Would you fire this?

[stever1950]

When the vid opened I thought it would be a lost cause. Anyone know what it is? I did not see any MFG or caliber markings, but the guy put HR backwards on the grips he made, but that is HIS mark I think. My guess is a British maker maybe Webly? And watch when he clears the barrel.....

[pushpullpete]

Tested in a rest first, yes. I realize the time lapse part, but, after the amount of work put in to bring it to that
point how could you not. That was really impressive from where I sit.

[joe817]

Fascinating video to watch! Well done!

I believe that is a Webley Colt Mark IV. It sure looks like it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=webley+ ... ayM:&vet=1

[stever1950]

I think you're right except maybe a Webly Scott. I found this:

https://steemit.com/firearms/@preppin-f ... e-revolver

They called it a 380/200, but essentially a .38 S&W. I just wish he had blued it after polishing.

[mayor]

With the exception of the backstrap, it looks like this to me:

[bbhack]

Does anyone know what the electrolytic process was to remove the rust? Initially the anode is the work piece, but at the end it shows the work piece being the cathode.

[n5wmk]

I watched that video a couple of days ago - interesting, but he took off more metal that necessary in my opinion, using that angle grinder/sanding disc. Not fond of the more rounded contours on it - or of the highly polished almost chrome look. I doubt that lasted very long - I think it would rust rapidly from finger prints and humidity.

If you look at the end of the video, after he re-assembled it, you'll notice that the cylinder doesn't rotate and index, so firing it would be risky, again in my opinion.

I own two Webley revolvers - a Mk VI in .45 made in 1917, and a Mk IV in .38 made in 1942. Both were war issued, and I shoot both anytime. The one in the video appears to be made later - the serial number is much more prominent than on either of mine.

The electrolytic rust removal process is pretty simple - it's washing soda (sodium carbonate - not to be confused with sodium bicarbonate - baking soda) mixed in the water. Use a 12 volt DC source. A battery charger works fine, but you may have problems with the newer "smarter" style charger unless you also use a car battery to show a load to the charger. Use iron/steel (but NOT stainless steel) sacrificial anodes. Or carbon rods will work. Connect the positive terminal to the anodes, connect the negative terminal to the parts to be de-rusted, and let it work for a few hours. I've done that on a number of car parts and tools. But I've gone away from that unless it's a really large part. For smaller stuff I use Evapo Rust - works very well for me.

Edit to comment to bbhack - yep, he connected them wrong the first time - the piece to be cleaned is the cathode (negative) lead. Search for "electrolytic rust removal".