Good evening,

Found this in a thrift store several years ago as a bundle of rust and dirt. I've had it apart, changed the main spring and done some hand cleanup.

Thinking about shining it up some more, browning it and putting on some wood. I need the forearm metal and or a dimensioned drawing for the latch and the join cap. I have seen a couple of the caps for sale various places but no latch assemblies. I'm guessing they are hard to come by.

Serial number is 129049, reported variously as 1912 or '13 manufacture

We've seen a ledger page close to that, so by serial number it would date to October 1912. However, rifles weren't finished in order and so it might have been accepted from the factory in October or any time in the next few months.

How's the bore?

That's going to be a job. Looking forward to seeing you progress.

The bore isn't bad to the eye. Planning to glue up 15/16" walnut boards I have on hand in a two piece laminate for the stock. Buy or build the fore end metal and put on a modern repro tang sight.

Keep an eye on ebay and you can probably find a vintage tang sight for about the cost of a modern one.

On topic, but off kilter, maybe?

We've all seen new posters looking for parts end up here, no doubt the result of "Savage" internet searches. I ended up here from an internet search of Savages in general. There are also occasional opportunistic posters that come here only for a specific need, not to be seen until their next need arises.

As it relates to this post, he is right, the latch mechanisms are hard to come by, and when you do they aren't cheap. Same with vintage wood stocks either for the 1899, 99, or early 110's. To consistently find and procure these scarce pieces a person usually spends countless hours scouring shops and web sites, investing money for that one rainy day years down the road when the need may arise for a specific part. it takes a tremendous amount of dedication and time to amass a collection of parts.

I'll concede the hunt is part of the sport of it all, but ultimately it isn't easy. The same time invested in something more constructive would no doubt yield much more tangible results. Imagine if we all spent as much time weeding the garden or waxing our trucks as we do talking Savages?!! Perish the thought!

The point of all this?

In the past I have sold parts to new posters with the hope that they would stick around and add something to the forum. I know, I shouldn't have had that expectation, but I admit I had hoped they would want to learn more or contribute some of their own experiences. Most haven't.

It's nobodies problem but my own I realize, just an observation made out loud I guess. My conclusion is that for all the time and effort it takes to collect vintage parts, that effort goes largely unappreciated when all that is required to procure a missing piece is to post a WTB ad and viola, it pops out of the innerwebs at you. Nobody could fault a new poster for taking an active approach to solving their problem. They haven't done a thing wrong. But for me, I may limit my help with needed parts to regular contributers here, people that invest as heavily as the rest, rather than offering up hard-to-get parts to fly-bys.

No offense intended to the OP. That's just my particular quirky take on it. I'd rather the part go where it is most seriously appreciated by someone that understands the toil of collecting and keeping their Savages working.

Flame away.

Besides that, I can't really see why anyone would rescue a bastard size .228 bore Savage anyhow.

And while I'm yacking, I'll add that some Savages are worth more as parts than as complete rifles. Or put another way, to buy the missing pieces at the prices they command today, a guy might be better off to sell of his rifle as parts and use the money towards a good original.

I.E. I just bought a crescent buttplate buttstock for a 1899 at over $200. That's just one piece. Add to that the forearm and forearm metal the OP is missing and that HP is looking more like a real dog all the time.

AND, my opinions are probably worth less than you paid for them.

So there's that.

Not a totally hollow argument. The takedown forearm hardware alone is in the $150 range these days.

Fireball2, your opinions sound a lot like my 401k.

Parting out idea is interesting but I've got nothing to do but avoid virus reception so I'll muddle along. Since it's a worthless bastard child I've got nowhere to go but up.

Would you have any photos of the latch inside and out so I can make a copy?

I had a few 99's in .308 when I was in my twenties and cash poorer, Sold last one to go on a month long ski tour in the Sierras in '74.

Now Ive got a few 10's and 110's that I play with, worthless oddballs too, it must be my thing.

Like I said, no offense to the OP. I relish a good project myself, and have done a few, much to the chagrin of the white glove collectors here. But financially, it does not pencil out. Now if you put high grade custom wood, fine checkering, and a fine rust blue on them you have entered into another realm, but you understand that.

