u/CROutdoor

Information in the pictures and typed here in the write-up is generally the same. I just wanted it typed out so everything is searchable.

If you would like to see this information presented in a video demonstration with live-fire examples, please use the link at the end of the write-up.

Pic 1:

Title slide with DIY adapters/spacers installed. Keep reading for tube specs.

Pic 2:

Prior to 2016, Mossberg 590 & 590A1 shotguns with an 18.5” barrel had a 5 round solid magazine tube. These guns were “6-shot” capable with a 5+1 capacity (5 rounds in the magazine tube. 1 in the chamber).

Pic 3:

In 2016, Mossberg introduced “7-shot” capable 590 and 590A1 shotguns. These guns still had the 5 round solid magazine tube but now came with a +1 magazine tube extension.

These guns are identical to the pre-2016 guns. Only difference is a mag extension vs cap. Guns came from factory in this configuration.

Pic 4 & 5:

Mossberg 835 shotguns used the same 5-round solid magazine tube that is found on the 590 and 5901 at this time.

Since they used the same magazine tube, the location of the barrel forend lug on the 835, 590, and 590A1 is located in the same place on all these barrels.

So, unless special circumstances apply, Mossberg 835 barrels will fit on these 590 and 590A1 shotguns perfectly.

Pic 6 & 7:

Around 2018, Mossberg “evolves” the 18.5" 590 and 590A1 to have a solid, one piece, 6-round magazine tube. This retains the 6+1 capacity without the need for an extension. This evolution moves the barrel forend lug forward almost two inches meaning that 835 barrels, and older 590 and 590A1 barrels will no longer properly fit on these guns.

Pic 8:

835 barrels, as well as older 590, 590A1 barrels will fit on this new 6-round magazine tube if the gap between the forend lug and the magazine tube cap is filled. That gap can be filled with a 1" diameter steel or aluminum pipe cut to 1-13/16" which is 1.812 inches or 46mm. 1" black iron or galvanized steel pipe can be found at most hardware stores. 1" schedule 40 Aluminum pipe can be found at most metal supply shops or online. 

Pic 9 & 10:

590 and 590A1 shotguns with a barrel length of 20” are “9-shot” capable with an 8+1 capacity. They have a solid, 8-round magazine tube. The barrel forend lugs from an 835 to this variant of a 590 & 590A1 are much farther apart leaving about a 5-inch gap between the barrel forend lug and the magazine tube cap.

Pic 11:

835 barrels will fit on this 8-round magazine tube if the gap between the forend lug and the magazine tube cap is filled. That gap can be filled with a 1" diameter steel or aluminum pipe cut to 5-3/8" which is 5.375 inches or 136.5mm.

1" black iron or galvanized steel pipe can be found at most hardware stores. 1" schedule 40 Aluminum pipe can be found at most metal supply shops or online. 

Pic 12:

Many types of 1" diameter pipe cut to the right length will fill the needed gap. From PVC, to steels, to aluminum.

I don’t recommend PVC. It lacks durability with recoil and degrades under a hot barrel.

Steel is readily available, but can be heavy when using the longer pieces. Aluminum is the best overall option with a great strength to weight ratio.

Pic 13:

Most, if not all Mossberg 835s are chambered for, and designed to use up to 3.5” shells, meaning that it can properly cycle and safely shoot 3.5”, 3” and 2.75” shells.

590 and 590A1s are chambered for, and designed to use up to 3” shells meaning that it can properly cycle and safely shoot 3” and 2.75” shells.

When you put an 835 barrel that is chambered for up to 3.5” shells on a 590/590A1 receiver that was designed to accommodate up to only 3” shells, it will not cycle 3.5” shells properly.

There is a Failure to Feed 99.99% of the time. If the 3.5” shell is forced into the chamber and fired, there is a Failure to Eject 100% of the time.

Pic 14 & 15:

Factory & aftermarket magazine tube caps and extensions have ridges on them that interact with the detent in the barrel forend lug. This keeps your cap/extension from walking loose which keeps your barrel securely attached and in the correct position.

