Love the chuckle about the Hobby of building ammo. So often we get into reloading to “Save Money”. Then you chase the groups. Next thing you know you’ve got thousands of dollars of reloading equipment and supplies. However, if you do it smart you most certainly can reload and save money. The savings from loading 410 & low power 30-06/308 loads for the young ones to plunk with certainly has offset quite a bit of the cost. Amazing content as always, thanks for the videos. Cheers from Wa State.
Always a great day when a new Mark video is available. Couple years ago I bought a 1903 Springfield from a work friend that had been in the family since new (1912) - I refinished / restocked it and Mark's videos were instrumental in helping me do it right. I am very comfortable working with metal (been building custom/hot-rod/race cars professionally for about two decades) but wood isn't my thing. Thankfully, due to Mark - the end result not only looks great, but it looks "correct." Thanks for the great content.
I'll never get tired of your content Mark, You're an artist bringin these old gats back to life! I'll never understand letting a gun rot away into nothing for "collectability" sake, They were built to be shot and used and man i'd pay a lot more this one than i would any crusty "true" original model. Keep it up!
The casual way that Mark uses "We" while describing work he's done by himself to include everyone who's watching and learning is a subtle sign of how good of a teacher he is. It must be awesome to apprentice with him.
I took down a Belgian made A5 once, and there will never be another time. Was nearly in tears 😭 by the time I got it back right, but I didn’t harm a thing, and I mean not even a screw. But damn was it tough. There was no TH-cam video to help me either back then.
Nice use of the block plane. "Ridiculous sharp tool"... Tormek? I heard once, "Power tools get you 'close', but wedge and edge finish the job. A plane can remove less than .0005" per swipe. While truing/sharpening the card scraper, find a moldmaker that has some DME 3/4" ejector pin cut offs. The really hard casing is wonderful to true card scrapers. Keep an eye out for a Stanley #140 rabbet block plane. The knife is skewed and makes clean work of hard to handle grain. Thank you for the content and videos. Your descriptions and demonstrations have me chasing tools as I watch. I hope we cross paths someday.
Thanks for this Mark. I have an old Franchi implementation of this recoil system that I’ve been struggling with short cycling. Now I know how I can decrease the friction braking.
I love my Browning A5's so much more than any other shotgun I've ever used. The Ergonomics make it instinctively pointable and the quality really makes them last. I recommend buying a few replacement parts and New springs for these guns to keep them running for a long time. New buttstocks and fore ends are available from Midwest they even have a online store. Thanks for the great video. Y'all enjoy your Browning's!
Thanks Mark, & also Thank You for your service. I saved viewing for this great memorial day your skill and vids have kept me from screwing up some of my guns.
I had a Remington/Browning Pat 1901 when I was much younger. A basket case gift from a summer employer when I was in High School. Spent a lot of time restoring it. Didn't have the knowledge to do what you do then, but it was one of the best shotguns I have ever owned. It would outreach all my friend guns at the time. Made the mistake of not rotating the tube ring when I changed from low base to high base rounds once. Gun went full auto and emptied the tube. Miss that gun. Had to sell it and most of my other guns shortly after getting married as bills were choking us. Replaced some of them in my Senior years. Would love to find another R/B. Thanks for sharing. Always a pleasure to watch a master.
I just wish Mark would do a slow, up close, pan of the gun, with good lighting, so we can all see the beauty of a professional rust blue job, plus a beautiful dark orange red stock refinish which preserves some of the dings and knocks that this gun received in its long history in the family. This is a general wish for all of Mark’s refinish projects.
Kind Thanks Mark! That shotgun is Beautiful! I did a little work on one line it this summer. There was a small missing piece on the main stock that had a checkered point. Being a cabinetmaker and restorer of period antiques with a good supply of period woods, I found a perfect color match. I have a few old checkering tools I resurrected and sharpened for the very small checkered point needed. It turned out fine and the owner was pleased. His Browning was in pretty good shape metal wise but my job was the replacement of the small piece of walnut. This video has taught me much and answered questions that came up as I was repairing. Many Blessings and Good Shootin and Thanks Again for being a Fine Mentor! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
Thanks Mark another great video and as always I learned something I didn't know before about checking one the old gun dad had whoever checked it they didn't follow the contours of the grip as you did with what was there his had only straight checking and a heavy leather but plate about 3/8 of an inch thick. The fore end wasn't original but was correct and un checked.
