Gordon,
This is not an isolated problem. I have had three guns restored over the past 7 years, a GHE Parker, a Trap Grade LC Smith, and a Grade 2 Ithaca Crass and in each case the receiver was annealed and the engraving chased before case coloring. Turnbull did the case coloring on all three, and the assembly and dissassembly on two. In all three cases, the receivers came back with some slight warpage. Luckily for me, not enough to impair functionality.
The Parker is the most annoying, because the warpage caused the frame rails to spread at the joint roll about .002. The gun was and is tight on face, but now rattles side to side when the action is open. When the action is closed, you can push on the barrels at the roll and they will move sideways back and forth a couple of thousandths or so. Prior to the restoration, the barrel lug fit so perfectly into the frame rails that it would scrape a film of oil off the side of the lug without touching metal when the action was rotated. Not now. The Smith was much less of a problem, one sideplate warping slightly so that it was proud of the frame by about a thousandth or two at the front of the action. Prior to the restoration, it was flush. The Ithaca suffered a slight expansion of the joint roll holes in the frame, so that the tight press fit is gone and the roll pin wiggles ever so lightly when the barrel stop lug is pushed. I think in the old days, this type of warping probably happened, and was alleviated by the "hard" or second fitting done after case hardening was complete. That is now apparently a lost art, and the modern restorers are unable or unwilling to go that last thousandth. It takes a lot of guts and experience to whack a sideplate with a lead hammer, or squeeze a newly restored receiver in a vice to get a couple of thousands play out.
Don't get me wrong, I think Turnbull did a magnificent job on my restorations, but it just nags me a little that they are not as perfect as when they left the factory. And, I reached the same conclusion as you did. While I may restore barrels and wood in the future, I will never re-case another reciever. The perfect fit is more important to me than a "new" appearance. I picked up a 1900 VH with a thin coating of brown rust over half the receiver and half the barrels, which I carefully removed a little at a time with a razor blade and oil, leaving a gray patina with fine salt and pepper pitting. Nevertheless, while abused on the outside, the gun has never had a screw turned and the bores, chokes, chambers and cones, as well as the action interior,are perfect. I will never restore it, because despite being cosmetically challenged, to me it is my benchmark gun as to what proper fit and action clearance should be. I wish I still had that fit on my GHE. Good hunting.
\ Mike
