I picked up a used AyA #2 16 in real nice condition and I see the dark bands ahead of the chambers that I assume were where the forcing cones were lengthened. Looks like a plastic trap and areas that would be more vulnerable able to rust. Can these be polished to the same level as the rest of the bores? If so I'm not sure I'm up to this on a gun this nice.

Sure, all you need is a selection of emory paper, a short wood dowel some LARD oil (very important) and a drill. Cut a slot in the dowel, long enough for a strip of emory wind the paper around the dowel until it is close to the size of the bore and apply oil, turn with a drill. Remember The goal is not massive metal removial! After removing the "line" use 3 or 400 grit paper with lard oil and it will quickly polish us to mirror. NO lard oil and you will get a cross hatch pattern.


bill

Lard oil is an amazing cutting fluid, used for a long, long time by barrel makers and barrel riflers.

SRH

A dumb a__ question. What is lard oil? Is this a product or just lard grease?

lots of good high sulfur cutting oils out there too.

Here in the south it is used as an additive to engine oils, when I lived in IL it was a pricey cutting/polishing oil. In our business I purchased it by the truck load, where do you get a pint????

bill

Ask again: What is lard oil? Widely used as a cutting oil in older days per the books and magazines.
Regular lard is not a good cutting oil. Mama's bacon drippings worked better, years ago.
Will keep using sulfur cutting oils but would like to try real lard oil.
Chuck

Thanks for the advice, Bill.

(been called lard-ass)

Lard oil is the oil that comes from hog lard having been finely filtered. Lard will work, I am told, but the oil from it keeps better and does not solidify.

Hacker Martin, of TN, would squeeze it out of fatback (unsalted) in a vise with wooden padded jaws. He used it for boring barrels and cutting barrel rifling by hand.

SRH

When I was building my house, I used the hand threader and pipe threading dies that had belonged to my grandfather to thread the black pipe for my gas lines. I had some trouble getting clean threads on the 1 1/4" pipe I started with, so I replaced the die inserts, which didn't help much. I was using a brand new quart of dark thread cutting oil I had bought from the plumbing wholesale shop where I bought the pipe and fittings.

In the wooden box that contained my grandfather's threading set was an old stained partial gallon can of Ridgid Sulfur Lard Cutting Oil that had been purchased I'd guess sometimes in the 1960's or earlier. Running out of ideas, I decided to try it. Simply changing to this older formula of sulfur lard cutting oil was like night and day. It took much less effort to cut nice clean threads, and there wasn't a hint of galling or roughness.



Since then, I've learned to look for the old stuff at farm auctions, auto parts swap meets, or flea markets. I found some a couple years ago at a flea market where a guy was selling a bunch of stuff that had belonged to his grandfather. The crate it was in also had a bottle of Chlordane, DDT powder, and a DDT treatment for window screens. Old stock.