Replace alum. ejector-rod housing on stainless steel Bearcat
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Fox Mike
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You can save some $$ by polishing the aluminum one with some "oooo" steel wool.
The top is the polished one and the shopkeeper is steel.
The top is the polished one and the shopkeeper is steel.
Fox Mike
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That was done years ago and what you see is what it looks like today. Nothing done since.fansnotes said:
fansnotes,
Welcome to the forum.
The housing doesn't get the constant handling of an alum grip frame. So like Fox Mike posted, it will look good for years w/o tarnishing.
Bearcats have two barrel lengths (not including the Shopkeeper): 4 " on earlier NEW Models and 4 1/4" (as shown in Fox Mike's photo) for current production to make them legal in Canada.
Which length do you have?
Some like the look of the housing flush with the end of the barrel. Only one person I knew of used to make a longer length housing to be flush if you have the 4 1/4" barrel and if you like that look. He's a member of this forum but don't remember his alias.
Bowen makes both short and long versions $54.95: http://parts.bowenclassicarms.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4
A cheaper alternative if the short housing is acceptable, is to find (here in classifieds or ebay and Gunbroker), a worn used early old model Bearcat housing which is blued steel. When polished it will match the stainless perfectly and better than the alum.
Welcome to the forum.
The housing doesn't get the constant handling of an alum grip frame. So like Fox Mike posted, it will look good for years w/o tarnishing.
Bearcats have two barrel lengths (not including the Shopkeeper): 4 " on earlier NEW Models and 4 1/4" (as shown in Fox Mike's photo) for current production to make them legal in Canada.
Which length do you have?
Some like the look of the housing flush with the end of the barrel. Only one person I knew of used to make a longer length housing to be flush if you have the 4 1/4" barrel and if you like that look. He's a member of this forum but don't remember his alias.
Bowen makes both short and long versions $54.95: http://parts.bowenclassicarms.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4
A cheaper alternative if the short housing is acceptable, is to find (here in classifieds or ebay and Gunbroker), a worn used early old model Bearcat housing which is blued steel. When polished it will match the stainless perfectly and better than the alum.
Jim,
Thanks for all of that info. Much appreciated!
The idea of polishing a blued ejector-rod housing brings back the wacko exchange I had during a failed negotiation to buy a stainless - or blued - Bearcat. The seller was a Porn - um Pawn store, so this might be understandable:
I was told at first that the piece was stainless, but had been blued (!), then was told that it was actually a blued revolver that had been polished. I suggested the listing description of "stainless" was inaccurate in that case, inasmuch as blued steel doesn't become stainless when it's polished! At that point the vendor insisted it was actually a stainless steel Bearcat. Right!
Isn't that what bluing is all about - to control oxidation? So, if a blued ejector-rod is polished it becomes naked non-stainless steel, and I would expect it to rust. Am I missing something (besides an educational background in metallurgy)?
Thanks for all of that info. Much appreciated!
The idea of polishing a blued ejector-rod housing brings back the wacko exchange I had during a failed negotiation to buy a stainless - or blued - Bearcat. The seller was a Porn - um Pawn store, so this might be understandable:
I was told at first that the piece was stainless, but had been blued (!), then was told that it was actually a blued revolver that had been polished. I suggested the listing description of "stainless" was inaccurate in that case, inasmuch as blued steel doesn't become stainless when it's polished! At that point the vendor insisted it was actually a stainless steel Bearcat. Right!
Isn't that what bluing is all about - to control oxidation? So, if a blued ejector-rod is polished it becomes naked non-stainless steel, and I would expect it to rust. Am I missing something (besides an educational background in metallurgy)?
Yeah that sure seems like you were taking with a wacko!
As counter intuitive as it might seem, polishing burnishes the carbon steel so it actually resists rusting. The smoothed steel eliminates the porous surface and it's difficult for rust to take hold and begin it's corrosive action. Of course it can be made to rust just as stainless can rust. But with normal care one would give a blued finish, polished steel does not rust any easier than bluing.
I polished this frame years ago and is one of my most used handguns; no rust whatsoever. It had rusted thru the bluing when I got it:
Before:
After polishing:
As counter intuitive as it might seem, polishing burnishes the carbon steel so it actually resists rusting. The smoothed steel eliminates the porous surface and it's difficult for rust to take hold and begin it's corrosive action. Of course it can be made to rust just as stainless can rust. But with normal care one would give a blued finish, polished steel does not rust any easier than bluing.
I polished this frame years ago and is one of my most used handguns; no rust whatsoever. It had rusted thru the bluing when I got it:
Before:
After polishing:
