Old German Luger..... UPDATE time!

[KMK1862]

Good work. I bet if I even attempted something like this I would have completely ruined the gun.

 

[huesmann]

Looking good, bro! Don't worry about it--haters gonna hate.

 

[BlackBart]

Thanks everyone. She's turning out better then I hoped for tho the bluing is a sticking point for me I think at this point I'm going to try to rust blue it as that is its original finish and doesn't sound as nasty as hot bluing. I'll post up pics when I get finished bluing it.

I think you said you filled in some pitting? I doubt that will take cold blue or most anything else so it might look a bit speckled. Either way it's a good shooter, lets just hope it was never involved in a crime of some sort.

 

[WatTyler]

Normally I'm more on the side of the purists, but I remember the "before" pictures. You started with a piece of junk that looked almost battlefield-dug. Except it wasn't. You've done a good thing in making it shoot again, and don't let anyone tell you different.

 

[Mooseman]

Looking good. I did not think it could be saved.

 

[Drmsparks]

ok, if the bluing fails due to the weld fill ins there is always duracoat.

 

[Jackalope]

Thanks guys! I guess it was just a real slap in the face to get crap for spending almost all my free time for the past MONTH bringing it back from the dead.

 

[Indiana Jones]

WOW it's come so far. Excellent work! Glad you are shooting it too. I couldn't have a Luger in front of me and NOT shoot it..

 

[Jackalope]

Alright so I've run another 250 rounds thru it and she works perfectly! Never once a jam or miss feed and so far she's up to about 375 to 400 rounds. Took ALOT of trial and error to fit the new upper and barrel to the lower and have the bolt work properly and not get hung up at its full recoil. But now the only thing left to do is to blue it and that starts next payday! I'll post plenty of pics of it as I blue it but it should take me 2 weeks to a month to rust blue it as its VERY time consuming and labor intensive but it should be fun!

 

[c33m0n3y]

Thanks for sharing the pics. Listen not to any nay-sayers. It's your gun and make it look and shoot as best you can

 

[bobnieder]

Congratulations! Well done! You had a vision when most of us would have seen a worthless piece of junk. You have faced each new hurdle with a willingness to do what you felt you needed to do -- even when some belittled your work. You still have a way to go to the completion of your project, but the end is in view, and the fact that you have already put so many rounds downrange is a triumph in itself.

Way to go!

 

[silverwolf]

I remember the original pictures and I can't even imagine how much time and effort must have gone into fixing it up like that. It looks great!

 

[Jackalope]

Thanks guys!

 

[EL1227]

Here ya' go ...

Oh, wait, you said LUGER ... not LAGER ... "Nevermind - Emily Latella"

 

[Hopalong]

Looks very nice Jackalope. What you did was a restoration and, in my humble opinion, should be praised. I think the only people who would be offended with such work is antique dealers. But you shouldn't worry about them; they never actually shoot their guns.

Had you welded on an accessory rail, added tritium sites, etc., that would have been a different story....

 

[OLD FORD GUY]

You mentioned that you filled in horrible pitting.
What did you use to fill in the pitting?

 

[hodgepodge]

Quite a difference! Great job!

Ths issue in restoring a gun or any antique is removing honest patina and wear. You had a gun with real damage. The aging was not normal wear.

 

[Jackalope]

You mentioned that you filled in horrible pitting.
What did you use to fill in the pitting?

Tig welder at my buddies shop who used to restore OLD Jaguar's. I showed him what I needed to do and he set it up for me and I did the welding and grinding, sanding, buffing, sandblasting and polishing myself. The sand blaster REALLY helped smooth out the metal and give it a nice uniform surface.

 

[OLD FORD GUY]

Thanks for the response. Very impressive job.

 

[HT4]

Quite a difference! Great job!

Ths issue in restoring a gun or any antique is removing honest patina and wear. You had a gun with real damage. The aging was not normal wear.

Where did all of that deep pitting go?