1890 winchester

One of the most popular guns a firearms engraver can work on is the model 1890 Winchester. They are easy to engrave, have a ready market, don’t take too much time, and are not too expensive to purchase. Here is an example that I refinished and put new wood on before the engraving was completed, a fun and profitable project.

What a beauty Joseph! Would be an honor to bust some squirrels whth it! What would you consider a fair price to pay for a project gun like that.....before refurbishing it? Thanks for sharing it!
Dan

That's purdy... My Dad has 4 1873's, is that right? The ole gun that won the west. Anyways he wants me to engrave one but I don't think I'm ready for that yet, a few more practice plates.
Jeff

Some might this of interest-Fred

Ebay
Winchester Factory Engraving & Carving 1897 Gun Catalog Item number: 370132138935

Boy, theres a dandy. Any chance you can get some more photos. Thanks for posting, Seth

What did you use to stain the maple stock.It is beautiful!

Joseph,
What a beautiful job, I rather like the geometric styled wire inlays accenting the floral work, great blend. Am I assuming correctly that all the gold/silver inlays are left proud and sculpted? Seeing how my favorite wood happend to be figured maple.........You were able to get a beautiful piece of wood that in my opinion helps the gun to pop!.......er......look great.
Thanks for sharing,
Mark

www.MarkThomas-graver.com

Regarding 1890 Winchester
Thank you all for appreciating my labors. Here are answers to your questions.
The cost of this type of rifle of course depends on its condition. That is the reason that I always looked for guns that collectors did not want. Look for one with broken or badly scarred wood, little or no metal finish. But in good working order and with a bright bore. Caliber is not too important but 22LR is best. You should be able to locate one for fewer than 450 dollars.
Before I took to engraving, I had many years experience in the gunsmiths trade. The last place I was employed was for the Paul Jaeger Gun Co. located then in Pennsylvania. I work under a Swiss gun maker who has been employed for one of the London best gun makers. He showed me his way of stock finishing, it consisted of Alkanet root for color and repeated applications of linseed oil brought to a very high temperature in a crock pot and applied with a swab until the wood pores were saturated then left to dry. (Do this out side as the fumes linger on for a long time and as linseed oil has a low flashpoint be aware that if excessively hot it can erupt into flames)
After three weeks or longer the stocks were sanded to finish and then VERY light coats of True Oil were applied over the course of several more weeks. This may seem like a long time consuming process, but in reality it only takes a few minutes every five days. The silver and gold work was done sculpted and raised, the line work is flush. The scroll work was cut as I would if it were to be inlaid with gold, but I decided that the labor involved would price the gun too high and a buyer would be hard to find, I therefore left it as it is. Sorry but these photos are old 35mm pix.