34 replies to this topic

[WJR]

Hey there! New member here and thought I would introduce myself. I am starting a restoration project on an old Remington model 341. My Grandfather originally got this rifle secondhand back in probably about 1994, and it was in some need of TLC. Looks like the gun had been dropped pretty hard as the butt plate and the stock were both cracked and the stock was missing a small chunk of wood. The blueing was in poor shape and the action was a bit hard to cycle but it did shoot. I decided to do a little work on it (I was about 14 back then and before the internet). but did not make it all that far before other things took over my life. The gun went into the care of my Uncle after my Grandfather passed but no real work was done to it. Well finally have the time and funds to put into this old gal! As a side note I had no Idea that this gem was manufactured back in 1936-1940, glad to see it has survived.

I started some work on the stock, gluing it back together and an initial coat of stain to see how she would look and I think it is salvage able and will clean up well. I think I am going to go with the Birchwood Casey stock restoration kit. Then of course the full dismantle, with cleaning and polishing. and finally re-blueing. I think I am going to attempt the Blue Wonder system. I also nee to find a new butt plate and trigger guard. All in all I think she will be a fine little shooter when she is through. If anyone has any advise on these model all help is appreciated!

Will

PS. Does anyone know what the capacity on the magazine is for 22LR  rounds?

Edited by WJR, 16 April 2011 - 08:09 AM.

[Carl]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the 341, a very unique old Remington. The 34 and later 341 have a very unique carrier system which is a mechanical marvel. Probably the most positive and costly to produce feed mechanism ever installed in a tubular magazine rimfire rifle. If you take it apart, just be sure where all the parts come from and be carefull pulling the carrier out as there is a little spring loaded "button" in the left side of the carrier that can pop out. Other than that, it's pretty straight forward.

[Patrick N]

Welcome to Rimfire Shooting WJR!

It sounds like you have a great restoration project going and I'm sure you'll enjoy that rifle for years to come.  Being the visual creatures that we are here, we'd love to see pics of the rifle when you get her done.

FYI, the magazine capacity of the 341 was 22 shorts, 17 longs, and 15 long rifle cartridges.

[WJR]

Thanks Carl and Patrick! Yes I will be posting pictures in fact I have some at the moment but I need to get up on the whole pic hosting thing so I can show them on here. My first steps are going to be the magazine, it will let me get down the polishing and blueing process. I am also working on the stock at the moment hopefully those will be done this week!

[WJR]

OK Here is a couple pics as she stands now.

Edited by WJR, 16 April 2011 - 05:07 PM.

[RustyNut]

You're right, that is a gem. Good luck with the restoration.

[WJR]

Carl, on 16 April 2011 - 09:10 AM, said:

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the 341, a very unique old Remington. The 34 and later 341 have a very unique carrier system which is a mechanical marvel. Probably the most positive and costly to produce feed mechanism ever installed in a tubular magazine rimfire rifle. If you take it apart, just be sure where all the parts come from and be carefull pulling the carrier out as there is a little spring loaded "button" in the left side of the carrier that can pop out. Other than that, it's pretty straight forward.

Thank Carl! I found the "button" it landed under the air compressor next to the work bench! LOL!!

[WJR]

OK Here is my first official plea for help! I was able to get the bolt disassembled, but I need just a bit of help getting it back together. I know where all of the pins go and how everything lines up, but my issues is the spring that was loaded inside, yet you can't see it before you take it apart! Is it compressed between the two pins? If so what is the best way to get the assembly together? Any help would be appreciated! I have a pic below of everything laid out... I know I still have a good deal of cleaning/polishing left to do on the bolt, but I wanted to throw this question out there while I am working on that.

Will



EXTRA PART - IDENTIFIED = Carrier Friction Spring Plunger

Edited by WJR, 18 April 2011 - 07:52 PM.

[Technical Director]

Hi WJR,

What I have found to be helpful when re-assembling mechanical thingys as you are trying to do is to use a punch or drill bit to help hold those parts together as I am replacing those retaining pins. The punch/drill bit will keep the parts in their place as you are putting in the retaining pin.

Hope this helps, Technical Director

[WJR]

So here is the update! The bolt has been cleaned and polished up (not to a mirror finish, but enough to get the rust and oxidation off). I need to blue a couple of parts before reassembly. I am about halfway through the magazine tube polishing. I hope to finish the magazine tube tonight.The stock has been stained with it's first coat, but as I was hanging it to dry last night it dropped and cracked again. I repaired it this morning and will try and sand the repair smooth and get a second coat on tonight. The Extra parts came in and the butt plate is now fitted perfectly to the stock. It needed some grinding as it appears the original owner cut the stock down a bit from the original length. I hope to get some pics up of the progress!

