Mauser Central your Restoring and Sporterizing Resource

Removal of Crests, Markings and Pitting
Information and pictures provided by - Z1R at the MFRC forum

For rings that I just want to clean up or that haven't been scrubbed I use a barrel stub that I clamp in a vice. Then I use one of those combination stones (Crystalon on one side/ India on the other) and use the coarse side to remove pits etc. You could use this method to remove remainder of your crest. Get the 2" wide stone by 8" long. Then, In a side to side motion, allowing the stone to ride flat on the ring rock it back and forth in a hack sawing motion. Rotate the receiver a little every few minutes to evenly remove material. Don't concentrate on one area or you'll end up with a flat spot. Use the rough side until the crest is gone then clean off everything to remove the coarse grit and use the other side to get a nice finish. You must be aware of the serial #. It is possible to remove it if you remove too much metal.

Three VZ actions. The one on the bottom had a partial crest that has been removed. The one in the middle will soon look like the one on the bottom. The one on the Top has only had the charging hump partially removed in the Jig.

This pic shows the Jig I use for milling. I make my passes with and endmill from front to rear or rear to front along the ring. I make a pass (.001) and then rotate the receiver a smidgen. I'll repeat the process again once the entire ring has been covered. I'll do this until all remnants of the old crest are gone. this usually takes less than .005". An indexing table or rotary table would be easier but I don't have one. This will leave a series of very small longitudinal flats that the stones will eliminate later. As you can see I also use it to polish in. A barrel stub held in a vice is also good for holding your work because it allows you to get to the top of the left rail easily.

This pic shows how I hold the stone for polishing. I finish off with stones (Crystalon on one side/ India on the other) to keep a nice flat appearance to the front ring . Using only the weight of the stone I make a side to side seesawing/hack sawing motion. Keep the stone flat on the ring. The stone (2"x1"x8" combination) is a bit wider than the ring. Don't let the stone rock or cant near the edges of the ring or they'll round off and you'll end up with low spots. That's the Turk Receiver in the Jig.

You'll notice the charger hump has been removed. I used only a file on this one. Why? Just to show it can be done. It will get the stone treatment and look like the VZ. It only takes longer. It does make you appreciate the mill though, that's for sure

This pic shows a Turk that I used only the stone on. It has removed most of the sizable pits. I could remove all the pitting but doing so would remove one of the digits from the serial #. One number was stamped shallower than the rest. I can still safely remove most of these pits while still keeping the ring concentric and keeping the law happy. There were a lot of scratches on the top of the ring all of which are gone now by simply using the Stone.

pic shows the left side of a VZ24 receiver. You'll note that there are no more markings left. These were polished out using the stone. That's lint on the left side near the front ring not scratches. Use the same principal as used on the front ring. Follow the contour of the side. It took about twenty minutes to clean up with a medium stone.

None of these receivers have yet to see the fine stone. They have only gotten the coarse treatment so far so they will look much nicer when I hit em with the fine stone.