Paco Kelly's Leverguns.com

marlinman93

Griff wrote: ↑Mon Jan 05, 2026 5:12 pm It appears to be coming along nicely... oughta be a real beauty when done!

Thanks. I hope it looks good, and shoots excellent too!

marlinman93

Got the call from Al this morning, and he's got my parts and already starting on them! He'll anneal them today and then touch up the polishing and color case them this week.

marlinman93

Oderless mineral spirits don't have all the toxic chemicals that older regular mineral spirits had, so not nearly as nasty. If you were doing this on a regular basis they might still have some harm, but occasionally to clean your hands off, and wash your hands with soap and water soon after I doubt ...

marlinman93

Always fun to find a .22 rifle that's a good shooter, and in nice shape!

marlinman93

I shoot and clean lots of .32-20 as it's a favorite for me. But I use a wet tumbler with ceramic media and never had any issues with deformed brass.

marlinman93

I shoot and clean lots of .32-20 as it's a favorite for me. But I use a wet tumbler with ceramic media and never had any issues with deformed brass.

marlinman93

GunnyMack wrote: ↑Fri Jan 02, 2026 7:56 pm I gotcha, just a thought.
Horn is really tough stuff to work, after all it's a buffalos weapons and gotta be durable!

Yes, considering how much force they can exert against each other in a fight it's gotta be very hard.

marlinman93

Since my reloading bench does double duty as my gunsmithing bench, I spent yesterday afternoon cleaning up the wood chips, and dust from my forearm work for my Ballard. Still need to reorganize tools, and get all the woodworking tools off the bench and back in the cupboards!

marlinman93

Squeaking and squealing, move the part you are filing closer to the vise and or lower. Is that real buffalo horn? Yes, it's real buffalo horn. Moving is limited since I can't really clamp the forearm itself or risk cracking it if I clamp it tight enough to not wiggle. It's screwed through the mount...

marlinman93

The absolute best tool made for chopping off a lot of excess brass is the Harbor Freight Mini Chop Saw! It has a 2" cutting wheel that chops brass of fast and easy! I've been using one for a long time, and amazed how well it works. I clamp a piece of wood to the table to set length for my cut a...

marlinman93

Not sure if it's the best revolver S&W ever made, but they are the finest .22 revolver anyone ever made! I have a tough time figuring out which S&W revolver I like best as they made so many great ones back long ago! For a CF I love my .38/44 Heavy Duty in .38 Special made in 1952.

marlinman93

Got the height of the insert cut down, and then worked the horn down with a mill file. Man that horn is hard as heck! It literally squeals when I run the file across it each pass. Had to put my ear muffs on while I worked it down flush! I sanded it using a hard backer for the 320 paper as it would b...

marlinman93

Got the forearm cut out and the vee horn inlay done. Needs to cure the epoxy for 24 hrs. and then it can be cut down with a jeweler's saw, and filed/sanded smooth.

marlinman93

Rough sanded the forearm with 60 grit, then switched to 320 grit once it was close. Got it ready for finish and applied one coat to the raw channel, and one wet sanded coat to the exterior to help fill any pores. This is really tight walnut and wont need much wet sanding as no pores showing up so fa...

marlinman93

Have you ever tried a spokeshave? I just recently purchased one and tinkered with it, my first thought was this would be great for forearms! No I've never owned a spoke shave. I think it would work well, just haven't owned one. I do like the fact that a small plane keeps the surface flat since they...

marlinman93

Rough shaped forearm.

Probably be another 1/8" off all over by the time I have it ready to begin applying finish.
Parts headed to Al Springer this morning, so just hoping they make it there without any issues!

marlinman93

Spent some quality time on the bulbous forearm yesterday using my #4 Stanley block plane to put it on a diet. I grabbed a chunk of 1"x1.5" wood and after removing the forearm screw bezel I ran a wood screw into the stick of wood so I could clamp that in my vise and plane the excess wood do...

marlinman93

I was pretty disappointed as I have multiple case color projects needing done . I guess it will have to be Turnbull, Wyoming Armory, or John Carroll I think it was those particular parts he doesn't color case anymore. I just got off the phone with Al and he said he's still doing it, and my parts wi...

marlinman93

Pat C wrote: ↑Sat Dec 27, 2025 8:52 am Pre polished parts is what I wanted to send , he wasn't interested in mine .

Sorry to hear that. Maybe it's just Ruger handguns he's decided not to do anymore?

marlinman93

It was Ruger single action frames and parts. Might want to call and see as he made it sound like he had more currently than he could do . .I was pretty disappointed. Its easier to do revolver frames and parts than rifle actions. They'll never be anouther like Donald Menk of Color Case Co. RIP Don A...

marlinman93

Got the Schoyen .40-50SS barrel fitted and the breech block also fitted. https://i.imgur.com/OXxaQFOl.jpg Change of plans on the buttstock. The stock isn't really going to be as nice as this Ballard deserves. It needed something higher grade, and after digging through my box full of old donor stocks...

marlinman93

Pat C wrote: ↑Fri Dec 26, 2025 1:10 pm I talked to Al Springer via email other day on a Ruger project I want color cased . Unfortunately he told me he was no longer accepting that work.

I'd assume he meant Ruger No. 1 work to color case. I know he's still doing color case as a friend just got his parts back from Al a couple days ago.

marlinman93

Nice bit of work Val- you know my hacksaw comment was in jest! :D Im guessing these Ballards were all hand fit and having a source for parts is a boon for you. Sure makes things easier getting these ol irons back in order. Well done! Yes, every Ballard was all hand fit, so some parts wont fit witho...

marlinman93

Way too uncomfortable to wear a handgun while sleeping. I change from one side to the other at night, and can't imagine that working. I keep my .45 under the pillow where it wont interfere with good sleep.

marlinman93

Got the Ballard all fitted now. The extractor was for a .38-55, but I happened to have one for a .40-63 that fit the extractor cut. The breech block locked up perfect until I installed the extractor and it was rubbing somewhere on the barrel and made a mark on the face of the breech block on the lef...

marlinman93

Bill in Oregon wrote: ↑Wed Dec 24, 2025 8:55 am You still have your golden touch, Vall!

Thanks Bill! It is coming together as good as I could hope for.

marlinman93

That's great! Hacksawing probably put enough heat in the right place to get it to let go . You'll be shooting it in no time. Considering the amount of heat I put on it three times with my Mapp gas torch I doubt the hacksawing added any heat. It wasn't even lukewarm once I finished. I think it was s...

marlinman93

Tactical leverguns are just plain fugly.

marlinman93

Yippee!!! Really great news! I am not patient, so I put the barreled action in my padded bench vise and used a hacksaw to make a 1/8" deep relief cut in the barrel as close to the action as possible. Less than 1/16" left right next to the action. When I finished a few minutes ago I put it ...

marlinman93

Are you using dedicated octagon barrel vice insert ? If not you need to , I wouldn't ruin the barrel somebody may need a reline candidate. I'm using dedicated oak wood V blocks that came with my barrel vise, and now switched to some ironwood V blocks I built myself for tough or stubborn barrels. I ...

marlinman93

I started looking online for the 40-50ss, just to have an idea of the cartridge, saw a place that had loaded ammo available, I think it was $128/50. I also saw it can be made from 303 brass. Easy enough. Yes, it's one of the easiest obsolete cartridges I have to make ammo for Did a few things on th...

marlinman93

Val, I think your idea of putting that 40-50ss barrel is the way to go. I have to look that one up! I make .40-50SS cases by blowing out .30-40 Krag or .303 British cases to .40 caliber, then trim them to 1o 1.88" long. Very simple, and very cheap to make. It was a short range cartridge in BP ...

marlinman93

Nothing about hunting makes me happier than to see someone take their first deer! Very cool!

marlinman93

Ive often found even if bore was pitted if rifling was throughout it generally would spin bullet just fine. But often required several hours of cleaning, J.B. Bore paste lapping , and even lead or fire lapping at end. Then the bore needs to be seasoned with lead to fill pits back. The key is gettin...

marlinman93

BRC never closed, nd simply stopped making new Sharps Borchardt rifles. They continued to make parts, and work on numerous antique rifles, just nothing modern that requires a gunsmith to have an FFL. Al is still alive, but he mostly oversees the work done by his small staff. BRC is making some wonde...

marlinman93

Griff wrote: ↑Fri Dec 19, 2025 11:31 amVery good Vall.

Thanks Griff!

marlinman93

The final pieces arrived this afternoon. The action looked pretty ugly with orange surface rust on one side, but as bad as that looked it came off by scraping it with a razor blade after coating it with Kroil. The bore is horrible, and not worth spending time to try and clean it up. Bad outside, and...

marlinman93

I was wanting to try it in my 25-20s and a couple different 410 loads but not at that price! One of the reasons I like the hornet, bee, 25-20 so much is they sip powder unlike my big bores. I don't think you'd get great results in the small .25-20 case Gunny. I like 2400 for my .25-20 loads better....

marlinman93

GunnyMack wrote: ↑Fri Dec 12, 2025 5:57 pm If we weren't a country apart I'd be hanging out in your gun room!
Im happy you are keeping those Ballards alive and glad you share them with us here.

Thanks Gunny!
There's almost nobody around my area that shares my interest in these old single shot rifles.

marlinman93

And I was irritated to have to pay $342 for an 8 lb. jug a couple years ago! Now I don't feel so bad anymore!
My old hyphenated cartridges in bigger bores like my .40-65 like 23 grains, and my .45-90 likes around 30 grains.

marlinman93

Talk about stepping in something lucky! Your ability to find these old guns is truly amazing. I never find deals like you do Val. Can't wait for you to get this one and bring it back to life. Thanks Gunny! After many decades of buying and selling some of my luck is making lots of connections, and h...

marlinman93

VAll, you can blame my Dad & B-I-L. I do! Dad went to work at the post office in 1954... was a mail sorter both manual and machine operations until he retired in 1984... My B-I-L was a computer repairman working on sorting machines until he retired a couple of years ago... Been downhill ever si...

marlinman93

Original tracking showed it arriving in Jan. 2nd, but this morning's updated says next Thursday. I always get excited waiting for stuff to arrive so I can see what I really have!

marlinman93

As long as the government is involved , it will continue the same way , In the private sector you either fix it , or competition will eat you alive. Bingo! We have a winner! When you aren't required to be good at what you do then where's the incentive to do well? Yes USPS has competition, but nobod...

marlinman93

Yeah, that's really the important part. Sure doesn't give me much confidence about USPS and make me want to ship with them. The only thing that l’m confident about, so far, is my paycheck at the usps facility l am employed at. And the mix up on thier end is one thing but if the seller doesn’t do hi...

marlinman93

.45colt wrote: ↑Thu Dec 11, 2025 2:55 pm All of Your posts about these guns have sure been fun to see this year! We don't have to Own something to appreciate the History. Thank You.

You're surely welcome! Good to know I'm not boring guys to death.

marlinman93

So about a month ago I spotted a Ballard set trigger breech block and lever on Ebay with a cheap buy it now price. Always nice to have spares that are good in case, so I bought it. Then I did a search of the seller's "other items", and saw he had a complete stock set of forearm, buttstock,...

marlinman93

At least they finally arrived Vall! Yeah, that's really the important part. Sure doesn't give me much confidence about USPS and make me want to ship with them. The only thing that l’m confident about, so far, is my paycheck at the usps facility l am employed at. And the mix up on thier end is one t...

marlinman93

I am not sure of the advertising aspect but, when my ancestors called a Henry, "that darn Yankee rifle you load on Sunday and shoot all week"; you know they thought it was an assault rifle. Ask native Americans and see what they think. Better yet ask Custer! His men were all equipped with...

marlinman93

Great post Scott! And I'm happy to hear of more people who use a .22CF successfully to harvest deer ethically. As I've mentioned several times I've had this debate with others who just never took any deer with any .22CF and think it's unethical. I even had this debate with a well known gun writer wh...

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