[WJR]

OK so here are some update pics of some after pics of stuff that has been cleaned up so far! Oh and I did decide to have it hot blued. I found a place that will cut me a deal if I do the prep work and sanding myself and all they have to do is blue the item.

[Pdwight]

Looking good, nice to breath life back into these old guns

[chance_of_rain]

Pretty cool WJR. I think hot blueing is a good choice. Welcome to RFS.

Chance...

[Technical Director]

It's interesting to see how the internals in the 5teen series are evolutionary related to the 341.

[WJR]

OK The parts are prepped for Bluing... I have to admit the receiver needs a bit more work, but I am going to let the gunsmith handle that one, I just don't have the necessary tools to do the job! I hope to get these out to the shop this Saturday. Meanwhile more coats of Tru-Oil for the stock!

[WJR]

UGH, so I went down to the shop to drop of my bluing, only to realize as I got there that I left a bag of small parts at home! Damn is that frustrating! Well the shop quoted about $100 to hot blue the stuff, and told me that it would be about 4 weeks anyway before they had a batch ready to blue! That gives me some more time to work onthe reciever so maybe I can still save some more labor there! Meanwhile work still progresses on the stock day by day! The stock should be finished up by the end of the week!

Will

[Patrick N]

Thanks for the progress report WJR.  It'll be interesting to see what the rifle looks like refinished.  I know from personal experience that seeing a rifle go from old and worn out looking to new condition is very satisfying.  Please be sure to post pictures when all the work is complete so we can see the fruit of your hard work.

[Pdwight]

Patrick N, on 01 May 2011 - 10:30 AM, said:

Thanks for the progress report WJR.  It'll be interesting to see what the rifle looks like refinished.  I know from personal experience that seeing a rifle go from old and worn out looking to new condition is very satisfying.  Please be sure to post pictures when all the work is complete so we can see the fruit of your hard work.

Just a quick observation on your great project, are you going to tap out that front sight or get it hot blued with it in place ?

[WJR]

Pdwight, on 01 May 2011 - 01:31 PM, said:

Just a quick observation on your great project, are you going to tap out that front sight or get it hot blued with it in place ?

Pdwight - I was unaware that the front sight came out. So up until this very moment I was assuming that the front sight would remain in place. Is there any advantage to removing it? if so how would one go about it and how would you get it back into place?

[Pdwight]

WJR, on 01 May 2011 - 06:09 PM, said:

Pdwight - I was unaware that the front sight came out. So up until this very moment I was assuming that the front sight would remain in place. Is there any advantage to removing it? if so how would one go about it and how would you get it back into place?

We could ask Carl to be sure but it should be dovetailed in place. It is my understanding that the bluing salts will get under the sight and start corrosion and will not stop.

[WJR]

OK the stock is nearing completion I have been applying the tru-oil, but I am starting to think it is looking a litle too glossy. The kit says to use the sheen and conditioner within 48 hours of the last coat for a more satin finish. What do you all think gloss or satin fr these old rifles?

[WJR]

OK so I am working on now taking it all apart before bluing so I don't get rusting in any of the mating parts. The questions are how do I get the front sight off? How do I get he barrel out of the reciever? It looks like the pins are welded in!







Thanks,
Will

[Carl]

The front sight should just "drift" out either way. As for the barrel lock pins, someone has welded them in after it left the factory. Looks like the lower pin for the mag tube block is also welded. The front sight will then need to be re-adjusted for your windage when sighting in later.

[WJR]

Carl, on 05 May 2011 - 02:53 AM, said:

The front sight should just "drift" out either way. As for the barrel lock pins, someone has welded them in after it left the factory. Looks like the lower pin for the mag tube block is also welded. The front sight will then need to be re-adjusted for your windage when sighting in later.

When I think of the word "drift", I think of the aroma of steaks on the grill drifting through the air on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I think of a leaf drifting along with the currents of a babbling brook. I don't usually think of taking a hammer and whacking the **** out of a nylon bolt ( I used a nylon bolt as a punch so I would not damage the sight or the barrel)for 10 minutes only to find that the front sight has not budged! Hopefully some WD40 and 24 hours will make the front sight "drift" out a little easier tomorrow!  

Edited by WJR, 05 May 2011 - 08:20 PM.

[cp1969]

Try a brass 'drift', i.e., punch, on the front sight.

