Parkerizing and Punching

It has been quite a while since my last post,

As the title of this posts suggests I have begun trying my hand at parkerizing firearms. I'm happy to say that so far I am pleased with the results. It isn't a overly complicated process but much like any finish work, prep is everything.

My first attempts were on old Lee Enfield actions and random bits and pieces. I learned quite a bit in a few weekends of fiddling and would almost be ready to take on actual work doing it. My set up is quite rudimentary at the moment; consisting of a portable bbq burner and a large bbq. Add some stainless steel pots and strainers and you are almost there!

The first action I attempted to parkerize.

You can see that there are spots where the finish didn't take. This is due to poor handling procedures and not thorough enough degreasing.










After many attempts on smaller less expensive things I decided to take the plunge and do an Inglis High Power I had recently picked up.

 The frame looked as though it had been cold blued at one point, it is quite possible that this was a parts gun put together by someone who worked for Canadian Arsenals. The slide started out life as a No.1 Mk I* but at some point went through CA and had the rear tangent sight milled off and replaced by the No.2 Mk I* sight. The original serial number on the slide was milled off and reparked.

I decided that the finish on the slide wasn't worn enough to warrant re-parking, plus I wasn't sure how the solder on the rear sight would react to the solution.

 

So this is the finished product, sadly I had forgotten to sandblast and park the magazine release!

 

 

The shade is actually closer in person then the camera shows. The frame is slightly lighter than the slide but not by a great amount. Im very happy with how it turned out.

 

I hope to have larger tanks in the next few months so that I can begin to do shotguns and rifles. By next year I would like to invest in some polishing wheels and try my hand at hot bluing. That will be the true test of my abilities! I will say I have learned a lot and I am looking forward to trying out new things.

On to the punching!

Glad to say I am no longer stuck at 180-185lbs as I am now 165lbs! While I still sometimes get to go to CrossFit it is difficult to fit it in my current budget, I would certainly still be doing it if I was able. I am now doing KFM or the Keysi Fighting Method with some very cool people!