[tomygun]

Live in NH and just redid the internals on the gun and now want to repark the weapon. The rolled right side plate info is getting light and if I were to sandblast it for the repark some of the info might disappear. My assumption is that the military probably did a rebuild sometime it it's career and as a result some of the printing is fine now but won't be should I go ahead. Anyone know of a reputable person to engrave some of the letters-would love the person to be in the New England area but more important the job is done right.
Any help appreciated-thanks in advance
Ted

 

[jmann]

You say rsp. You will be fine as long as we are not talking about a transferable machine gun. I say this because you said the military rebuilt the gun and you are referring to the rsp. If that is the case you can recut everything but the serial number. You cannot alter the serial number on the plate and I know as stupid as it sounds, that includes recutting it. Atf views this as the same as transferring the serial number to a new plate. Which I still feel is crap as long as the plate is for the same gun and the old plate is destroyed, but it does not matter what I think. Believe me when I say it would be in your best interest not to mess with a serial number on a registered sideplate even though your intentions are good. I suggest blasting it with a media like glass beads that wont remove metal in order to preserve your original engraving. I must also assume the gun is either a c&r gun or a reweld using the original sideplate. No one is going to be able to completely duplicate the roll engraving produced by the roll die, and I personally would run away very quickly from any c&r gun offered to me that the engraving had been touched on. I feel your best bet is to blast with a very mild abrsive (not sand or aluminum oxide) if you feel you absoloutley must refinish the gun.
If you feel the number must absoloutly be recut to remain legible, then I suggest you seek the advice of someone like Bob Naess at black river militaria before you proceede with blasting. He is very educated in atf regs and it would be worth your while to let someone like this handle the restoration of your gun. Just be sure not to blast anything until you are 100% sure of the outcome.
Good Luck
Good Luck

 

[Steve Anderson]

Blasting Media

You can blast it with 240 grit aluminum oxide, it will slowly remove the original finish.I have done this to many guns in the past, polished with my Eastwood buffing set up, reblued and all the original engraving was sharper than ever! I don't really know if you are talking about an orgininal RH sideplate, but ifyou are I would recommend this process . The 240, or you could go with the 320 from McMastercar.com, save all existing metal and your engraving! Do NOT fool with that S/N!!!!!!. I would not even park it but use a spray on finish, parkerizing may make you "Faint" engraving turn into no engraving. I am just telling you this because back in a brain dead day I blasted a Trapdoor rifle with some HarborFfreight 70grit aluminum oxide and ruined all the engraving. Original engraving may be hard to see but I would rather use a magnifying glass to see it than not see it at all! Too many fine firearms are ruined by the word "sandblasting", media blasting is the term all gun guys should use. At work we have a new blaster that uses Corn Cob media.

 

[jmann]

just remember, value aside, if the original serial number ever diasppears from the sideplate it goes from legal to felony from that point on.

 

[T&S Manufacturing]

Having engraved BMG right side plates for just over 10 years now, I can tell you emphatically - without hesitation or doubt - that it's impossible to accurately engrave over the existing markings.

Those markings were, if you have a true C&R gun, roll stamped. These stamps would wear as they were used, and no two stampings ever were the same. Yes, the first 20, 50 or 70 stampings may've been pretty darned close in appearance...but the 100th, 150th, etc stamping was decidedly diffferent than the first stamping...because the stamp had worn by then.

Don't let anyone else tell you differently. It's simply impossible to re-cut your existing engraving...unless a master engraver took the job on and used his vice, looping glasses (big eyeglasses that are huge magnifying glasses), hammer and tiny chisels and very slowly, very carefully, one hammer tap at a time...followed the original characters and made them deeper, sharper, and crisper. For this you may get away with spending only $500...maybe.

I've refinished half dozen transferrable, WWII Thompson submachine guns, both Savage and Auto-Ordnance, and I can tell you from experience, none of the original engravings could be saved. They had to all be removed, which I did using a method I just won't divulge to anyone. Then the engraving had to be reapplied. This I did also. Then the engraving had to be aged, so as to appear old and timeworn, to just the right extent. This I did also. In several cases the customer told me he'd shown his Thompson to some very knowledgeable Thompson dealers and collectors and they couldn't believe the engraving was new...right down to the Thompson bullet logo.

If you blast your gun properly, holding the nozzle at a 20* - 30* angle, far enough away from the engraving...and if you use the proper blast media...you'll never remove the engraving or serial number. This then, careful blasting with proper media (#40 to #60 grit Dupont Starblast) is the best way to refinish your 1919.

Sam "Wayne" Alvarez
T&S Manufacturing
Southington, CT
860-426-1509...7a-4p EST...M-F

Before ageing: