Restoring a Ballard Pacific #5

Jim D · Post by **Jim D** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 3:13 pm

I did a post under "Lever guns" on restoring an 1889 Deluxe, so with a little encouragement from Vall Miller, decided to do one here. I'd like to start by saying that I am a complete novice when it comes to Ballards. I have been trying to educate myself over the last few weeks, and have bought John Dutcher's book which I HIGHLY recommend. Doing this restoration RIGHT would not be possible without the help that I've received from fellow members Vall Miller and Rick Regnier. Thanks guys!!!

Years ago I bought a Ballard action at a local gunshow. I had no idea what model it was, I just figured that someday I would learn a little and make something with it. It turns out that it is a #5 Pacific model. (Talk about dumb luck!) The action is complete with the exception of the extractor. My plan with this restoration is to completely refinish it, including color case hardening, then send it off to Dale Woody in November for engraving. Dale will be doing the Pacific pattern that he shows on his website. Before I send it to Dale I will have to anneal the frame and repolish it, and recase it when I get it back.

The first thing I did was to mount a new barrel. I'm going to skip this stuff until later and start with the wood.

Once the barrel was installed, I made the forearm. I used the vertical mill to cut the octagonal barrel channel. The wiping rod channel was cut using a 1/4" round tip router bit. Th recess in the frame for the wiping rod is slightly lower than the bottom flat of the barrel so that the wiping rod channel has to be sloped.

I leave all the sides square so that I can drill the forearm attaching screw hole. The hole has to go through the barrel so by keeping the faces square, I can drill straight through the wood and barrel with out having the drill wander when it hits the metal. The forearm fit to the frame must be perfect before this is done, and make sure you have the hole located correctly before drilling.

For the buttstock, I started with an oversized piece of crotchwood walnut. The stock uses a through bolt to fasten the stock to the frame. This requires drilling a rather long hole. I've always found that the drill never quite comes out where you expect it to. Thus the oversized piece of wood. The hole governs the layout of the stock. Once the hole is in, then you can start cutting down the wood and laying the outline. I cut the outline and leave all the faces flat until it is completely inletted. After the stock is shaped, I'll do the fine inletting to the frame and buttplate.

Since I left the faces flat, I can check to see how far out of level I am after everything is tightened up. As you can see, I'm off a smidgeon.

The reason for leaving extra wood:

Before I begin shapping the wood, I will finish inletting the buttplate and screw it on.

One neat thing about this project is that I was able to use a couple of original Pacific wiping rod thimbles that I had.

On the next post I'll cover the barrel installation.

-jim

Regnier (gunrunner) · Post by **Regnier (gunrunner)** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 4:42 pm

Jim D.;

All I can say it this is not going to be your Grandfather's Pacific Ballard rifle!!! Way to pretty. That butt stock it going to have an exceptional flame grain pattern when finished.
You are infinitely more patient that I am and your work is first rate all the way. Keep it up and keep showing how you do it.

Wishbone · Post by **Wishbone** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 7:41 pm

Wow.
Please keep us updated on your progress.

WB

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:05 pm

Great wok Jim!
I do the forearms the same way, but I'm too clutsy at woodwork to try the buttstock, so I usually send that off to Dave Crossno to semi-inlet for me. Another great post!-Vall

Hunt4em · Post by **Hunt4em** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:33 pm

Jim,
Just when I thought I could relax and not log on every night, you go an post another interesting and informative post. I can't wait to see the end result. Your choice of wood and the engraving should really HIGH LITE your case colors!

John

Four-Eyed Buck · Post by **Four-Eyed Buck** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 12:08 pm

Can't wait to see this project come together, Jim..............Buck

Sure-Shot · Post by **Sure-Shot** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 12:51 pm

Jim D your ability to put together a photo record with an explanation of what you are doing and why, is a great talent. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed your posts. Thank you. I am looking forward to the next installment.

Jim D · Post by **Jim D** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 11:38 am

Thanks for all the nice comments guys! I'm in Cody today so I stopped by the Ballard factory and picked up an extractor, link and link screws. I also ordered a plain mid-range tang sight by Riflesmith from Buffalo Arms. Can't wait to get home and throw in the parts and see how it does on paper!

-jim

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:48 pm

Hope those Ballards are giving you lots more ideas!-Vall

Jim D · Post by **Jim D** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 4:22 pm

Final Shaping and Fitting of the Stocks:

The wood at the top of a Ballard stock is very thin. Unfortunately the top part of the stock takes most of the recoil and is prone to split along the grain lines of the wood. Result, the "Ballard Crack". The cross section of a Ballard action shows why the wood is so thin at the top.

Having spent a lot of time on this stock, I really didn't want to get a Ballard crack. I think the best way to prevent the crack would be to transfer the recoil somewhere better suited to absorb it without splitting. I figured that would be the sholders of the tang. Unfortunately the sholders not only slope, but have a rounded surface making it very difficult to get a bearing surface. I looked at an original Ballard stock and it is obvious that they didn't try to do this on originals. So I decided to glass bed the tang to the stock for a tight bearing, leaving a very slight gap between the rear face of the receiver and the stock. I don't know yet if this will prevent the crack over time, but I did fire a dozen rounds through the rifle with no problems. The blue-green stuff in the photo is a release agent. Always use a lot of release agent. It's kind of tough to case harden the receiver if you can't get the stock off....

Stock through bolt and washer:

Final fitting of buttplate:

On the forearm, I decided to go with a slight oversizing since the wood would otherwise be very thin at the top of the barrel channel. Several examples of oversized forearms on Pacific and Montana models are shown in John Dutcher's fine book.

The final forearm shaping with through screw in place:

-jim

Jim D · Post by **Jim D** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 10:36 pm

The stock is sanded down to 380 grit. I then use Kleen Strip wood bleach
to lighten up the wood some. This also helps highlite the figure. One coat is usually enough. Without the bleach the wood ends up too dark and the fugure of the wood is lost. I then sand again and seal with a mixture of Birchwood Casey's sealer with lampblack mixed in. After this dries, I sand down to bare wood again. This seals the pores and leaves the pores looking like little black dots. I then stain using water based dyes from Brownells. You can mix just about any color you want. I finish with half a dozen coats of satin lacquer sprayed out of an air brush, steel wooling with 0000 between coats. Finally I apply a couple of coats of teak oil and rub in.

-jim

Sure-Shot · Post by **Sure-Shot** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 11:29 pm

That is outstanding grain and what a great color. Real tallent at work there.

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:22 pm

Great looking stocks Jim! I really like that grain too!
I always glass bed Ballard stocks when I restock one. On Pacifics I even lay a thin coat of fiberglass in the wiping rod channel to help strengthen the thin wood.
I think bedding the buttstock serves to not only strengthen it against the dreaded Ballard cracks, but also makes for a bit better accuracy too.-Vall

Jim D · Post by **Jim D** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:45 pm

Installing the Barrel

There are three critical things that must be done when installing the barrel.

1. Make sure you have a tight fit between the barrel and face of the block.
2. Cut a chamber with proper headspace.
3. Cut the extractor slot.

The Ballard action gets it's lock up strength from wedging the block between the barrel face and the rear of the action opening behind the block.

Here's the cross section picture again:

The barrel is not shown in the photo, but if it was, it would be a TIGHT fit. When you close the lever, it should feel tight. Kind of like locking a pair of Vice Grip pliers onto something. It's the same principle.

The barrel treads are .950"x18 TPI. I thread the barrel and cut the sholder leaving the threaded portion about an 1/8" long. I run the barrel into the receiver to see how it indexes up. I put the barrel in the vice on the vertical mill and use a square to make sure that the frame is square. If it's not, the barrel goes back in the lathe and I cut the sholder back slightly. Once the barrel indexes properly, I check the fit with the block and lever in the frame. Back to the lathe to cut some off the end, and check again. You might have to do this half a dozen times or more to get the right fit. If you go too far, you will have to start the whole process over.

Once the barrel is cut to the proper length, the next operation will be to cut the chamber. I use the lathe with the reamer in a free float attachment in the tailstock. This is important so that you do not get an oval chamber. As soon as I start cutting into the rim part of the chamber, I stop. If you cut too far here, you have to go back to square one. I put
the barrel in the frame and tighten it up. I then hand turn the reamer a few turns and check the headspace with a GO guage. Once you have the proper headspace, you're ready for the extractor cut.

I cut the extractor slot by hand. I coat the end of the barrel with layout dye, mount the extractor in the frame with the lever bolt, then scribe the outline of the extractor on the face of the barrel. I cut the majority of the material with a Dremel tool with cutting wheel, then finish with a small file. This is another one of those operations where you cut a little and check the fit. You might have to take the barrel off and put it back on a dozen times, but it's easier to take your time and do it right so you don't have to start over at square one. Keep in mind that the extractor rotates into the extractor slot so in order to get a good fit, the top side of the extractor and the top side of the slot must slope slightly. If both are left square, you will have to have a gap at the top of the slot in order for the extractor to clear as it rotates into position.

-jim

Four-Eyed Buck · Post by **Four-Eyed Buck** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:50 pm

looking great, Jim. This is going to be one pretty rifle.............Buck