The timing of this video is great just picked up a Browning light 12 made by FN. now i have an in depth tear down on it. Thanks Mark for the work you do!
Just picked up a 1953 manufactured auto5 last week... Needs a bit of restoration and cleaning, but not bad. Damn this video was timely!!! I'd love to strip off the urethane finish and give it a good oil finish like you show here, but I don't have the right tools to re-checker the furniture... Ç'est la vie...
12:00 ... I've always put a pipe on the inside of wood such as the forend you are working on to keep it from snapping as I put a bit more force from the vice. Now I didn't do it on a firearm piece of wood, so I don't know if the channel is even from front-to-back, but when working on U-shaped wood parts, putting a pipe that fits exactly in the channel keeps it from crushing or cracking. It allows more support for when the vice is holding the wood in place. You still don't crank down on the vice, but it does let you use more force without breaking the wood.
That type of iorn was also used in the covering of aircraft back when they had fabric coverd wings and fuselage.I have only done a fabric job twice since learning it in Airframe and powerplant school years ago.
Back around 2015 I bought a 1920's as close as I could tell from what serial # records there are A5. It has a very nicely figured stock and no forend crack. But it does have a Cutts compensator on it. So I got it for all of $150. After I did my research on the friction rings I've always thought it was a really soft shooting gun when set up correctly. As the owner of a Winchester 1911, Remington 48, and a Remington model 8 and 81 I don't mind the long recoil shuffle. I always found it interesting how Browning used such thin screw slots because he didn't believe the average person was smart enough to work on his design. Which very well may have been true at the time and even now. According to the Browing biography FN hired the wives and daughters of the male employees to engrave the A5's by hand right up until production at FN stopped. Therefore no two engraved A5's are exactly the same.
I had a 1930's FN A-5 12 Ga. with a poly choke for years. An absolutely wonderful gun to hunt dove with, In the end I had to sell it to a collector so that it would be better maintained, I still love the A-5 to this day.
I recently found an old FN-manufactured Browning A5 16 Gauge, and yes, star-crimped shells won't eject! Thank you for that comment, putting me on the right path. However, I can't find any online resource for paper shells or maybe trimming plastic shells. Any info would be appreciated!
@@Milkmans_Son Sorry, don't know, have only owned the old 16. I would imagine though that the old FNs would be chamber length sensitive. The guy I bought it from said it would only cycle with paper cased roll crimped 65mm shells. I've loaded hundreds of plastic case 65mm shells with 30gm loads and it feeds and ejects them fine. Used a 16g Lee Loader and put some shims under the shell holders to make up for the reduced shell length.
Those Old 2 9/16" chamber's will give you problems with New shells. There's Smiths who cut the chamber to 2 ¾" and combined with New springs solves the problems.
I had to start rolling my own for an OG Schmidt-Rubin in 7.5x53.5. Now if the Powder companies would go back to making the Cowboy Shooting powders, I could stock up. Trail Boss or Tin Star. Scary thing is GP11 fits (my first cases were GP11 surplus, with the bullets pulled and powder replaced with TB) and will blow them up eventually.
I prefer the Remington model 11 myself. I scored one in 16ga about 15 years ago and with new springs she's been running like a champ. None of the Savage 720's I've seen have been machined as nicely as the Remingtons or Browning's.
Seems Truman-era ammo doesn't work in a Teddy Roosevelt-era shot gun. Need some era-specific hand loads. Only then 'speak softly and carry a big boomstick!' 😄 Great video as always Mark - so much knowledge and experience from one segment! Cheers and Dobri Dan!
Over 55 years ago, I picked up a Savage or Stevens of this type. Being in my teens, I thought more power was better- magnum loads. No idea how to set up the friction brake, so it beat the living daylights out of me.
Outstanding!! I love Auto 5 Shotguns I have a FN 16 ga made in 1930 well used but loved. It is still 2 9/16 chambered. You can purchase 2 9/16” ammo from BOSS shot shells. Keep them coming how about a browning double automatic.
