Arisaka Education, Restoration and B.S. thread

Identification

I recently acquired an arisaka from another member here. It was covered in rust (although not serious rust), the stock was rough looking and neither he or I could figure out what it was. Sadly I didn't get any before pics before starting this thread.

(Slapped together for a quick pic mid-cleaning)


The journey began with trying to figure out what the rifle was. The only thing that looked remotely familiar to me was the bolt design.

(Bolt assembly)

I could tell that it was a Mauser-type action so started researching Mauser and Mauser-based rifles. I knew that the biggest giveaway would be the rear peep sight, unprotected front sight, lack of markings and crude stock that it would be some type of late war rifle.

(Rear sight)

(Front sight)

(Stock)



These clues combined helped me to finally identify it as a "Last Ditch" Type 99 Arisaka that someone started to sporterize. The front tang of the stock has been cut at the rear barrel band and sanded...
(Pic of cut)

The upper handguard was missing and the rear sight was dented. Also, the rear of the stock had a few worm holes and some decent rot, most likely from being stored barrel up in a humid/wet climate similar to Swiss military rifles that were stored the same way in the snow.

Next, let's discover it's history...

 

Discovery

Once I had identified what the rifle was, it was time to begin cleaning the surfaces so I could learn a little bit about it while I begin preservation/restoration efforts.

I wiped down every part with CLP (cleaning, lubricating and protecting) oil and scrubbed with an old toothbrush. I was then able to identify a number of marks on the receiver, barrel, trigger, bolt and mag well. I wrote them down on a piece of paper and began the research.

(Crappy pic of my paper lol)


Once i had written down what I had seen, i began a deep dive into Google for sources for identifying the marks. The biggest resource I found was the first link on my search for "arisaka makers marks".

The most information came from the area around the serial number.

(Pic of Japanese serial number area)

The first symbol looked very similar to a "7" in a circle followed by a 5-digit number and a circle with a half circle and smaller circle inside finally followed by a stretched lowercase "M".

My research concluded, starting with the circles that the rifle was manufactured in the Nagoya Arsenal, obviously late war. The first symbol combined with the arsenal mark showed it to be a Series 10 production from Nagoya.

The Japanese originally serialized their rifles in numerical sequence, but quickly went to a series designation, with most series representing a batch of 99,999 rifles. Series 10 was the next to last batch of 99,999 followed by series 11 (99,999) and the final series, series 12 (1,000 units).

The production number of 78189 puts it very late into that series' production, so combined with the production dates of 1923-1945 for Nagoya Type 99s, puts it roughly around late 1944.

Sadly, the top of the receiver was filed/ground down, reducing the accuracy of the time period.

The final symbol found was the lowercase "M" which apparently represents a designation of "Military Reserves".

So, currently, my best guess based upon research is this is a late 1944 Nagoya Arsenal "Last Ditch" Type 99 built for use by the Japanese citizenry for defense of Japan.

Edit (Aug 21, 2019):
Found a useful chart on arfcom that confirms my research putting my rifle as a late 1944 production. Adding the serial number pits it as most likely November of 1944.



(Hopefully I can fill in more info as I go)

Next is the restoration...

 

Restoration

So the restoration process is beginning. The goalis to stop the progress of the rust. Luckily, there isn't any real pitting, except on the trigger guard and mag well door. The receiver and barrel is just heavy surface rusting.

I have a few gallons of Slip 2000 CLP, so I have begun by stripping the gun down and soaking everything in the Slip 2000.

After speaking for a few hours, I began a light scrub with an old toothbrush and old cloth washcloth. A large portion of the rust was removed. I would estimate 40% of the rust was removed by just scrubbing with these two items and CLP.

Parts after soaking


Current look


The next step will be moving to a soft brass/copper brush and continuing with the CLP soak.

Brass cleaning session was a huge success. I wishi had a brass wire wheel lol. Wore my hands out cleaning it.

Example before

After


Edit (Aug 20 2019):

Dropped the rifle off with my local gunsmith 20 AUG 2019 to get the bore slugged and chamber cast to determine condition and caliber. I should find out the verdict the 28th. We tried a 7.62 round in the muzzle and there was some room, so I'm curious to see the results.

Edit (Aug 28 2019):

Picked up the rifle from the gunsmith. He confirmed the bore diameter at .315 inches and the caliber at 7.7x58mm Japanese. The replacement stock also came in, but it'll need some in-letting to fit the receiver and bottom metal as well as a couple of cracks repaired. I'll also be ordering a reproduction leather sling, muzzle cover and stripper clips. I'll also do some shopping around for a good price on ammo as Norma 7.7mm is going for $37-42/box of 20 rounds.

 

reserved for shooting

 

Subbed!

 

Research information is now added.

 

So cool. Glad your bringing it back to life.

 

t
Thanks for giving it to me. It'll enjoy a renewed life as a fun historic plinker.

 

Subbed

 

Subbed

 

Pretty neat man, subbing for final look at it.

 

Thanks everyone for subbing!

 

Here's the full results of the first cleaning. I would say 70% of the rust is removed now. There are a few small pieces needing some serious deep cleaning, but overall, the rifle is cleaned up. Most of what looks like putting is actually poorly finished metal work.





The lockup on the cleaned bolt assembly is super tight and smooth. Hopefully, it passes the go/no go test when I get the gauges. The stock also has no cracks (minus the rot at the butt) and the receiver sits tightly in the stock. The rifle also passes a full functions check.



Next will be moving to brass/copper cleaning brushes.

 

Looking great!!!

 

Thanks Maner! I can't wait to get that bayonet from you and get it cleaned up. Got any pics of it?

 

Sweet! Looks like it's in great shape.

 

It’s pretty nice for a stabber

 

I had an extra Mosin bayonet I would use to open ammo cans lol

 

Fantastic bluing on this magazine spring. Shines likea mirror after scrubbing, but a deep black/blue when not flashed.