Rescuing a lamp

[N White]

I posted this on another forum, but figured it may be of interest here as well.

There's a story to this one, but I suppose they all have stories.

A few weeks ago my brother was traveling, and as he usually does, stopping at every gunshop he finds. In a small out of the way shop, he found a Werndl. It had been turned into a lamp in its past, with a few screw holes in the stock, and a threaded brass plug in the muzzle. Mechanically excellent, aside from the bore obstruction.

He asked the price, and was told that it wasn't for sale. The owner was going to redo it as a better lamp. (Owner wasn't there that day). He left his info, and said call me if he changes his mind. He called the shop a week later, and made an offer. As my brother put it "if he didn't sell it, every time he saw the thing the shop owner would have been reminded he could have gotten a few hundred bucks for that lamp"...

Well, the lamp came in Saturday. My brother being himself, didn't remember any details other than the fact that it was a Werndl. I was fairly certain it would be an 1867, but beyond that it was going to be an adventure. We didn't know if the plug was soldered or brazed in, or how difficult it would be to remove. I tore it down last night, and addressed some minor pitting and rust under the woodline. It has clearly been apart before, but all parts are present, and working.

This morning I looked closer at the plug. It was definately brass, and did not look epoxied or brazed. I tried to thread a bolt into it, but the threads were buggered up. On a lark, I put the cleaning rod through the barrel, and the head would not pass the plug. Figuring it wouldn't hurt anything, I dropped the rod through the bore a few times, and then took a look. Damn, I think it moved... a few more taps, literally just the force of gravity on the rod, and it really moved. Ok, why not keep going...

So, our gamble paid off. For $300 we have a working Werndl. The lock is 1868, the barrel St70. The bore is dusty, but sharp, and the brass plug seems to not have harmed it. The crown is dinged up, but that is easily addressable. Most importantly, we have restored a wallhanger (or, floor stander, if you like) to its former glory. It was actually way easier than we had ever hoped, but no less rewarding for it.

As soon as the backordered brass comes in, it will shoot again.

[N White]

More pics.

[shippingsteel]

Fantastic story.! And condition looks damn fine as well ... great job.!

Cheers, S>S

[Khaki]

An excellent rescue, congratulations

khaki

[4thGordons]

Excellent find - were Werndl's of any type used in WWI?

Chris

[N White]

SS- exactly. Much too nice to leave as furniture.

Chris- several sites list them as being issued to reserves and behind the lines types. No different than the Gras, or the 71 Mausers, Italian Vetterlis, and others of this vintage, a gun is a gun and a shortage a shortage.

I slugged the bore, and happily the same .446/11mm mould I use for my Gras, Mauser 71/84, and Mannlicher 1886 will work perfectly. The slug actually pushed old grease out of the bore. The slight ugliness i saw before was dusty grease....

It just gets better and better.