EXTREMELY Rare Gun Lighter Restoration, World War II - D-day 1944!

Rare Gun Lighter Restoration from World War II - D-day 1944! This time I repair and restore a very cool war relic built of .50 Cal cartridges by a soldier during WW II.

About the rare .50 Cal gun lighter
This is a very special and cool looking war relic from the World War 2. It’s found by a metal detecting group in France and giving to me to restore. Its made out of .50 Cal machineguns cartridges and it looks very cool. The lighter is made of a brass base and old copper cartridges dated 1942 and 1943. The .50 Cal ammunition was mostly used in the browning machineguns during WW2.

THE RESTORATION PROCESS
I started cleaning the lighter to get an overview of damages so I could plan the restoration. Then I continued by detaching all the lighter parts which was soldered on the lighter frame: the trigger, the trigger guard and the copper cartridges.

I cleaned the gun frame and the copper cartridges in my sandblaster using very fine aluminum beads together with low air pressure. Just to avoid unnecessary damage to the restoration project.

There were a lot of dents and scratches on the lighter parts but overall a very fine condition after all these years on in the ground. I also gave the parts a light hand grinding with some high 1500 grit sandpaper. I polished all the parts but I managed to keep the old look of the lighter still preserve some of the wear and tear on the lighter.

All the small parts was in my mini tumbler using aluminum oxide as my media.
When all the parts was cleaned I soldered it all together and added lighter fluid cotton, a new wick, flint and flint spring to the project. And finished by making a new wick lid from a .308 Winchester hunting bullet

Thanks for watching my channel. See you soon.
Best wishes and stay safe ❤ Martin.

[derandere]

Symbol: Shoulder badge „Big Red One“, US 1st Infantry Division.

They were the first US unit to land in Sicily and, later, on the Normandy beaches.

Generally, they made it a bad habit to be the first EVERYHWERE, and that would include the city of Aachen, the first German city to be occupied by the Western Allies.

[raserus]

John D. would be proud to see how his lighter was brought back to life. Stellar work.

[Lighthawk_Demon]

I think we should all take a moment to honor and thank John D. for his service, and possibly his sacrifice.

Thank you sir for serving and/or your sacrifice for the greater good of this world.
God Bless You!!! 🇺🇸🗽

[scottenglert]

I was young enough growing up to not really appreciate it but eventually learned of the significance of our quiet, old guy neighbor - one summer in the 1980s he and his wife took a trip to Europe (they *never* traveled)... My mom told me - they are going to a reunion / ceremony... turns out he was a medic with the Big Red One - followed Patton & Bradley around - Africa... Italy...D-Day...Battle of the Bulge. He lived a long but I'd guess also an at least somewhat troubled life after 1945. I've lived in reverence of him ever since I learned as a young teenager more about what his service involved...

[wlqjfqn]

Excellent, as usual. This is not a job, this is the art.

[msfsdpg]

Марти, Вы - отличный мастер! С удовольствием смотрю все Ваши видео, спасибо.

[sir-htpjnml]

Nothing more satisfying than a clean restoration 👌

[masstrapper]

That is the emblem of the big red 1. Man you get some of the coolest WW2 artifacts. Another fantastic job. 👍👍

[mjb]

They were called the Greatest Generation. Not to take anything away from what those men and women did at home and abroad, but the men and women who have fought and died and been injured over the last 2 or 3 decades are pretty badass too. I want to say a huge Thanks with tears of gratitude for all those who fought, died, or were injured physically and, or emotionally to make America and the rest of the world a little safer from the bad people who seek to take advantage of others. Happy Memorial Day to all who served.

[jorgeandreszanocchi]

Outstanding work Martin. Always respecting lost war veteran's belongings. As a veteran myself, I thank you for these restorations.

[GraemeBurgess]

i bet that lighter could tell some stories, imagine the history. Such a great restoration as usual

[iidlvrg]

Здравствуй, дорогой друг. Давно не имел возможности посмотреть твои видео, так как уже год на войне. Пошёл добровольцем. Не устаю восхищаться твоим мастерством, твоими чудесными руками, которые творят искусство возрождения. Всех благ тебе, и побольше интересных находок и реставраций.

[...]

Мастер, ты молодец, красавчик, 🥇🥇🥇✔️✔️✔️

[Nikolay]

Как всегда супер! А музыка в конце создает волнительный момент! Очень круто! Всегда с удовольствием смотрю Ваши реставрации! Спасибо!

[captbriansbees]

Lost my father in law 2 years ago, he was Big Red 1 during Vietnam. Thank you for this video. Btw, his name was Martin too.

[stewwilliams]

What an honor to restore such items of historic value. Truly a calling on your part. Thank you for your craft sir, job well done.

[egyvxrs]

I'm quite certain that the person who created this device all those years ago, is happy to see how you have given his creation a new life.

[tomswindler]

As always you have outdone yourself, great restoration.nice way to honor the military veterans from the past.great video.just keep on doing what you do best.😎😎😎👍👍👍

[ArthurShelby...]

Nice video of preserving this piece of art from WWII...

[wasnik]

Замечательная работа, смотрится на одном дыхании. Вы настоящий мастер, в совершенстве владеете всеми секретами этой работы 👍👍👍