This is the dirty little secret that no one ususally talks about with re-case jobs. I've had 3 guns re cased, a Parker, a Smith, and an Ithaca, two by the same shop and one by another highly respected smith. Each one warped slightly in the quench, none so bad as to render it unfit, but enough so that one or more of the perfect metal to metal clearances of the original gun were lost. Funny thing is, each gun warped in a different location. One wiggled on the hinge pin, one had a side plate about 5 thousandths proud at the front, and one wiggled at the toplever pin. I think it has to do with the temperature/time protocol of each different shop, and the way they jig and block the parts before putting them in the vault, as well as their experience with the particular model of gun. Bottom line, I wouldn't do another re-case restoration. Too much luck and too many variables at play. They sure do look pretty, but I'm giving up on chasing a young Marilyn Monroe, for the quiet elegance of a fading Katherine Hepburn. JMHO.