Smooth spacers/adapters don’t interact with the ridges or detents so it doesn’t prevent your cap/extension from walking loose. This may be remedied with lock washers, thread locker, tape, routine tightening etc.

My development on this project stopped here because machining these spacers with ridges stopped being worth my time, energy, and money. Maybe someone else will bring one to market someday, but for now, I’m ok with using a simple 1" steel or aluminum pipe to put any Mossberg 835 barrel on virtually all Mossberg 590 and 59A1s. 

Pic 16:

The Mossberg user manual says, “835® Models are designed for factory loaded 12 gauge 2-3/4”, 3”, and 3-1/2”shotshells. Do not fire slugs of any type (single projectile ammunition) through the overbored 835® Accu-Mag™ barrel. This barrel is designed to shoot lead or steel pellet shot loads only. Use only 835® barrels designated specifically for slug shooting.”

Pic 17:

If you would like to see all of this information presented in a video demonstration with live-fire examples, here is the link to that video:

https://youtu.be/lxFybdC7Ygs?si=kobOpVHeTOzHXYVZ

Thanks!

I’m not a chemist and can’t explain everything about this process, but this has worked for me a few times and I wanted to share. Your results may vary.

This method isn’t really suited for physically large items nor large production numbers but for smaller parts and small batches.

If you’d like to see this process as a video demonstration to further understand the steps, there is a video link is at the bottom.   

 

To hot blue steel, you basically just need two salts/chemicals.

Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) which can be found in 100% lye drain cleaner. I got my bottle at Wal-Mart, but there are various brands of this available at different stores and online. 

You’ll also need a nitrate of some sort. The most commercially available seems to be sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate.

I picked up a bottle of Gordon’s Stump Remover from Tractor Supply and the SDS says it contains 99-100% Potassium Nitrate.

There’s different formulations out there so be sure which one you have. There’s also a few different brands that have historically offered a potassium nitrate stump remover (Spectracide, Gordon’s, Hi Yield) but they seem to be changing their formulas or being discontinued.  

 

These two salts will go into water in certain ratios to then boil the parts in.

Recipes and ratios are usually by weight, not volume, but since my numbers are so low, there isn’t much of a difference between the two.

To start, you need enough water to sufficiently cover the parts in an iron, steel, or stainless pot. I used a cheap stainless pot I bought at a second-hand store.

I’ll be using 32floz of water which weighs 35oz. In my opinion, that’s not enough of a difference to matter.

Whatever quantity of water you use, cut that number in half. That half number is how much sodium hydroxide or lye you will use.

32/2 =16oz of sodium hydroxide (lye)

Whatever quantity of lye you use, take ten percent of that number and that is how much nitrate you will use.

16.0oz multiplied by .10 equals 1.6oz of nitrate.  

Or you can just move the decimal one place to the left… 16.0 move decimal one place to the left = 1.6oz of nitrate.

Here are some examples using metric system numbers by weight.

1000g of water. Divide that in half and you get…

500g of sodium hydroxide (lye). Multiply that by .10 or move the decimal one place to the left and you get… 

50g of nitrate.

Another way to word this recipe is that the ratio is 1:10:20.

1 part Nitrate : 10 parts Sodium Hydroxide (lye) : 20 parts Water. 

Hopefully that all makes sense.

This recipe, without other ingredients and chemistry, is pretty much a one-time use mixture, but full transparency, I haven’t tried using the same mixture multiple times.  

 

Here’s the process I use.

Sand/polish steel parts to desired finish.

String the parts up with wire which aids in not touching them again as to not contaminate them with oils on your hands.

Degrease parts THOROUGHLY. I like acetone but any degreaser works.  

Additionally, you can rinse the part(s) by dipping them in a tank of fresh water or flushing them with running water. 

Don protective equipment. I definitely recommend gloves, and eye protection. Others recommend maybe wanting some sleeves for splatter, a mask or even a respirator depending on ventilation or wind conditions.

Slowly add your pre measured amount of sodium Hydroxide (Lye) to room temp water. I like to stir as I go. Break up any large clumps before adding to water as they can react a little more violently.  

Chemical reaction will begin to heat water on its own and produce a gas

Slowly add and stir the Nitrate to the same water.