I second the Browning Double Auto love. I couldn't afford an auto 5 in high school so I bought a cheap Double Auto in a pawn shop. It was my bird gun for over 20 years. I found myself grabbing it even when I owned "better" shotguns. As for the shell issue, I started buying primed hulls and loading my own. All you need is a cheap drill press and a scale, and you can build whatever you want for pennies on the dollar. After a bit of practice, I can reload a box of shells in 20 min.
I love the whiting method! Never tried but will definitely give it a shot in the future. Have you ever had luck with soaking in acetone for heavy oil staining? I've had success with it but was wondering your thoughts on it.
I submerge the head of bad stocks to the middle of the checkering for a few days . The pores will be totally open and the wood bleached, so this is only for the hard cases. But it does work quite well
Great video Mark! I have a 1916 Remington Model 11-A I restored however I am not a professional gunsmith and I have not finished the stock work yet. It does have the suicide safety and the internal parts were so caked up with crud, I had to use dental pics to clean them. I should have watched this video before I repaired the original forestock. It had a triangular wedge broken off on both sides where the pins were placed. Anyway, your videos are very educational. Maybe you could demonstrate how to remove the old rivet for the asbestos buffer in the back of the receiver.
Look back at Mark's Winchester Model 71 video in regards to checkering. Probably the best and most concise video I've seen in regards to woodwork. I'm sure the FN would be very much the same....
Love the chuckle about the Hobby of building ammo. So often we get into reloading to “Save Money”. Then you chase the groups. Next thing you know you’ve got thousands of dollars of reloading equipment and supplies. However, if you do it smart you most certainly can reload and save money. The savings from loading 410 & low power 30-06/308 loads for the young ones to plunk with certainly has offset quite a bit of the cost. Amazing content as always, thanks for the videos. Cheers from Wa State.
No kidding. Had a french Darne double I had to make shells for. I very much appreciated his chuckle
Stop! I don’t like thinking about it!!! Haha
Best way to start a Sunday morning is to have a nice hot cup of tea and Mark Novak's art to go with it! Outstanding!
Now THAT is what proper age 'patina" looks like, good maintenance and typical proper repairs done over the years.
Ty[ical?
@@D5quared91 "typical" with a mistype, that'd be my guess.
That was the best way to set up the friction rings I have seen. The first gun I bought with my money was a A5 light twelve I paid $200 for in 1971.
Always a great day when a new Mark video is available. Couple years ago I bought a 1903 Springfield from a work friend that had been in the family since new (1912) - I refinished / restocked it and Mark's videos were instrumental in helping me do it right. I am very comfortable working with metal (been building custom/hot-rod/race cars professionally for about two decades) but wood isn't my thing. Thankfully, due to Mark - the end result not only looks great, but it looks "correct." Thanks for the great content.
Always a pleasure to watch a craftsman at work. Thank you, sir.
I just picked up a 1954 FN manufactured Auto 5 last week, perfect timing for this video to drop!
I'll never get tired of your content Mark, You're an artist bringin these old gats back to life!
I'll never understand letting a gun rot away into nothing for "collectability" sake, They were built to be shot and used and man i'd pay a lot more this one than i would any crusty "true" original model.
Keep it up!
Spoke too soon! The old oil and whiting method before dye-pen testing. Learned about that in my early NDT days. That was cool!
The casual way that Mark uses "We" while describing work he's done by himself to include everyone who's watching and learning is a subtle sign of how good of a teacher he is. It must be awesome to apprentice with him.
Sir, you are a true craftsman. Such a beautiful natural Finish on the gun.
Not going to be able to hide the repair. So stack the deck in your favor. Brilliant!!!
I took down a Belgian made A5 once, and there will never be another time. Was nearly in tears 😭 by the time I got it back right, but I didn’t harm a thing, and I mean not even a screw. But damn was it tough. There was no TH-cam video to help me either back then.
A true craftsman. If you livestreamed your shop, I'd spend way more time watching it than I should.
Not enough internet, yet.
Your truly a master of your trade. The small bits I learn from watching are worth their weight in gold.
Nice use of the block plane. "Ridiculous sharp tool"... Tormek? I heard once, "Power tools get you 'close', but wedge and edge finish the job. A plane can remove less than .0005" per swipe.
While truing/sharpening the card scraper, find a moldmaker that has some DME 3/4" ejector pin cut offs. The really hard casing is wonderful to true card scrapers.