[Pdwight]

cp1969, on 05 May 2011 - 08:34 PM, said:

Try a brass 'drift', i.e., punch, on the front sight.

Also FWIW , forget WD 40 for most everything...PB Blaster is the way to go.

[Carl]

Pdwight, on 06 May 2011 - 10:40 AM, said:

Also FWIW , forget WD 40 for most everything...PB Blaster is the way to go.

Agreed on the WD-40... it's supposed to work for a whole host of things, which you have probably all seen in an email going around , but guns are not mentioned. Don't use anything that claims to penetrate the surface of the metal, as it can be almost impossible to get out and will mess up the bluing.
They are not called "drift punches" for nothing.

[Pdwight]

Carl, on 06 May 2011 - 11:02 AM, said:

Agreed on the WD-40... it's supposed to work for a whole host of things, which you have probably all seen in an email going around , but guns are not mentioned. Don't use anything that claims to penetrate the surface of the metal, as it can be almost impossible to get out and will mess up the bluing.
They are not called "drift punches" for nothing.

I understand that WD-40 used to be good for sprains and stiff joints......and it actually contained DMSO....of course very bad for your liver.

[WJR]

OK Finally got the stock all finished up. Below you can see the before and after pics. I really love the way the Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil Kit turned out. I wish their instructions were a little better, but overall a good product. The stock was way too glossy for my taste until I used the Stock Sheen and Conditioner and that finished it off beautifully! You can see the area of the stock at the grip section where a chunk of wood was missing that I had to fill, I think it turned out OK. Finally you can see where I glued the stock back together, but since I used gorilla glue (won't make that mistake again, it did not accept the stain and stands out a little bit!

[WJR]

OK FINALLY! Here is some preliminary pics of the finished rifle! Has been a bit of a struggle at time and a rewarding endeavor! I will try to get some better pics in the daylight but here she is for the first time! Will have to wait for Monday-Tuesday for a range report!

[Pdwight]

[quote name='WJR' date='26 May 2011 - 09:26 PM' timestamp='1306463181' post='49993']
OK FINALLY! Here is some preliminary pics of the finished rifle! Has been a bit of a struggle at time and a rewarding endeavor! I will try to get some better pics in the daylight but here she is for the first time! Will have to wait for Monday-Tuesday for a range report!










[/quote

OMG that rifle looks like someone's Christmas morning dream in the 1950's....what a terrific job.

Dwight

[Medicine Hat]

[quote name='Pdwight' date='26 May 2011 - 08:32 PM' timestamp='1306467152' post='49994']
[quote name='WJR' date='26 May 2011 - 09:26 PM' timestamp='1306463181' post='49993']
OK FINALLY! Here is some preliminary pics of the finished rifle! Has been a bit of a struggle at time and a rewarding endeavor! I will try to get some better pics in the daylight but here she is for the first time! Will have to wait for Monday-Tuesday for a range report!










[/quote

OMG that rifle looks like someone's Christmas morning dream in the 1950's....what a terrific job.

Dwight
[/quote]

Fantastic job there!!  That is pretty.  Restoring these old ladies is one of my favorite things.
Just a thought on the stock split.  On similar cracks I've dealt with in the past, I have had pretty good luck with masking off the area around the crack and {very gently} opening the crack, just a tiny bit, then runnning in some very thin epoxy into the crack.  Then with a bit of clear plastic wrap over the epoxy area, wrap with ace wrap or tape 'til the glue sets.  When that is done, I sometimes will drill a small hole (think # size drills) at 90 degrees to the crack and epoxy in a very small wire pin or 2 into the hole(s) to prevent re-splitting.  On one that was stubborn, I glass bedded the action at the rear, to add strenght also.
Anyway, good job.  Congratulations.
Also, WD-40 is not allowed at my gun bench.  Other things work better, without the problems.

[Patrick N]

Way to bring that old girl back to life WJR!  Now she's ready to serve for the next 75 years.

[chance_of_rain]

Looks great WJR. Well worth the effort.

Chance...

[WJR]

OK Here are some more pics of me showing her off! Some better pics in natural light. I have to say, I think I may have polished it up a bit too much before sending it out for bluing, as I was looking for a little more of a matte finish, but I am still pleased since this is my first restoration. In some of the closer pics you can see some of the heavier pitting that I did not get out before bluing. This is where I was looking for the more matte finish to blend it in. I was hoping to leave in some of the character. That hot blue finish was worth every penny of the $40 Mel Doyle charged me for it! I am sure that I will have more restorations in my future to improve and hone my techniques! Enjoy!