Stir until dissolved.

May have undissolved particulate which doesn’t hurt anything but swipe to the side with a coffee filter or something if desired.  

Bring mixture up to a rolling boil and boil the part(s) for ~30min. Recipes say around 250*F. I just set my hot plate to 260*F and let it ride for 30min.

You’ll want to avoid large or flat portions of your parts sitting on the bottom or sides of tank. 

If enough water boils out to uncover your parts, SLOWLY add enough water to cover them again. I say slowly because the reaction of adding water to this boiling mixture can be violent.

After boiling for about 30min, rinse part(s) by dipping them in a tank of fresh water or flushing them with running water.

You can rub excess/bluing buildup off the parts while rinsing.   

(Optional neutralizing) If parts had small crevices, pin holes, or screw holes it’s recommended to neutralize them in a solution of any concentration of room temperature water and baking soda for about 5min.

This helps to neutralize any salts that might be hiding in those hard-to-reach spots.

I like to dry the parts with a torch or heat gun to flash off any moisture in the pores of the metal.

Soak or liberally apply a water displacing oil. I like using just plain mineral oil, but I’ve seen people use non detergent oil, used motor oil, or kerosene.

Let them sit or soak in the oil for 12-24 hours.

While those are sitting/soaking is a good time to clean up the mess that is hot salts bluing. I’ll wipe down stuff with a dry rag, then multiple wet rags rinsing between wipes.

As for disposing of the solution. I just go around pouring an ever so small amount on weeds around the garden.

After parts have sat or soaked in oil for the time frame, wipe off the excess.

And that's it!

There's always going to be variable for the process such as the type of steels being blued the tank, different metal prep, contamination levels etc. so your results may vary.

Thanks for reading and hope this may help someone if needed or aid in further experimentation. Be safe.

Here’s the video if you prefer that format.

https://youtu.be/qKcGkSimxe8?si=nGMb7f2xeIBIhfvI

 

I picked up this Chinese Type 56 Carbine a while back and I assume wherever it came from they were trying to do a budget/tacticool “AK at home” thing because it had one of those black composite folding stocks from The Combat Exchange, a Barska scope mounted to their dust cover that has the rails welded on. It was also missing the original internal magazine and had a mis-matched serial number on the trigger assembly. Luckily, I had spare parts on hand (wood stock, 10 round internal mag, and a dust cover) for a quick “un-bubbaing” as soon as I got it home.  

Upon further inspection I noticed the arsenal stamp and went to the internet. I’ve tried to research an oval arsenal 6609 but can’t find much. Some infographics online show a triangle /6609\ but never an oval (6609) 

This website https://chinesesks.weebly.com/arsenal-stamps.html claims to “the largest collection of known arsenal stamps to date, and it will be updated accordingly.” It also says “If you have something not currently shown, please email me.” Well, an oval 6609 isn’t shown so I sent an email and haven’t received a reply. Not sure if admin is still actively engaged or not.

I also found an SKS Files forum post debating whether it was stamped (SSC9) or a poorly stamped (6603), or truly is an oval (6609). Here is that post…

Looking for info/SSC9 arsenal stamp (poorly stamped 6603)

Mine is clearly an oval (6609) which doesn’t seem to have much info out there. If anyone here has any info/input I would really appreciate it.

A short, slow motion video showing the loading and operation of the Winchester Model 1911 SL Shotgun. This is a small segment to a longer video testing the suitability of modern production replacement parts.

This particular video is showcasing a small section of 1" PVC where the barrel buffers would normally go. I also tested 3D printed barrel buffers, and an after market secondary recoil spring that isn't made specifically for the Model 1911 but ended up fitting quite nicely.

In the full length video I also test bolt return springs from Jack First Gun Parts and Wolff Springs which are both solid options. I also test a modern bolt buffer from CFN Parts.

All components have pros and cons but as far as felt recoil is concerned, it seems to be more ammo dependent than anything else.

If you're looking for modern replacement parts or how to install them, here's the link to the full test and evaluation video...

https://youtu.be/E_6ta-oYFuo?si=TbJNJ_t8NSpxMwFg