Seemed appropriate to add to James' thread, a report and pics from the restoration of my No. 5 Ideal which I just got back from Dennis Smith. After some metal work, the butt stock went to Dennis for dent removal (it traveled from France in the same box with James' Roblin that Doug fixed all those nasty dents on- the stock on mine looked like a kid learned how to use a hammer on it). Turned out to have a lot more hidden issues, which Dennis took in stride. The leather pad was briefly mounted using the existing screw holes to pattern the gun, then removed so Dennis could fit another pad for me. Here is a "before" of the dents:
And Dennis' flawless internal repairs and refinishing:
Planning on linking up with James and my shooting mentor Steve Voss later next week in the Sandhills of Nebraska, where I'm sure James and I will inspect and try each other's guns, and even take a sharpie or two.
Mike
