Larry, I don't think your quote is crystal clear on who made the tubes. Most gunmakers finished up tubes supplied by others. Krupp, Whitworth , etc could go through several hands.
Me thinks Mr. Hallquist is spot on here and that for the most part a weapons maker received either a rough bored tube or a tube closer to the final state and that the go-between betwixt the drop forge hammer along with drill and grinding wheel and the weapons maker was the tube knitter, who was an outsource worker. Larger concerns like Pieper & Sauer more than likely had all under one umbrella but this was not the norm.
Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
I had Harry McGowen make a custom rifle for me many years ago. He showed me around his shop. He had cylinder stock from US Steel. He did all the shaping, drilled and rifled the bore. No where on the gun does it say "US STEEL"....
Even when we know that semi-finished damascus tubes were being shipped, do we have more than the occasional maker's mark.
Pete
