the forearm will get the same treatment. Im happy with it. Total repair cost to date $0

[Spots]

So decided since this rifle has been free so far I would try something different before I decide to cerakote the rifle. The epoxy in the stock cured tight so I hand sanded the stock and forearm down to 800 grit. Then I used a method I found online of putting on tru oil and mixing it with Armor all. It has a catalyst effect on the tru oil causing it to cure faster and harder. I was able to hand rub a dozen coats of tru oil into the stock and forearm. I then went after the receiver. I wet sanded it down to 1k grit, then using a technique I used on knives, I did a mustard and vinegar steam patina in the receiver. The result is a gray, antique worn look. It looks much better than the rusty freckles tat where on it. For now Im gonna call this one good enough for the deer woods. 

[hipower]

Looks great, I think. Have you plans to do the forend like the rear? Yeah, I'm a nit-picker. lol It would truly look fantastic.

[Spots]

50 minutes ago, hipower said:

Looks great, I think. Have you plans to do the forend like the rear? Yeah, I'm a nit-picker. lol It would truly look fantastic.

Yes, eventually. I wanted to get an idea of how it was gonna look together before i stripped and patinaed the rest of it. Also wanna see how maintenance intensive it is first. It may end up cerakoted in the end but Im digging the look.

[Grayfox54]

I like it! 

[KahrMan]

Looks good. 

[94user]

On 11/22/2021 at 9:14 PM, Spots said:

As long as its not cracked am I good? Or should i replace it while Im in there anyways

I had a new one back in the early 2000's. The lifter broke in the first season I had it. I say replace.

[Iwojima1988]

Yes nice work!