Saving a Schoyen Ballard
Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 12:43 pm
Purchased this Schoyen Ballard at the Denver gun show in May. Unfortunately the fine old Schoyen got into the hands of Bubba over the years, and was not treated well. It had 6 extra holes in the barrel, plus two extra dovetails. Additionally some fool got heavy handed polishing the barrel and receiver, and rounded over the barrel octagons too. The stocks are a very nice birdseye maple, but had some strange shapes to the forearm tip, and pistol grip. Schuetzen buttplate was badly beaten up, with deep gouges. The lever showed signs of a couple holes being welded up, and I guessed they were old holes for a Pope style grip adapter. Not exactly what most collectors (myself included!) look for, but it was priced extremely low for a Schoyen, and came with a case, 20x Lyman scope, B&M powder measure, plus some accessories and bullets. And the important Schoyen bore was perfect!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4901.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4902.jpg
So I brought it home and immediately set out on a full restoration. I started out by stripping the metal, to remove the hot blue. Then filled the various holes and dovetails. Couldn't weld on the barrel, or I'd ruin the bore. So all fillers were driven or threaded in tightly, and then peened to fully fill any gaps. Once done, I draw filed the barrel to smooth the fillers, and also to return the sharp corners to the octagon flats. I also relocated one scope base, as the person guilty of d&t the holes didn't use the correct 7.25" spacing. The wooden piece you see in the case is my draw filing guide, to keep the file flat, and not roll over the edges.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4917.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4918.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4919.jpg
I decided to install a Pope style grip adapter, and couldn't find one. So I bought a Track of the Wolf muzzleloader schuetzen trigger guard, and cut off what I didn't need. Then I bent and shaped it to fit the Ballard lever, and d7t the welded holes back where they used to be.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4950.jpg
Once the metal was done, I sent it all off to Al Springer for color case, and rust bluing. Then set to work to try and take the "ugly" off the stocks. The inverted V on the pistol grip, and pointed/squared shape to the forearm tip looked too modern. So I reshaped both, and also removed some odd shape from the bottom of the stock belly. I gave it more of a traditional look, with an S shape to the pistol grip. And a Ballard like tip to the forearm wood.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4951.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4952.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4953.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4901.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4902.jpg
So I brought it home and immediately set out on a full restoration. I started out by stripping the metal, to remove the hot blue. Then filled the various holes and dovetails. Couldn't weld on the barrel, or I'd ruin the bore. So all fillers were driven or threaded in tightly, and then peened to fully fill any gaps. Once done, I draw filed the barrel to smooth the fillers, and also to return the sharp corners to the octagon flats. I also relocated one scope base, as the person guilty of d&t the holes didn't use the correct 7.25" spacing. The wooden piece you see in the case is my draw filing guide, to keep the file flat, and not roll over the edges.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4917.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4918.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4919.jpg
I decided to install a Pope style grip adapter, and couldn't find one. So I bought a Track of the Wolf muzzleloader schuetzen trigger guard, and cut off what I didn't need. Then I bent and shaped it to fit the Ballard lever, and d7t the welded holes back where they used to be.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4950.jpg
Once the metal was done, I sent it all off to Al Springer for color case, and rust bluing. Then set to work to try and take the "ugly" off the stocks. The inverted V on the pistol grip, and pointed/squared shape to the forearm tip looked too modern. So I reshaped both, and also removed some odd shape from the bottom of the stock belly. I gave it more of a traditional look, with an S shape to the pistol grip. And a Ballard like tip to the forearm wood.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4951.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4952.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/ ... CF4953.jpg