Keep an eye out for a Stanley #140 rabbet block plane. The knife is skewed and makes clean work of hard to handle grain.
Thank you for the content and videos.
Your descriptions and demonstrations have me chasing tools as I watch. I hope we cross paths someday.
Always a pleasure watching, listening and learning, much appreciation.
Thanks for this Mark. I have an old Franchi implementation of this recoil system that I’ve been struggling with short cycling. Now I know how I can decrease the friction braking.
I love my Browning A5's so much more than any other shotgun I've ever used. The Ergonomics make it instinctively pointable and the quality really makes them last. I recommend buying a few replacement parts and New springs for these guns to keep them running for a long time. New buttstocks and fore ends are available from Midwest they even have a online store. Thanks for the great video. Y'all enjoy your Browning's!
Thanks Mark, & also Thank You for your service. I saved viewing for this great memorial day your skill and vids have kept me from screwing up some of my guns.
Glad to be of service
Gun came out beautifully - there's something really satisfying about seeing you bring them back to life.
I had a Remington/Browning Pat 1901 when I was much younger. A basket case gift from a summer employer when I was in High School. Spent a lot of time restoring it. Didn't have the knowledge to do what you do then, but it was one of the best shotguns I have ever owned. It would outreach all my friend guns at the time. Made the mistake of not rotating the tube ring when I changed from low base to high base rounds once. Gun went full auto and emptied the tube. Miss that gun. Had to sell it and most of my other guns shortly after getting married as bills were choking us. Replaced some of them in my Senior years. Would love to find another R/B. Thanks for sharing. Always a pleasure to watch a master.
As a lover of the Auto 5 you have kept my collection looking beautiful and functional. Thank you Sir.
Love the longer video Mark, great job as always.
I just wish Mark would do a slow, up close, pan of the gun, with good lighting, so we can all see the beauty of a professional rust blue job, plus a beautiful dark orange red stock refinish which preserves some of the dings and knocks that this gun received in its long history in the family. This is a general wish for all of Mark’s refinish projects.
I truly enjoy watching you perform miracles on old abused wood.
Just Like the machinery on a BOOMER (USBN) Near Flawless!
Nice work again Mark! Always a pleasure to watch you do your magic.
That was a great episode and very enjoyable thank you for sharing this with us six stars sir
Mark, I could sat all day and watch you work on gun, need to make more videos. 😊😊😊😊
Kind Thanks Mark! That shotgun is Beautiful! I did a little work on one line it this summer. There was a small missing piece on the main stock that had a checkered point. Being a cabinetmaker and restorer of period antiques with a good supply of period woods, I found a perfect color match. I have a few old checkering tools I resurrected and sharpened for the very small checkered point needed. It turned out fine and the owner was pleased. His Browning was in pretty good shape metal wise but my job was the replacement of the small piece of walnut. This video has taught me much and answered questions that came up as I was repairing. Many Blessings and Good Shootin and Thanks Again for being a Fine Mentor! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
Thank you for another wonderful video. A great job Mark. 👏
Love watching your videos, a true professional with a great sense of humour amazing.
Thanks Mark another great video and as always I learned something I didn't know before about checking one the old gun dad had whoever checked it they didn't follow the contours of the grip as you did with what was there his had only straight checking and a heavy leather but plate about 3/8 of an inch thick. The fore end wasn't original but was correct and un checked.
Excellent presentation !!!
Many of these 16 gauge FN’s have survived !!!
The original rust blue turned out very nice !!!
Awesome video ! 👌🏻👍🏻
Had a ton of fun watching this.
I've got a Light Twelve made in the 50s, with a super cool "FN Browing Automatic" bakelite butt plate.
Always a pleasure. Exceptional craftsmanship and artistry, Sir. Thank you for sharing, again.
I used the scraping technique on an old stock this weekend that needed some love. Saved me a bunch of sandpaper. Thanks Mark
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful firearm
The timing of this video is great just picked up a Browning light 12 made by FN. now i have an in depth tear down on it. Thanks Mark for the work you do!
Thanks for demonstrating that restoring an old gun is not sandpaper, tru oil, and cold blue.
Thanks. That needed to be said.
Live long and prosper,great watching .
1:17:55 Nothing ugly about rolling your own ammo.
