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foxie: your recent rational and coherent posts here reflect an honest attempt on your part to reform...i am amazed...

My only experience with the Flues models has been with the later ones, with the screw. I shot a 20ga for several years & it was fed a steady diet of 2�-1-7�, both factory & equivalent reloads.
The big change in the "NEW" progressive powders was not so much to reduce pressures but to allow heavier shot loads, higher velocities or both without increasing pressures. These powders were used in the heaver loads with normal loads staying the same as had been previously used.
The heavier loads (More Recoil)) was what cracked Flues frames, not higher pressures per se.

anyway, getting back to fixing an nid with missing action parts...it is one thing to find the missing parts...it is quite another thing to insure that all of the parts in the gun are functional and reliable...gunter pfrommer performed a similar service for a friend of mine who has a 28 ga nid, assembled from an ithaca classic doubles parts kit...this gun has been fired a few hundred times with one ounce loads...and so far, it has not malfunctioned...

sadly, it is quite common to see pre ww1 guns with cracks in the stock behind the top tang...a result of shooting post ww1 heavy loads...thank goodness for modern epoxy glues and brass pins...

I picked up a 20 ga., 30" Flues this year that I am quite fond of. One of the previous owners had the forcing cones elongated. A chamber casting told me that he did not ream out the chambers to 2 3/4" but just made the forcing chambers longer with a shallow taper. A compromise I guess he thought would make the gun safe for modern ammo. It ended up with a cracked stock but is otherwise still tight a they come. Now restocked but still needing checkering, I shoot low pressure loads but they are not wimpy ones. If you reload you can find low(er) pressure loads that are very useful in the field.

If I had a Flues in any ga. I would not alter chambers as I don't think removing metal improves the strengthen of any gun. Cut shells down if needed, reload low pressure loads or buy them if need be, but match ammo to guns design and your intended use.

it has been my experience that most american made guns have heavy enough barrel walls that opening chambers and forcing cones is safe...however, many light european guns made prior to ww1 have thin barrel walls and as such would be made unsafe by removing metal...best bet is to have all barrel work performed by professional gunsmith with tools and experience necessary to insure that gun remains safe to fire with modern ammo.

That's a good point ed. And a fair distinction between American and European guns...Geo

Roger Lenzmeier at lenz@charter.net has a collection of original factory parts that he will sell. He thinks the hammers, firing pins and trip are gauge dependent. I suggest getting in touch with him. He really knows the workings of all offerings of Ithacas. Good luck on your restoration!

Ed, ALL my posts are intended to be both rational and coherent- but I have no control over the manner in which they are interpreted by the cognoscenti that travels the e-mail halls of wisdom contained in the BBS- Merry Xmas--RWTF

and a merry christmas to you too foxie...