BTW, I have no idea what your 401K sounds like, and I don't even want to know.

I'm missing the small screw that holds the latch in on one end but the rest are there, I think.

It’s easy to get discouraged on a project like this. It will take a lot of time and money. There is a wealth of knowledge on this forum on everything 99. Fireball2 is a softy, he will help anybody, he even helped me.
All the old timers on here have some great collections, just going over the old posts Is an education in itself.
Make sure your really vested in this project, it will take A lot of effort.

Were it me, I would buy the junkiest crappiest takedown 1899 that came down the pike for a couple hundred bucks, rob the forend parts I needed to resurrect my project, then peddle the leftovers part-by-part in hopes of recouping my investment in the parts gun, or hang onto it to help with the next project that came along. Time spent locating a junker takedown rifle= a lot less than time spent looking for a lone TD latch for which you'll probably spend nearly as much for as what the junker would cost.

Thanks Fireball! The latch picture helps. I have a lead on rear metal that seems reasonable, just a few more than the $20 I have in it now. The stock laminates come out of the clamps today. I may go hardwood buttstock. I have some wenge that would polish up nicely. another option is a blackpowder repro casting. Some of the steel they call Hawken might work. Thanks again for the photos and encouragement.
My .401 sounds pretty good with about 70 grains of FF.

Monetarily these type of restores may not make sense - especially when you figure in the cost per hour of your work.

But every old Savage saved from the junk pile is a worthwhile project in my mind.

Thanks Fireball! The latch picture helps. I have a lead on rear metal that seems reasonable, just a few more than the $20 I have in it now. The stock laminates come out of the clamps today. I may go hardwood buttstock. I have some wenge that would polish up nicely. another option is a blackpowder repro casting. Some of the steel they call Hawken might work. Thanks again for the photos and encouragement.
My .401 sounds pretty good with about 70 grains of FF.

I use wenge for a lot of projects. I like how it pops under varnish. But, it's very dense/heavy wood and might make the gun objectionably butt heavy?

I misspoke, Butt plate not butt stock. I fabricated the butt stock from three pieces of 15/16" walnut, two with pretty decent figure in the butt and a 1/2" middle straight grain to make the blanks thick enough for a bit of cast off.

The parts hunt is part of the fun, but also part of the frustration. I've spent probably close to $1000 on old 99 stocks over the past couple of years. Used most but have a couple around for projects. Even if you want to spend a bunch of money on them, they're still tough to find. The old ones seem to be made out of eggshells I recently made one out of a chunk of walnut ( actually turned out okay ) because I gave up looking for this particular butt. One of the most frustrating and long terms parts I've been searching for is the old style carbine butt plate. I snagged a carbine stock last year out of total blind luck, but still have never even seen the right butt plate for sale. Actually I haven't ever seen any carbine butt plate for sale that wasn't attached to rifle.

I once made a butt plate for a little German kiplauf out of ebony. Looks and works just fine.

All I have to say is this took me an embarrassingly long time to do but to anyone planning on making one, a pattern gauge was essential for me. The first hunk of walnut I screwed up, so this was the second attempt. I scaled pictures that you fellas posted of the S type butts and scaled them as close as I could to the rifle straight stocks I have. The straight stock I was using as a pattern had a perch belly, which I really like, but the rifle this is for was made before them so I'll probably remove the belly. I had planned on buying a duplicated stock but haven't seen any that have the S type grip and didn't have one that I could have duplicated.


Before:


After:



Now if there was a hot market for all the 99 stocks I have that were cut for a recoil pads

Hopefully I'm not hijacking the thread.

Most of you guys know I collect chainsaws too. We had a guy on one website saying he really wanted to restore one of the big Homelites. He traveled one of the big highways that go past my house, so I told him to stop in and I'd hook him up. He stopped, was very nice, I wound up giving him 7 old Homelites. A month later he was on a Homelite web site making package deals to sell all of the saws I gave him. I didn't really care that he sold them, I was just a bit hurt that he was playing American Picker, saying anything to get them, so he could flip them. Now I tend to be a little tighter with stuff.