Thanks for the lesson. Very enjoyable.
Loved it - Craftmanship!
Just picked up a 1953 manufactured auto5 last week...
Needs a bit of restoration and cleaning, but not bad.
Damn this video was timely!!!
I'd love to strip off the urethane finish and give it a good oil finish like you show here, but I don't have the right tools to re-checker the furniture...
Ç'est la vie...
Awesome job Mark. As always! God Bless
I have an old winchester that beats me to hell. You may have just saved my shoulder . Time to dig into it. Thanks
12:00 ... I've always put a pipe on the inside of wood such as the forend you are working on to keep it from snapping as I put a bit more force from the vice. Now I didn't do it on a firearm piece of wood, so I don't know if the channel is even from front-to-back, but when working on U-shaped wood parts, putting a pipe that fits exactly in the channel keeps it from crushing or cracking. It allows more support for when the vice is holding the wood in place. You still don't crank down on the vice, but it does let you use more force without breaking the wood.
Thank You for sharing Your knowledge and efforts Mark. Best Wishes to You, Your Family and Friends.
The pleasure was all mine. Thanks for sharing !
will always love your content ty for continuing to provide such wonderful content.
Thanks once again Mark. Maybe have a demo on hand loading shells from the prespecitive of a Smith, as well as how to make checkering tools.
You're an absolute national treasure, Mark.
That is some amazing work.
That type of iorn was also used in the covering of aircraft back when they had fabric coverd wings and fuselage.I have only done a fabric job twice since learning it in Airframe and powerplant school years ago.
Thank you Mark
Thank you for sharing your expertise
Thanks Mark. Very informative
Always a pleasure to watch Mark.
That turned out beautiful!
thank you Mark for the information.
Back around 2015 I bought a 1920's as close as I could tell from what serial # records there are A5. It has a very nicely figured stock and no forend crack. But it does have a Cutts compensator on it. So I got it for all of $150. After I did my research on the friction rings I've always thought it was a really soft shooting gun when set up correctly. As the owner of a Winchester 1911, Remington 48, and a Remington model 8 and 81 I don't mind the long recoil shuffle. I always found it interesting how Browning used such thin screw slots because he didn't believe the average person was smart enough to work on his design. Which very well may have been true at the time and even now. According to the Browing biography FN hired the wives and daughters of the male employees to engrave the A5's by hand right up until production at FN stopped. Therefore no two engraved A5's are exactly the same.
Excellence video !
A true craftsman 🍺🍺
Wish I could come over there and be an apprentice at your shop. I like your work.
Oh No! A Submariner using steel wool... Another great job Mark.
Once again I've picked up another trick, many thanks.
I really enjoyed this one Mark. 🇺🇸👍
Was a pleasure watching, thanks Mark.
Another entertaining and informative episode. Keep up the great work!
"Gelatinous Mass of Goo Gobery" gotta love it !
Another excellent video.
OK, I have only been seconds into this video but what a great word! Tawilikers! lol, got to love it!
"How sharp should your woodworking tools be?"
"Sharp enough to cut _spacetime_ with no effort."
That was fun to learn thank you mark awesome beautiful work
I truly love your content Mark!!!
I have the Remington model 11 version. It was my first shotgun. They are sweet shooters.
Acetone and whiting has worked pretty well for me.
I had a 1930's FN A-5 12 Ga. with a poly choke for years. An absolutely wonderful gun to hunt dove with, In the end I had to sell it to a collector so that it would be better maintained, I still love the A-5 to this day.
I recently found an old FN-manufactured Browning A5 16 Gauge, and yes, star-crimped shells won't eject! Thank you for that comment, putting me on the right path. However, I can't find any online resource for paper shells or maybe trimming plastic shells. Any info would be appreciated!
I have one too, 1924 vintage. I've found it's shell length rather than star crimp that is crucial. 65mm is good, 67mm not good.
@@rolandbretonmarch2334 Is this issue limited to the 16ga?
@@Milkmans_Son Sorry, don't know, have only owned the old 16. I would imagine though that the old FNs would be chamber length sensitive. The guy I bought it from said it would only cycle with paper cased roll crimped 65mm shells. I've loaded hundreds of plastic case 65mm shells with 30gm loads and it feeds and ejects them fine. Used a 16g Lee Loader and put some shims under the shell holders to make up for the reduced shell length.
