SKB- when I saw the Dickson Round Action casting I wrote to Dicksons and they confirmed that their action body was investment cast in Holland. I believe shortly after they stated so in their brochures.
There is also a report from the Shooting Times (UK) of Round Action locks being made by York and Wallin the lockmakers. I have it in PDF form if you want to read it. Costwise the lock represented about 1/10 of the price of a finished gun back then.
I have no problem with either investment casting or any maker farming out work to specialists. But it gets sticky when things are said to be totally "in house" and they are not.
Dickson built the round-action completely in house up to 1963 the last one leaving the workshop on 26th July at a cost of 527 10s. A work diary belonging to John Dickson reveals that all the skills were in house to build the guns - stockers, barrel and lock makers, actioners and even an engraver in the early years but case making was outsourced to a specialist in Edinburgh.
By 1963 the skilled workforce was retired and the demand was just not there for such an expensive product.
Since then Dicksons have used a number of specialist out workers to complete round-action orders, the next foray being with their former employee, David McKay Brown who built three round-actions (on Phillipson machinings, he had his own workforce to complete the rest)for them in 1985. The next set of round-action actions were machined up by Verenigde Geweermaker in Holland (now the new Lebeau Corrally?). Starting with No. 8000 in 1989, the guns were finished in the UK, but the relationship was short lived due to quality issues.
Since then the small production has been mixed between the team Dicksons have in Dunkeld and a number of specialist out workers. 'Pugwash' on this board has even actioned a few. The foray of Dicksons into the modern O/U world was also short lived, five guns being 'built' by Rizzini in Italy and finished in the UK between 2008 and 2010. The cost to built them far outstripped the retail cost, never again they said!
As for boxlocks, the records indicate the 4 digit serial number guns were a mix of built in house (when round-action orders were slow) and guns made up by Webley, S. Wright, Holloway etc. Most of the names mentioned in this thread as 'guns in the white' suppliers.
The five digit serial number boxlocks were completely made by suppliers in Birmingham. The first two digits telling you the supplier, the third digit being the model and the last two digits being the sequential order number. For example, if you own a boxlock that is numbered 146XX, it will be a 3in chambered heavy gun with 30in barrels. Or 180XX will be a 2in chambered lightweight gun with 27in barrels.