Not making any correlations to the OP either. It's obvious your looking for a part for a project, not trying to get a bunch of stuff to flip as soon as you pull away. Roy just got me to thinking.

End of day 1.5 of wood,

Cut, planed, jointed some pieces and glued them up yesterday. Had some cabinet 4/4 boards that were a bit wild for the cabinet job but thought they could make some sticks that would work for a two piece stock. Freed of clamps this morning, some more jointer, bandsaw and chisel and gouge work. And here we are.
My theory is that you can't see both sides of a stock at once and a bit of faux work will blend across the joints if necessary.

Looking good. Keep us posted!

Another half day on the buttstock, ready to drill for screw. Then to the fun shaping.

I appreciate the photo walk through. Please keep it coming!

Thatsa lotta work, nice job on the stock so far.

"B' You have some really great skills. Enjoy the pictures.
Steve

Yes! more process pictures please! And Your address so we can start sending our orphaned barreled actions to You!

You could put a solid vs take down forearm on it. Much cheaper.

How much is a take down fore end complete with latch worth over there?

Johno

Fireball2, Thanks for the commentary, keeps me going.

JeffG, I'm kind of enjoying the job just the way it is, one easy going, poor customer, who just wants to see it shooting someday. Besides, even at $20 an hour I'm overpriced.

Rick99, That never crossed my mind. Now it has crossed my mind and it's on down the road. That take down half twist is something I'd hate to lose. Besides I think there is enough walnut on the shelf for a short box.

I'm thinking of doing the rest from what's in the shop right now, no parts bought, just made. I've got the wenge buttplate material, and I have the latch and fore end metal steel hiding in unsuspecting blocks of steel right now. Even giving some thought to making my own browning juice, plenty of noxious recipes around.

SomisSteve, More wood butchery tomorrow, that figured aged walnut is tough sh...stuff. Thinking of a hex drive long screw variation for holding the action. I like looking at the hex drive and using a short Allen key. I won't miss a10" flat blade driver search down a dark hole. I'm thinking the guys that made a rotary cartridge carrier would be in favor of progress.

Calhoun, damnesia, Hope to get some pics up too.

JohnO, I've no idea, haven't seen one for sale. I'm sure someone here knows.

Take care,

Bruce

Bruce ive got a complete for end with the catch but buggered if I can find it, it would not be a problem posting something like that

Johno

I've thought of browning a project, but it's a 1915 250 action, need barrel. I'd like to return it to it's original configuration. I had a browned SXS that I liked, and I've browned a couple ax heads, because I don't like the polished look on vintage blades..keep up the good work, i'm watching too.

Thanks so much for the progress reports and photos. You have some great skills and talents.

Few more hours today; stretched the action screw and put a hex head on it. Action will come off with 3/16" hex key about an inch in from the end of the butt.

Got some shape on the butt and rough/thick Wenge butt piece with working screws in place.

You've got some mad skills my friend. Keep up the good work. My only request is to be sure to put a concave edge on the cheeks on the buttstock. It won't look right at all w/o them.

Down the road a few fingerprints. I think the gouge work is just about done. The shape is mainly there, probably still 1/16" fat all around but getting close to metal.

Maybe I can get to 120 grit during the next session.

Fireball, when you say cheeks do you mean what I think of as the "lock plate" areas? They should be flaring to continue the action taper/flare, wider to the back. I'm considering leaving them even with the main action, just continuing the flare from there not with the step down. Reverse the cope step down in the action with a cope back to the full action width.

More dust to come.

Looking good!
I'm a big fan of the cheek rest! Looks great!!

Very nice, it’s coming along quickly. Looking forward to seeing it finished, probably not as much as you are.

Really nice, coming a long well. Showing your skills nicely. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Steve

Very Nice!, I very impressed with how well you judged your grain match in your laminations through the top of the wrist!

This is great! Nice lines and execution. Nice job of work.

I just would like to say I have been on here a long time and really don't post much. I guess you call that a lurker. I really appreciate all you guys and your posts! and I have gotten parts from some and appreciate those too!

