I am with Kensal Rise on this one.
Although I agree with Chuck and Salopian that amateurs should experiment and learn new skills (after all I was one until relatively recently) and really mastering something as unpredictable as CCH would be a huge achievement, I think that CCH is not something that should be played with when the distortion and safety considerations of the results could be so significant.
Blacking, browning, chequering and stock finishes are quite challenging enough and I have yet to hear of anybody being harmed by poorly executed chequering or indistinct browning.
Talking with a workshop and shop manager from a highly respected English gunmakers recently, he agreed that re-CCHing a gun was rarely even considered since 'too much can go wrong'.
Tony Treadwell had a lot of fun CCHing and I liked some of the results but I think it true to say that he approached each job as a new challenge, rather than simply the application of what he had done before.
I believe he understood that how ever many old clunkers he had successfully done, he might ruin the next one be it a Purdey or Perdy.
I have turned down quite a few requests to CCH a beloved gun and will continue to do so. That way I can sleep at night.
