CPR For the Stevens Favorite 1915 Rifle

The Stevens Favorite rifle is a neat little rifle that can be found for not a lot of money. The problem that many of them have is that most of them have suffered from neglect and lots of use over the years. The good news is that most of the parts needed for CPR on these rifles are available and the barrels can be relined.

For this project we obtained a Stevens Favorite 1915 that still had pretty nice original finish and wood but a badly pitted bore, a worn extractor, and a couple of worn pins in the linkage. The Extractor and pins were ordered from Jack First Inc. The Barell Liner, drill bit, and Acraglas came from Brownell’s.

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Installing Extractor and Pins

The extractor was installed, and it fit without having to do any fitting, Linkage pins are just a matter of screwing the worn ones out and the new ones in.

Drilling the Barrel

To drill the barrel for the new liner, we used a lathe with the drill bit chucked up in it. The barrel could be drilled with a hand drill, since the bit is piloted to keep it centered up. The bit is not long enough to drill the entire length of the barrel, so you have to drill from one end and then turn the barrel around and drill from the other end. With the pilot on the end of the bit, meeting in the middle and having the hole straight is not a problem. Be sure to use cutting oil and back the bit out and clean out the flutes frequently. The bit gets loaded up with cuttings as the depth increases.

Installing the Liner In to the Barrel

Once the Barrel is drilled it can be cleaned with acetone and patches. The barrel needs to be cleaned of all oil and cuttings so that the epoxy will stick. Acraglas, which is a Brownell’s product is what we used to bond the liner to the barrel. Acraglas is a 2-part product that is used for a variety of gunsmithing jobs. It comes with the 2-part epoxy, black and brown dye, release agent, and instructions. Once the barrel is clean and dry, the muzzle and breach need to be coated with release agent so that the Acraglas doesn’t stick to the outside of the barrel. Don’t let any of the release agent get inside the barrel, just apply it to the outside where you don’t want the Accra Glass to stick. After the release agent is dry the barrel can be wrapped with electrical tape to keep it from accumulating any drips of Acraglas. A small amount of modeling clay can be used to seal the inside of the liner so that no epoxy gets in the bore. The next step is to mix the Acraglas according to the directions that come with it. The only real issue with this step is measuring the resin and hardener. We used a medicine cup that has the graduations marked on the side of it. Now, the liner and barrel are ready to be put together. begin by coating the entire Liner with the Acraglas that has just been mixed. Start the coated liner into the barrel and use a mixing stick to make sure that the Acraglas is completely around the liner as it is inserted into the barrel. When the liner is inserted far enough that each end sticks out of the barrel close to equal distance on both ends, lay the barrel on its side somewhere for about 24 Hrs. to let the Acraglas harden.

After everything has had a chance to harden, the barrel can be put back in the lath and the ends of the liner cut off and the muzzle crowned.

Chambering the Barrel

After the liner has been cut to length, the chamber has to be cut with a chambering reamer. Reamers can be had from a few different sources. Check online for chambering reamers. Since this rifle is to be a 22 long rifle, that is the chambering reamer that we procured and used. The reamers are piloted, so once any little burs are removed so that the pilot can enter freely, the reamer is inserted into the barrel and turned to cut the chamber. Use plenty of cutting oil and clean the reamer frequently. A lot of pressure is not required to cut. This step will take a little bit of time and when you get close to being finished, take care to not cut too deep. A GO gauge should be used frequently to check the depth of your chamber as you get close to the end. After the chamber is cut, the extractor slot must be cut on the bottom of the liner. We cut the slot with a rotary tool with a small stone to get most of the material removed. Care must be used to keep from going too deep. To finish the slot, a small square needle file was used. A triangle file was used to clean up the corners.

This is a fun project and gives a shot out pitted rifle a brand new bore that should be good for many more hours of shooting fun. There are not many new rifles that are comparable to the style and nostalgia of rifles like the Stevens Favorite. Having completed CPR on this rifle and giving it new life again, I am going to have to get busy and find a tang sight to mount on it. That should complete the project and make it ready for squirrels!

Warning

Since Craig’s Outdoor Sports has no control of who may use this information it is imperative that anyone who does not have the skills, knowledge, and attention to detail not undertake this or similar projects. Failure to have everything just right can result in serious injury or death.