Progress Pics

Sanding the butt with 180 now, close to metal everywhere. The wenge butt plate is over thick to keep the walnut honest all the way to the end. It will get slimmed to traditional thickness hard plates.You may see just behind and below the cheek piece margin the remaining divot from a deep figured grain chip that popped out during roughing gouge work. It's almost gone, thinking 180 will see the bottom of it.

Doweled and epoxied a wenge cap on the fore end piece and roughed it out. Its way too long and the barrel inletting has just gotten started. It has been shortened appropriately. The .22hp barrel is only about 18" total. Checking proportions from a number of images from similar guns from various website images.

Not pleased with the margin fit at the vertical face of action but the upper and lower tangs were decent and the screw was fitting well. Rather than redoing all the top and bottom inletting, trimmed the walnut cheeks parallel to the action and inlaid some wenge cap material on those faces.

Considering doing the rear take down metal of the fore end in wenge as well. The barrel alignment lock pin in steel screwed to the walnut surrounded by wenge where the typical metal band with a screw through is located. Function would be the same, metal to metal lock and alignment with vertical wenge trim on both ends of both pieces of walnut.
Not very traditional at all but not pink or blue or carbon fiber epoxy so maybe kind of middle of the road.

I'm working on an inletting system that should let me do the 99 action accurately and repeatably. Stay tuned for news.

FYI a couple shots from EOD 5.25

If I did it, it would look like a 2x4!!
Good work!!!!

I can really appreciate how much effort and talent You're putting in to this piece. It shows, Nice job!

Not as criticism, but my personal 99 observations; The original lines of the 1899/99 stocks are very svelte and subtle, and appeal to most of us (reference past discussions about 99R "clubs", and EG "tomatoe stakes"..). And I've spent way too many hours fussing over "just-right" whittling, trying to satisfy my own eye. I like the oval-ish 1895 side (lock) cheek plates, and the little oval-ish raised cheek rest, both very turn-of-the-century european styling. And I like Your weatherby-wenge schnable. The butt plate is also neat looking in wenge, and tall for positive shoulder contact, which brings the top of the comb up for scope-eye alignment I assume. I have added a perch-belly curve to the bottom of those scope-compliant butt stocks to shrink the height of that butt plate, brings it back toward the classical lines.

The wrist looks a little thick when comparing with classical 1899 lines, be careful of scalloping the top of the wrist a bit lower, back into the comb, it would make the difference, ...but,

This is embarrassingly personal question for me, as a 99 Tinkerbell-whittler myself. I attempted a re-shape of this area on one of my own after-s(h)tocks, because I didn't like how the thick wrist looked. I ran into a problem while doing my last bit internal fitting, I had the stock screwed up snug (nice tight butt, if I say so myself), but I was still getting some bolt-travel stickiness. I had things all chalked up so I could see where it was rubbing,..I found nothing rubbing.. On my last (..ok, maybe I was a little frustrated) bolt-rack, I fractured a 1/4" chuck out of the top-of-the-squirrley-grained-wrist, about 1" behind the top tang. ..."WHAT?!?"

Turns out the inletting at the bolt heel, above the hammer, was just a bit shy.., and the relieved wood at the top of the wrist was just a bit thin, and the squirrely grain wood was pretty, but just a bit fragile, and my patience with fine woodworking was about two cups of coffee over capacity...

Jeff,

Thanks for the look and comments, very helpful.

I agree the wrist is thick. I like the high comb so far. It throws up nicely and put my eye right on the sights. I have a Marble tang sight to put on when I get the metal finish done.

To my eye the relative thickness change in the vertical dimension from rear of action to front of comb is a bit extreme on some example stock photos I've been collecting. There is a Griffin and Howe restock of a full size rifle that is a bit closer to parallel and It find that a bit more pleasing to my eye. Maybe something in between will work.

As I formed the Schnabel detail I wondered if it started as a functional knob to hold a tied or looped carrying sling. Anyone have thoughts on that style origin?

Fortunately I have to take care of a couple other shop tasks so the stock can marinate a bit and the I can take another whack. Actually I have a couple Vixen pattern files and they do a nice controlled job cutting not tearing stock in small layers so I don't go too far, no whacking now.

Thanks again!