Salvaging Grandpa’s Marlin

Just before the 2021 February snowstorm my next-door neighbor asked me to look at a project. It was his Grandfather’s pickup and tractor gun—a Marlin Glenfield Model 60 22 Long Rifle rimfire semi-automatic. My neighbor wanted to know if the rifle could be salvaged enough for his children to shoot so they could have that connection with his Grandfather.

In that vein, he had a rather strange request: the rear sight elevator had been lost with a dime substituted and he wanted the restoration to include leaving the dime in place. He admitted that he had his doubts that the rifle could be salvaged. Looking at it, I didn’t blame him. That dime was going to be the least of my problems. There was another complication. The breech bolt was rusted to the breechface and the safety corroded in the Off position.

That was a problem because my neighbor didn’t know whether the rifle was loaded or not. Let’s be honest—this rifle was not worth the full cost of a restoration, however, the project was justified on the basis of sentimental value for the owner and fun for me. I got started in gunsmithing by restoring what I call "ugly" or "closet" guns. These are firearms often neglected but still having utility or sentimental value if restored with some tender loving care.

On the other hand, the snow was deep between the house and the shop and this looked like a good "kitchen table" project. I broke this project down into four phases. First, somehow get the bolt open to determine if there was alive round in the chamber. Second, disassemble the rifle to determine whether any parts required replacement. Third, address corrosion on the metal parts and devise a protective coating for future activities. Finally, repair and refinish stock.

This is not a collector’s rifle; the customer wanted a shooter to share with his children that had family sentimental value. Clearing the Action With the action rusted shut and the safety corroded in the Off position, I could not touch the trigger. I removed the rod and plunger from the magazine tube to confirm there were no additional rounds in the magazine before working on the action. First step was to apply Liquid Wrench to the bolt and trigger group.

Considering the condition of the rifle I was not worried about possible damage to the metal or woodwork. After sitting overnight, I was able to work the safety to On by placing it in my arbor press and gently moving it. I then took a brass brush to the ejection port and exposed a portion of the bolt, removing as much rust and dirt as possible. I was able to move the bolt slightly to the rear before it stuck again. I worked the bolt back and forth until I was able to confirm there was nothing in the chamber.

Having confirmed the rifle had not been loaded all this time (much to my relief!) I was ready to move on. The Stock The stock had to come off to access parts within the receiver shell. Removing a screw in the forend and the screw at the rear of the trigger group allowed the receiver, magazine tube, and barrel to be lifted

from the stock. Removing the screw at the front of the trigger guard allowed the trigger guard to fall free. The trigger was pinned to the frame of the trigger guard and heavily plated. All that was left was the bare wood stock and plastic buttplate. I decided to leave the buttplate attached for now. Otherwise, "bare wood" was a pretty good description. Whatever finish it originally had was long gone. Some sections had been bleached by exposure.

An attempt had been made to varnish at least a portion of the stock because I found runs along the comb and semi-pistol grip. There were only patches remaining. As you can see from the pictures the stock was distressed from years of banging around in a pickup and exposure on Grandpa’s tractor. The goal was to make the stock safe for young shooters and retard future weathering, while maintaining some of the character of the "experienced" stock.

I went over the entire stock with 00 steel wool to remove surface grime and splinters from the deeper gouges and scratches. I didn’t want to remove or reshape the wood as the stock displayed very graceful lines. The foregrip and pistol grip surfaces had originally been embossed with a mixture of leaves and reverse checkering but this was now very worn. To help the pattern stand out a little more, I took my 16 LPI veining tool and deepened, and in some places restored, the original pressed outlines.

I did not touch the embossed leaves or reverse checkering except to scrub out the grime. I then rubbed over everything with 0000 steel wool to even out all the surfaces. To smooth out the color, I rubbed in a dark hardwood stain. I let the stock dry overnight, rubbed again with steel wool, then hand rubbed a coat of Birchwood Casey’s Tru- Oil, which is my favorite stock finish. The first coat was not as smooth as I like, so I repeated the process until the fourth coat displayed the desired results.

As this process took a week, I was free to work on the rifle internals as the coats were drying. A quick plug for a great product—hobby shops sell mats from Testors (now part of The Rust-Oleum Group) for applying finishes. Almost nothing sticks to it and the surface interacts with very little. I can literally lay a still-wet stock down and not leave a mark. Disassembly The trigger guard forms a frame containing the safety, the pinned trigger, and trigger spring.

Examination of the trigger group showed that the trigger itself was heavily chrome plated, and the springs and pins were free of corrosion. A simple cleaning and light lubrication was all that was required. The trigger guard itself was wire brushed to remove flakes of old finish and any surface corrosion before being masked for refinishing. To remove the action sideplates from the receiver shell and breech bolt, remove two small screws from the front and a screw/sleeve combination from the rear.

Removing the fasteners allows dropping the assembly within the sideplates straight down from the receiver shell and bolt. The Marlin Model 60 action employs a heavy bolt and a recoil spring and guide for a direct blowback action. The firing pin is a bar

that freely slides in a recess in the bolt. Rails below the slide contain a hammer and sear assembly that pivots up between the rear ears of the breechbolt to strike the firing pin, driving it forward. This is not a striker-fired action. The rails, hammer, disconnector, sear, and springs are maintained in a rigid relationship by two pins held in place by C-clips. Removing these clips allows total disassembly of the action group. Upon examination, in this case it was not necessary.

