doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com A London gun bites the dust.....

Looks lovely, and fits the owner better then H. Huntsman & Sons suit, no doubt. When one gets older dimensional requirements usually change, so no real loss here only improvement of original gun.

crossedchisles, your work on the stock is absolutely beautiful. It is hard to imagine that you put that back together again, but then again you said if a gunmaker built it, then a gunmaker could fix it. Again beautiful.
I was right about the spalted wood. I would think that using said wood in the sidelock and wrist section would be a bit "iffy".

DT, how did you attain the ability to detect the taste of "hot pee"? No wonder the apprentice program is considered a tough effort. Murphy

Crossedchisles, where is this stock pictured so I can see the repair? No repaired stock is showing up on my screen.

Thanks for the compliment 'JDW'.Its all a matter of common sense, and most of the Gunmakers who were Apprentices at Purdeys in the 1940s-1950s were a real common lot'No Technical school,No University Educated 'types'. My lot' were the survivors of Hitlers 6yrs of trying to 'Whack' our families in and around London..I think this had a lot to do with us all having to 'Use our Common Sense as we entered the World of Hand Built Gunmaking in London.(And of course the 'Birmingham & the Provincial Gunmakers who survived the 6years of Devastation also.I even had a friend or 2 that'Put-Up' Brummie Guns) Hope Jack Rowe "Mr Brum-Gun" reads this!One point about the wood in the 'Head' of the 28b it was not in any way'Spalted' Dry Rotted'Pithy'it had been well seasoned, the action trigger-plate,lock-plates were inletted to the high standard that Boss guns and rifles are built to.I have a Workbench test that I can(and do)do to show a client just how well the inletting has been done, and the wood has to be really up to the standard that is expected on a 'Top Quality Gun' Donot try this on a Original L.C.Smith. I did and the new Stock cost me 40 hrs of my'Pub'Time!(I own LCs and shot Live Pigeons with one, many times) Crossed Chisles.

Murphy, Strange you should ask that very question! I was having one of my 'Keeping in touch with The Lads I Struggled Through The Years of Bread & Water With....(6wks. short of 6yrs)AKA Apprentiship"...Peter Finch, Ejectorman. Our conversations always come round to"Remember the time when So&So did such&such to Old HD? etc.When an apprentice was recovering from a 'cuff to the head'or 'a slap to the back of the head',quite often another appr. who was on tea duty,would 'do a little bit' into the gaffers tea-cup,good helping of sugar, usually went undetected!BUT...if said Gaffer tasted'IT' the ofending appr. was made to drink the entire cup of 'weetee'(I had several experience's!!)CC,

Dave Katt. Barry L Hands,Engraver to the Stars' posted back on p4. To Photobucket.com"Broken Dreams" 2 photos, Hope it works..CC

Thanks, got it. I was thinking of some other pictures I may have missed. Thanks again.

How many hours were spent doing that Beautiful repair?

Katie, Jessie, The time on a job such as the boss 28b, cant really be put on the clock. I sat and scratched the appropriate 'parts' as I pondered the Project,was it going to be worth all the time that I was about to be spent to do a ;repair', or should I "Just Restock the Gun".No problem to Whack the little action&other Important parts into a 'Nice new Walnut Blank, make the new stock to 'Dupe" the Original.Something we London Boys who Did our time'back when'Best Bitter was 2bob a "REAL PINT" did 45hrs a week.Brian Sorrell,(East Grinstead Guns, Sussex, Eng.)Was appr. to Harold Delay. was the "Fastess Stocker at JP&S at that time"He & I would race each other doing stock jobs.Adam Davies, Stocker JP&S in the 1970s Is also very Fast'.After I had found all the smashed pieces that fell out of the Action & Locks used a large lump of Play-Dou', re-formed the 'Head'noted how many splinters were still missing, shot off a few photos for ref.estimated the time I thought I would need to rebuild it all with the 'Iron-work in place, then the time I would need to do the 'Fillit"( machine time, squaring the hollow cavity out.making the "fillit' Acraglassing it together) rough estimate would be 30 hrs.But I could be way off! I spent about 3 weeks putting it all together and finishing it off to make it look'Pretty"/ Hope that covers it for you..CC/dt