[Jaison]

Got hands on an Oregon Arms Chipmunk the other day. Although I have nowhere close to the skills several other members have bringing old weapons back to life, I thought I’d chronicle the project.

Tonight, the little rifle got field stripped just to be more familiar with the workings and overall condition.

First thing is the rust. The front sight has the worst of it. The barrel exterior and interior really aren’t too bad, but the front sight is pretty rusted. This is beyond surface rust and will take re-blueing.

The adjustable peep sight has some rust, as does the knurled charging knob.

The stock is in great shape, but will be sanded, Tru-oiled, and waxed.

The bolt has some minor surface rust, but a little oil and Flitz will shine that thing right up. The peep sight assembly has a fair amount of rust, as well.

The bolt face is fouled, but not scarred. Neither is the chamber, so I’m fairly confident the previous owner didn’t dry-fire it often.

Bolt handle is also rust, but I’m considering putting a mirror polish on it, just to see what that will entail

Looking forward to completely disassembling this rifle and starting this project.

 

[mdj696]

What do you do to polish bolt. I have several I want to clean up.

 

[chesterwin]

Got hands on an Oregon Arms Chipmunk the other day. Although I have nowhere close to the skills several other members have bringing old weapons back to life, I thought I’d chronicle the project.

Tonight, the little rifle got field stripped just to be more familiar with the workings and overall condition.

First thing is the rust. The front sight has the worst of it. The barrel exterior and interior really aren’t too bad, but the front sight is pretty rusted. This is beyond surface rust and will take re-blueing.

View attachment 157206

The adjustable peep sight has some rust, as does the knurled charging knob.
View attachment 157208


The stock is in great shape, but will be sanded, Tru-oiled, and waxed.
View attachment 157210

The bolt has some minor surface rust, but a little oil and Fritz will shine that thing right up. The peep sight assembly has a fair amount of rust, as well.
View attachment 157212

The bolt face is fouled, but not scarred. Neither is the chamber, so I’m fairly confident the previous owner didn’t dry-fire it often.
View attachment 157214

Bolt handle is also rust, but I’m considering putting a mirror polish on it, just to see what that will entail
View attachment 157204

Looking forward to completely disassembling this rifle and starting this project.

I recommend either 4 ought steel wool and heavy oil or grease and a brass or bronze brush to remove the corrosion. Refinishing is another topic.

 

[ChaZam]

Good looking little rifle Jaison.
You could boil those parts in distilled water.

 

[Jaison]

I recommend either 4 ought steel wool and heavy oil or grease and a brass or bronze brush to remove the corrosion. Refinishing is another topic.

Started the rust removal last night. Everything but the front sight came out great. Looks like I’ll be taking that down to bare metal and re-bluing.

Good looking little rifle Jaison.
You could boil those parts in distilled water.

As small as this thing is, that ain’t a bad option. Depends on how the front sight turns out and whether or not the firearms OCD kicks in. Lol

 

[Jaison]

What do you do to polish bolt. I have several I want to clean up.

This one came out smooth with just gun oil and steel wool. Might (probably) polish with Flitz and be done. Still have to completely disassemble the bolt, but it really doesn’t look like it was shot much. A good soak in Kroil and an air nozzle might be all it needs.

 

[Ten Man]

This one came out smooth with just gun oil and steel wool. Might (probably) polish with Fritz and be done. ........

Looking like a labor of love. I can't wait to see the finished project.

Fritz was what American soldiers called German soldiers in WWII.

The metal polish you refer to is FLITZ.

https://www.acehardware.com/departm...7688431891ac12edca851cdc66139b2d&gclsrc=3p.ds

 

[BigEd63]

Looking like a labor of love. I can't wait to see the finished project.

Fritz was what American soldiers called German soldiers in WWII.

The metal polish you refer to is FLITZ.

https://www.acehardware.com/departm...7688431891ac12edca851cdc66139b2d&gclsrc=3p.ds

Unless he meant letting another talking critter refinish it.
Namely Fritz the Cat. Which I'd advise against as the cat would probably run off and pawn it for a dime bag of weed.