Brushing the action with a brass brush to remove any old debris and spraying with an aerosol cleaner and light lubrication sufficed. Proper function in conjunction with the trigger group was verified. For the record, the internal hammer was fully cocked and the firing pin free to move in the bolt. Had I touched the trigger, and had there been around in the chamber, Below center: Breechbolt ready for reassembly. the rifle would have fired, regardless of its apparent external dysfunction.

Turning the remaining receiver assembly upside down clearly shows the breechbolt held firmly against the breechface by the recoil spring and recoil spring guide. The firing pin is visible in its slot in the bottom. With careful movement, the breechbolt can be removed from the receiver and the charging handle removed. To achieve this, shift the breechbolt back slightly to remove the boltface extractors from their recesses in the breechface. Be very careful as the recoil spring is under a great deal of tension.

The left and right extractors are held in place by pins and can be easily removed for cleaning and clearing the recesses within which they reside. As usual, be very careful with the small springs involved. Once disassembled, the breechbolt was soaked in rust remover, lightly sanded, and given a final polish with 0000 steel wool before reassembly.

Non-Steel Surface Preparation Now that I knew the rifle could function again, it was time to turn my attention to the condition of the barrel, magazine tube, and receiver shell. The receiver shell was the easiest place to start. A flat jeweler’s file served to smooth out the pitting. I used 0000 steel wool to polish the soft aluminum, taking care to not damage the recesses cast in the shell.

Several times I stopped to slide the breechbolt back and forth in the shell while looking for any areas where drag hindered the function. Once I was satisfied with the interior works of the receiver, I turned my attention to the outside. I wire brushed all the surfaces to remove peeling and bubbled finish and then polished with 0000 steel wool. I was very careful to be certain the serial number was still clearly legible. When finished, I wiped the shell down with acetone and set aside to dry.

Given the corrosion between the barrel and magazine tube, it was essential that I separate the two. This was accomplished by driving out the small tube band pin. With that removed, I was able to slide the tube out of the receiver shell and through the tube band clearing it from the barrel. As with the receiver shell, the magazine tube was set up on the 4" bench grinder with wire wheel and scoured to remove rust, flaking, and bubbled paint. A final step was to polish the tube with steel wool.

It was wiped down with acetone and set aside to dry. Barrel Preparation I was concerned about the condition of the bore. The muzzle and crown showed corrosion and I had no idea how much had migrated down the barrel. A pass through with a cleaning rod showed no obstruction. I ran a borescope down the barrel and, for the most part, the barrel appeared okay. I scrubbed briskly with a brush filled with Hoppe’s #9, swabbed dry, and scoped again.

The picture wasn’t very good, but except for some discoloration, the bore looked much improved. To be sure, I took the time to lap the barrel and scrub again to make sure all of the lapping compound was removed. Previous pictures have shown the initial condition of the surface of the barrel. I first scrubbed the metal with 00 steel wool soaked in acetone. With anew pad of steel wool, I scrubbed the barrel with Birchwood Casey Blue & Rust Remover. This gave me a good view of the damage done to the barrel.

Using a flat jeweler’s file, I carefully dressed the worst areas before polishing with 200 and 400 wet/dry sandpaper. I used the "shoe shine" method to go over the barrel. As I planned to use paint instead of a chemical blue process, the 400 was as fine as I needed to go. Again, I was very careful to not erase any of the identifying marks on the barrel. Fortunately, the area identifying the make and model of the rifle was only lightly corroded and a light polish over that area was sufficient.

I washed the barrel down with acetone and allowed it to dry. Recrowning The impact damage and corrosion around the muzzle was a concern. I can’t shake the fact that I am a Bullseye shooter and driven to wring out Far

every degree of accuracy I can. On top of that, I knew that this rifle would see young people learning to shoot. As an instructor, I can’t see any sense in letting a young learner be frustrated by a rifle that won’t shoot straight. Worse yet, they may decide it is their fault, not the rifle’s, and lose interest in the sport. When teaching I make sure whatever rifle a youth picks up will group appropriately or I down check it for repairs.

Pacific Tool and Gauge makes excellent crown cutters for a variety of calibers. I chose their 11-degree Crown Tool to cut a recessed target crown. Metal Finish Originally, the rifle appeared to have a blued barrel and painted magazine tube, receiver shell, and trigger guard. I decided to use the same finish on all the metal parts that needed refinishing. I had some Dura Blue left over from a prior project and since I was trying to keep the cost down on this project I went ahead and used that.

Instead of firing up the compressor and using my airbrush, I decided to try out a starter kit I had picked up consisting of a can of compressed air and a paint bottle. It is designed for people who only want to do a couple of small projects and not invest in a lot of equipment. My initial impression is that it works very well. I would caution, however, that you make sure your light is very even and bright as any shadows can mask areas where coverage is not quite even. I let the parts dry for three days.

Reassembly Putting Grandpa’s Marlin all back together was straightforward. I put the magazine back in place and reinstalled the retaining pin. I very carefully reengaged the recoil spring, breechbolt assembly, and charging handle in the receiver shell. To install the siderails and action assembly, I first made sure the hammer was fully back in the cocked position, lined up the siderail holes, then fastened the two front screws, rear bolt, and sleeve assembly.

Setting the barrel and receiver assembly to one side, I inserted the trigger guard and trigger assembly into the stock and fastened the front screw. I then dropped the barrel and receiver into the top of the stock, inserted the rear trigger guard screw and the action screw in the fore end, and tightened everything down. After test firing, I gave the rifle one last cleaning and returned it to a very pleasantly surprised owner. AG American Gunsmith Reader Services 1.