Old Rem No. 1 Rolling Block Gets New Colors

Old No7 · June 16, 2017, 03:40 PM

Since I will only load this one with Blackpowder -- it fits in this category...

I've been doing some work on an old Remington No. 1 Rolling Block that had been converted to a Schuetzen model -- with a heavy steel 2-pronged Swiss butt plate. With a 32" long .45-70 barrel installed, it weighs in at 12.4 pounds without the palm rest plate, rest hardware & wooden ball that I've since added.

The gun shot really well on my first attempts, and while the wood stocks were nicely figured and finished, and the barrel and action parts were professionally blackened (not blued), the action itself needed some work to make it look better.

This is what "The Beast", as I called it, looked like when I first acquired it:

Here's what the action itself looked like "before" :

You can see where the owner/gunsmith had bent the upper and lower straight tangs to form to the Schuetzen-style stock, and added a brass spacer under the main spring. And here's the beautifully figured buttstock:

I polished all the parts that I wanted case-colored from the No. 1 rifle, as well as a smaller No. 4 boy's rifle rolling block (22) to 300 grit to prep them for the shop:

And finally -- here's a close-up of how the action came out!

And here's the case-color on the Swiss butt:

Lee Shaver Gunsmithing of Lamar MO (publisher of "The Single Shot Exchange") did the case-color job, as well as I had him add one of his economy Soule Sights with a Hadley Eye Cup (an option I prefer) and he made it fit the tang perfectly.

I do need to replace the fugly (as in effin ugly!) hex head screws on the action and the Philips head screws on the Swiss Butt -- but overall...

Lee helped me convert this "Beast" into a "Beauty"!!!

Tight groups.

Old No7

**4V50 Gary** · June 16, 2017, 03:55 PM

Drop dead gorgeous; but dump the Philips head screw. Get a regular screw and nitre blue it. The contrast against the color case hardened receiver will be aesthetically appealing.

AKexpat · June 16, 2017, 07:12 PM

OMG that is such beautiful wood! 20 years ago I converted a #5 RB from 7mm Mauser to .45-100 and it took a great deal of time and money. It shot very well

Thanks for the pics!, but it was never worth the amount of money that I sunk into it. Great learning experience and sold it long ago. Sorry, no pics.

Your rifle is a gem, hands down!

Jim Watson · June 16, 2017, 07:34 PM

.45-70 is pretty stout for a Schuetzen, but it is a common chamber.

sltm1 · June 17, 2017, 09:56 AM

PURDY!!!

Oliver Sudden · June 17, 2017, 10:28 AM

That's a dandy shooting iron! The a Rolling block should always have color case and that's a fine job they did. Part of my hobby gunsmithing is color case hardening. This is one I did.

**4V50 Gary** · June 17, 2017, 04:27 PM

Oliver - did you take Seim's class at TSJC?

Oliver Sudden · June 17, 2017, 05:59 PM

Gary, nope I'm self taught. Lots of scrape steel and cheap guns befor doing mostly antique guns now.

**4V50 Gary** · June 18, 2017, 07:04 PM

What type of bone?
What type of wood charcoal?
What type of of leather scraps?

I've seen it done once at the Oregon Gun Makers' Fair and we had to do it ourselves in Benchmetal at Trinidad State.

Oliver Sudden · June 19, 2017, 05:10 PM

Brownell's wood and bone with nothing else. Clean tap water in the quench barrel. Varying the charcoal mix and temperature of the heat gives different colors. Another one.

June 16, 2017, 03:40 PM	#1
Old No7 Member Join Date: October 21, 2007 Posts: 59	Old Rem No. 1 Rolling Block Gets New Colors Since I will only load this one with Blackpowder -- it fits in this category... I've been doing some work on an old Remington No. 1 Rolling Block that had been converted to a Schuetzen model -- with a heavy steel 2-pronged Swiss butt plate. With a 32" long .45-70 barrel installed, it weighs in at 12.4 pounds without the palm rest plate, rest hardware & wooden ball that I've since added. The gun shot really well on my first attempts, and while the wood stocks were nicely figured and finished, and the barrel and action parts were professionally blackened (not blued), the action itself needed some work to make it look better. This is what "The Beast", as I called it, looked like when I first acquired it: Here's what the action itself looked like "before" : You can see where the owner/gunsmith had bent the upper and lower straight tangs to form to the Schuetzen-style stock, and added a brass spacer under the main spring. And here's the beautifully figured buttstock: I polished all the parts that I wanted case-colored from the No. 1 rifle, as well as a smaller No. 4 boy's rifle rolling block (22) to 300 grit to prep them for the shop: And finally -- here's a close-up of how the action came out! And here's the case-color on the Swiss butt: Lee Shaver Gunsmithing of Lamar MO (publisher of "The Single Shot Exchange") did the case-color job, as well as I had him add one of his economy Soule Sights with a Hadley Eye Cup (an option I prefer) and he made it fit the tang perfectly. I do need to replace the fugly (as in effin ugly!) hex head screws on the action and the Philips head screws on the Swiss Butt -- but overall... Lee helped me convert this "Beast" into a "Beauty"!!! Tight groups. Old No7 __________________ "Freedom and the Second Amendment... One cannot exist without the other." © 2000 DTH

June 16, 2017, 03:55 PM	#2
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,831	Drop dead gorgeous; but dump the Philips head screw. Get a regular screw and nitre blue it. The contrast against the color case hardened receiver will be aesthetically appealing. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

June 16, 2017, 07:12 PM	#3
AKexpat Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2014 Location: SW WA State Posts: 490	OMG that is such beautiful wood! 20 years ago I converted a #5 RB from 7mm Mauser to .45-100 and it took a great deal of time and money. It shot very well Thanks for the pics!, but it was never worth the amount of money that I sunk into it. Great learning experience and sold it long ago. Sorry, no pics. Your rifle is a gem, hands down! __________________ To be governed – is to be watched, inspected, directed, indoctrinated, numbered, estimated, regulated, commanded, controlled, law-driven, preached at, spied upon, censured, checked, valued, enrolled – by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so. - Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

June 17, 2017, 04:27 PM	#7
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,831	Oliver - did you take Seim's class at TSJC? __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

June 18, 2017, 07:04 PM	#9
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,831	What type of bone? What type of wood charcoal? What type of of leather scraps? I've seen it done once at the Oregon Gun Makers' Fair and we had to do it ourselves in Benchmetal at Trinidad State. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

June 16, 2017, 07:34 PM	#4
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,535	.45-70 is pretty stout for a Schuetzen, but it is a common chamber.

June 17, 2017, 09:56 AM	#5
sltm1 Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2009 Location: Idaho Posts: 353	PURDY!!!

June 17, 2017, 10:28 AM	#6
Oliver Sudden Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2017 Location: Colorado Posts: 272	That's a dandy shooting iron! The a Rolling block should always have color case and that's a fine job they did. Part of my hobby gunsmithing is color case hardening. This is one I did.

June 17, 2017, 05:59 PM	#8
Oliver Sudden Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2017 Location: Colorado Posts: 272	Gary, nope I'm self taught. Lots of scrape steel and cheap guns befor doing mostly antique guns now.

June 19, 2017, 05:10 PM	#10
Oliver Sudden Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2017 Location: Colorado Posts: 272	Brownell's wood and bone with nothing else. Clean tap water in the quench barrel. Varying the charcoal mix and temperature of the heat gives different colors. Another one.