I did the same thing. I have a Chilean 98 Mauser that is now a 6.5X55, that after a ton of money, time, and TLC is now a really nice rifle that shoots great. I will say that it was in only fairly good shape when I started, with a barrel that only had hints of rifling left. That one turned out well only because of professional help. Some others didn't turn out very well at all.
Sad to say that I don't own an original condition Mauser, unless you consider a commercial Mauser action rifle like a Husqvqana. That is something I might have to rectify.
