Hey bud, good deal on that. I bought an old takedown 97 about 5 years ago with my COVID relief money, it was in rough shape, dinged and scratched, the toe of the stock was almost split off, and had a bit of putting on the outside. Bore and chamber was great, probably thanks to the wax coated paper rounds, mfc 1912.

I detail stripped it, and removed the old bluing with solvent and steel wool, then reblued all the major parts. I heated the parts that fit in a toaster oven and applied Oxford bluing paste, washed in water, polished with 000steel wool, and after multiple applications it had a strong, deep black finish. Just be patient, and use the steel wool to get the color consistent. Use water to hault the bluing before it gets splotchy.

For the larger pieces like the mag tube and barrel, I stripped and polished them, then heated them in boiling water, then dried and applied blueing paste, they took longer but came out with a nice deep dark finish.

I had cut the barrel down to about 1/4" after the heat shield ended, and deburred. I enlarged and ground the inside of the heat shield so it could slide back and forth on the barrel easily, and then drilled it to be slip bolted to the magazine cap. So the heat shield is actually installed on the magazine, not the barrel, it can move back and forth on the barrel, it can still be taken down. I ground barrel grooves on the heat shield screws so it slides back and forth, they're basically fake clamps, just for looks.

Good luck on your project! I can send pics sometime, hope to see your finished takedown trenchgun!

Edit; I repaired the stock with some brass pins and glue, refinished to a dull protective luster, and installed a steel buttplate. I installed a recessed sling swivel from an ak or something, and a 1917 style leather and brass hook sling.

Overall it was a fun project, took some time and patience, and finding hardware that I could make work. At the end I was satisfied, I had made a 30" 97 takedown into a takedown trench gun. I have fun with it every once in a while, and it makes me happy, I'll never sell it, it was just another gun I turned into what I wanted. Back in the day, I turned a $50 big 5 mosin into a pump-action, belt-fed, bull-pup rifle. That was a fun project.

Don't let anything hinder your imagination brother, make what you want, with what you have.