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I was up in the Seattle area last week for work, and on an off day hit a local gun show. I've been looking for a decent wall hanger for my reloading room and came across this Eclipse for a reasonable price, so I took it home.
After a bit of Googling around, I learned pretty much all there was to readily learn.... common "trade" gun, low level, not worth much, made from the late 19th century to around the Great War, etc., etc. All of that is fine with me, I didn't pay much, it looks cool, and it's going on the wall. However, lowly as it is, it is still a pretty fascinating piece of history to me. Obviously it had been carried and used a lot by previous owners, and it looks to be fairly well-made... not Swiss Watch nice, but nice.
It is in complete and functional condition, but the action does lock up tight and has significant vertical play. Not really a problem because the planned use was for decoration only...... but it got to gnawing on me as to what might be wrong, and I was going to take it apart for a good cleaning, so....
Well, the first problem I ran into was the screws on this thing. First, they are fairly soft metal and the slots are thin and shallow. Second, the main action screw was buggered up pretty bad, and none of my gunsmithing screwdrivers could get a good grip. An impact screwdriver coupled with liberal use of Kroil proved to be the answer, but it took some effort and a couple of days to free the screw from the action. Once that was done, disassembly was simple and straightforward. The Kroil had worked its magic, and all the (considerable) internal crud was now loose and easily brushed and flushed out of the locks and action.
A cursory inspection revealed that the locking bar was very worn and loose in its slot, and that this was the reason for the wobbly lockup. I needed a new locking bar..... but where to find one for a low end 130-year-old Belgian double? eBay? Nope. GPC had on for $9 plus shipping, but who knows what condition it might be and even if it would actually fit my action. So - I rummaged around in my work space and came up with some left-over bar stock from a trailer hitch repair project. Turns out, it was the perfect thickness.
I traced an outline of the original on the scrap, and went to work. The drill press, some files, a belt/disc sander, and a Dremel were all put to use. The first one I buggered up, the second one was acceptable (but I thought I could do better), and the third one was the bullseye - it locked the action up tighter than a monkey's bung-hole. Some beveling, polishing, and final fitting and viola..... works like new, nice and tight, very smooth and solid.
The gun is now all cleaned, repaired, and back together. Marked "Twist Finish Belgium" on the top rib, the best internet info says this is not a Damascus Twist barrel, but rather a "fluid steel" barrel made to look like Damascus in order to fool the eye of the fellows that were used to Damascus and wary of "newfangled" technology. One of the more interesting things I find is that, despite being an inexpensive shotgun, all the pieces are serial numbered - action, barrels, locks, trigger guard... even the furniture..... which, by the way, once had some fairly fancy hand-cut checkering.
Also - 32" barrels. This thing is L-O-N-G. And pretty heavy. Anyway, it's pretty cool, and I like it. I learned a bit about box-lock shotguns, too, so I'm pretty pleased with the whole thing overall.
You can see where the barrels are tipped up slightly in the loose action:
Buggered up action screw:
Original locking bar on top of bar stock:
New locking bar next to old one:
After a bit of Googling around, I learned pretty much all there was to readily learn.... common "trade" gun, low level, not worth much, made from the late 19th century to around the Great War, etc., etc. All of that is fine with me, I didn't pay much, it looks cool, and it's going on the wall. However, lowly as it is, it is still a pretty fascinating piece of history to me. Obviously it had been carried and used a lot by previous owners, and it looks to be fairly well-made... not Swiss Watch nice, but nice.
It is in complete and functional condition, but the action does lock up tight and has significant vertical play. Not really a problem because the planned use was for decoration only...... but it got to gnawing on me as to what might be wrong, and I was going to take it apart for a good cleaning, so....
Well, the first problem I ran into was the screws on this thing. First, they are fairly soft metal and the slots are thin and shallow. Second, the main action screw was buggered up pretty bad, and none of my gunsmithing screwdrivers could get a good grip. An impact screwdriver coupled with liberal use of Kroil proved to be the answer, but it took some effort and a couple of days to free the screw from the action. Once that was done, disassembly was simple and straightforward. The Kroil had worked its magic, and all the (considerable) internal crud was now loose and easily brushed and flushed out of the locks and action.
A cursory inspection revealed that the locking bar was very worn and loose in its slot, and that this was the reason for the wobbly lockup. I needed a new locking bar..... but where to find one for a low end 130-year-old Belgian double? eBay? Nope. GPC had on for $9 plus shipping, but who knows what condition it might be and even if it would actually fit my action. So - I rummaged around in my work space and came up with some left-over bar stock from a trailer hitch repair project. Turns out, it was the perfect thickness.
I traced an outline of the original on the scrap, and went to work. The drill press, some files, a belt/disc sander, and a Dremel were all put to use. The first one I buggered up, the second one was acceptable (but I thought I could do better), and the third one was the bullseye - it locked the action up tighter than a monkey's bung-hole. Some beveling, polishing, and final fitting and viola..... works like new, nice and tight, very smooth and solid.
The gun is now all cleaned, repaired, and back together. Marked "Twist Finish Belgium" on the top rib, the best internet info says this is not a Damascus Twist barrel, but rather a "fluid steel" barrel made to look like Damascus in order to fool the eye of the fellows that were used to Damascus and wary of "newfangled" technology. One of the more interesting things I find is that, despite being an inexpensive shotgun, all the pieces are serial numbered - action, barrels, locks, trigger guard... even the furniture..... which, by the way, once had some fairly fancy hand-cut checkering.
Also - 32" barrels. This thing is L-O-N-G. And pretty heavy. Anyway, it's pretty cool, and I like it. I learned a bit about box-lock shotguns, too, so I'm pretty pleased with the whole thing overall.
You can see where the barrels are tipped up slightly in the loose action:
Buggered up action screw:
Original locking bar on top of bar stock:
New locking bar next to old one:
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