 

[gsbuickman]

Sweet Bro . I have a nice selection of rimfire's but one thing I don't have is a little ackpack type 22. One of these days I need to address that. On the flip side of that coin I did pick up a sporterized arisaka for a refinishing project so that should prove to be fun when I get around to it . In the meantime I don't think you'll have near as many issues with this one as you did with the 10/22 refinishing ...

 

[BigEd63]

Okay seriously looks like it's going to turn into a nice little plinker or camp .22 or whatever you want to use it for.

I've no experience with that exact brand but I had some limited experience with the Cricket one.
I went in with my then fiance and we both pitched in for a polymer stocked one in Pink; for her youngest daughter.
But guess who got volunteered to go sight it in!?
Yep, imagine a 6'3" or so gorilla at the public range zeroing a titty bitty PINK rifle.

It was a nice tack driver for it's size though. Tempted me to get a wood stocked one

 

[Jaison]

Looking like a labor of love. I can't wait to see the finished project.

Fritz was what American soldiers called German soldiers in WWII.

The metal polish you refer to is FLITZ.

https://www.acehardware.com/departm...7688431891ac12edca851cdc66139b2d&gclsrc=3p.ds

Ha! LOL!

That’ll teach me to stay off the internet until the morning caffeine kicks in. Good catch, Ten Man.

 

[Jaison]

Sweet Bro . I have a nice selection of rimfire's but one thing I don't have is a little ackpack type 22. One of these days I need to address that. On the flip side of that coin I did pick up a sporterized arisaka for a refinishing project so that should prove to be fun when I get around to it . In the meantime I don't think you'll have near as many issues with this one as you did with the 10/22 refinishing ...

You remember that 10/22? I’m honored, sir.

That ol’ stock was a bear. Never should have used antiquing wax! Lmao!

Gives me an idea about re-doing that stock, though...:usa:

 

[rando]

That peep sight is cool on a chipmunk rifle. I never seen one installed on one of them. Very cool indeed.

 

[Jaison]

That peep sight is cool on a chipmunk rifle. I never seen one installed on one of them. Very cool indeed.

The peep and the American Walnut stock are what got my attention. When I saw that it is an original Oregon Arms Chipmunk...well, how could it not get a new home? Lol

 

[Jaison]

Man, do I need some insights.

Was finishing up the bluing on the Chipmunk tonight. It was going great until the bluing started coming off the front sight and muzzle area.

Don’t know if these pics will help, but I’ll answer any questions a more experienced brother or sister may have.

Definitely a ‘First World Problem’, but sort of dispiriting.

 

[Big Dog]

Some steels don't play well with blueing. Some will make it flake or rub off, some will turn a plum color. If a cleaning and redo doesn't work, maybe try Brownell's Alumahyde II spray finish. Semigloss black looks similar to dark blueing, and is pretty tough.

 

[Jaison]

Some steels don't play well with blueing. Some will make it flake or rub off, some will turn a plum color. If a cleaning and redo doesn't work, maybe try Brownell's Alumahyde II spray finish. Semigloss black looks similar to dark blueing, and is pretty tough.

Will do. Thanks for the suggestion. The weird thing is that the rest of the barrel came out great- - at least, for now.

Got a feeling I may have polished that area too much. It had the most rust, so it took a lot more work to get clean metal.

Thought I’d be a smarty pants and step up the grit to ultra fine.

 

[jwrauch]

What kind of Bluing are you using? I've had my best results with Oxpho-blue or Van's instant blue. Also after a thorough degreasing you can warm the metal slightly with a torch or a heat gun.

 

[Jaison]

Finally finished the Chipmunk restoration. Gave to my little sister tonight for Christmas.


The front sights and muzzle ended up taking a good bluing after multiple attempts. Still not as deep as preferred, but at least it didn’t flake off.

The bolt, receiver, peep sight, etc, came out great. Almost started jeweling the bolt, but events transpired that took time away from the task.

The stock is an amazing chunk of American Walnut. Really a testament to the quality put into firearms back in those days.

All in all, this was a fun and rewarding project. Looking forward to starting another one at some point.

 

[Jaison]

One more photo that shows the other side. All rust gone and shiny metal.