[CA357]

I picked up the 1917 Eddystone today. The plan is to reshape and shorten the stock. It's a nice chunk of walnut, but it's too much of a chunk. I want to lighten it as much as possible and I have to take about 1.5" off the butt to get the right eye relief for the scope.

It had an old 2x7 Redfield scope on it, but it was fogged out. So it's now wearing a new Bushnell Elite 3200 2x7 scope. I figure 2x7 was on it before, so it will probably be fine. If not, well, money's tight and a more powerful scope will just have to wait. This one was a gift from a shooting buddy, so the price was right.

As you can see in one of the pictures, the first 4 inches or so of the barrel are rusted. I'll clean it up as best I can and probably just keep it oiled.

This is the first 1917 I've ever owned, so I figure it will be a learning experience to redo it.

First on the agenda will be to remove it from the stock and disassemble the bolt, clean the trigger group, clean the barrel & chamber and then reassemble and lube all the parts.

I'll strip the finish off the stock and then shorten the stock on my buddy's table saw. I'll go slow and use a fine blade to avoid any chipping. The forearm is very square and I figure to create a much slimmer and more rounded profile.

Then my belt sander gets clamped in a bench vise and I'll sand the heck out of it to get the shape I want.

I was talking to Brian at No Kick yesterday and I'll trace the outline of the butt and send it to him. Then he'll send me a grind to fit Kickeez pad. I plan on using a 15/16 flat contour pad.

Sorbothane is tricky to grind, but I'll give it a go because I really like its cushioning effects and it's only a .30-06 anyway.

I'll take more pics tomorrow after I get it all apart. My buddy wants to see it together first.

Thumbnails pics. Doubleclick to get 'em really large.

[dunerunner]

Nice, looks alot like my Husqvarna 30.06!!

[CA357]

Old rifles just have a special something that the newer ones just don't seem to have.

[CA357]

Here's the info Ryan: http://www.firearmstalk.com/forums/f18/i-bought-eddystone-today-18148/

[Silvertip 44]

That's a nice looking stock, better go slow and be careful.

[CA357]

Yeah, I'll be gentle It's a pretty piece of wood, but a bit of reshaping and a new oil finish should be an improvement. Judging by the pistol grip and the stock configuration, I think it was probably sporterized in the sixties. It just doesn't need that much wood.

[CA357]

I went to my buddy's place and we cut an inch off the stock. I decided that the inch and a thinner pad should work fine. I just didn't want to take too much off.

I disassembled the bolt pretty easily and got it cleaned. One of the pics is of the bolt and receiver soaking in mineral spirits. That was just before I disassembled the bolt and cleaned it.

I used paint stripper on the stock and found out that it was an oil finish, not varnish. So I just gave it a coat of stripper and scrubbed it with a scrubbing pad. Then I set it out to dry in the sun.

I made a very cool discovery when I was taking this rascal apart, it's got a Buehler mount and rings. Very nice.

There's some nasty excess filler on the stock where the rear sling swivel was mounted. I'm going to see if I can get it gone.

Next steps are to scrub the barrel and chamber like a madman and then sand and prep the stock. I can't finish it until I get the new recoil pad installed and ground to fit.

Some pics:

[CA357]

Well, the bore looks great, but it was filthy and the chamber was very nasty as well.

Everything is clean and ready to go except the stock. Now that I've had a good look at it, I've decided that the stock is way too cool to mess with. There's even a palm swell on the right side of the pistol grip. I'll just sand the scratches out, mount and fit the recoil pad, oil it and call it good.

The chamber area is bedded in the stock and the rest of the barrel is free floated. I'm thinking this thing may be a tack driver. (I hope)

[dunerunner]

Sounds good CA!! I agree, the old stock is a beauty!! I'm thinking we should be getting a range report soon...

[CA357]

I changed my mind on the recoil pad and just ordered a 1/2" Pachmayr grind to fit pad. It was about twenty bucks cheaper than the Kickeez unit counting shipping.

Later on today I'm going to thin the cheek swell on the stock a bit. Now that it's shortened, it protrudes way too much.

Then, I have to cool my jets until the recoil pad arrives and I can fit it. After that, comes the oil finish and reassembly.