Those Old 2 9/16" chamber's will give you problems with New shells. There's Smiths who cut the chamber to 2 ¾" and combined with New springs solves the problems.
I had to start rolling my own for an OG Schmidt-Rubin in 7.5x53.5. Now if the Powder companies would go back to making the Cowboy Shooting powders, I could stock up. Trail Boss or Tin Star.
Scary thing is GP11 fits (my first cases were GP11 surplus, with the bullets pulled and powder replaced with TB) and will blow them up eventually.
Still one of the best shotguns ever made works good carries easy nice n lite and swings good
Please discuss making checkering tool !
Amazing sound effects!
Audience question, not for Mark. Which licenced production variant do people like more, the Model 11 or the 720?
720s are cheaper that what I'm looking to pick up
Stevens 720 have a nifty muzzle break IMHO.
@@joelpeterson8424 I don't remember a brake as a stock item, but the Lyman Cutts Compensator was popular back then.
I prefer the Remington model 11 myself. I scored one in 16ga about 15 years ago and with new springs she's been running like a champ. None of the Savage 720's I've seen have been machined as nicely as the Remingtons or Browning's.
@@celmer6 that is good to keep in mind 👍
Seems Truman-era ammo doesn't work in a Teddy Roosevelt-era shot gun. Need some era-specific hand loads. Only then 'speak softly and carry a big boomstick!' 😄
Great video as always Mark - so much knowledge and experience from one segment! Cheers and Dobri Dan!
The Auto 5, the shotgun of choice for the British Army for jungle warfare in the 1950’s.
Over 55 years ago, I picked up a Savage or Stevens of this type. Being in my teens, I thought more power was better- magnum loads. No idea how to set up the friction brake, so it beat the living daylights out of me.
Experience comes from making bad decisions.
Love these videos, though they usually reignite the buying old guns itch.
Beautiful!
Thank you for these videos, these are great.
New Browning Auto-5s are a Benelli Inertia recoil action in a 'retro' outer. 😕
I've shot an auto 5 and the primary memory i have of it isn't the recoil but the trigger reset damn near breaking my finger. Still a cool piece.
I owned a proper FN herstal Auto 5 and a Japanese made Auto 5.
Both very impressive
Outstanding!! I love Auto 5 Shotguns I have a FN 16 ga made in 1930 well used but loved. It is still 2 9/16 chambered. You can purchase 2 9/16” ammo from BOSS shot shells. Keep them coming how about a browning double automatic.
I second the Browning Double Auto love. I couldn't afford an auto 5 in high school so I bought a cheap Double Auto in a pawn shop. It was my bird gun for over 20 years. I found myself grabbing it even when I owned "better" shotguns.
As for the shell issue, I started buying primed hulls and loading my own. All you need is a cheap drill press and a scale, and you can build whatever you want for pennies on the dollar. After a bit of practice, I can reload a box of shells in 20 min.
I have a 1932 Belgian Auto 5 and the blue is no where near as nice as that one. Be proud Mark!!
I love the whiting method! Never tried but will definitely give it a shot in the future. Have you ever had luck with soaking in acetone for heavy oil staining? I've had success with it but was wondering your thoughts on it.
I submerge the head of bad stocks to the middle of the checkering for a few days . The pores will be totally open and the wood bleached, so this is only for the hard cases. But it does work quite well
indispensable video for auto 5 owners !
Great video Mark! I have a 1916 Remington Model 11-A I restored however I am not a professional gunsmith and I have not finished the stock work yet. It does have the suicide safety and the internal parts were so caked up with crud, I had to use dental pics to clean them. I should have watched this video before I repaired the original forestock. It had a triangular wedge broken off on both sides where the pins were placed. Anyway, your videos are very educational. Maybe you could demonstrate how to remove the old rivet for the asbestos buffer in the back of the receiver.
Would love to see a short on how you recheckered the fore end.
Look back at Mark's Winchester Model 71 video in regards to checkering. Probably the best and most concise video I've seen in regards to woodwork. I'm sure the FN would be very much the same....
Mark! epic flinch, it reminds me of... me. 0~o Always love to see anything on the venerable Browning A5. ^~^