Michael Tinker Pearce
Member
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2016
- Messages
- 1,575
I was perusing the shelves at Pinto's Guns and happened across an LC Smith 12-gauge double. It had been liberally slathered with a thick layer of shellac over the entire exterior, the fore-stock was broken, the barrels had some pitting- it was, in a word, ugly.
On the other hand it locked up like a bank vault, the triggers are superb, there's easily enough metal to hone the barrels and the English Walnut stock is a pretty nice hunk of wood. Did I mention that it was cheap? After a brief negotiation I handed them a card and walked out with it.
Thick, icky, gloopy shellac. Yuck.
I was considering getting a pair of 20" .45 ACP barrel-blanks and using them to line the bores to shoot .44-55 Walker, but after cleaning the barrels I consulted a buddy in Norway that makes double rifles and shotguns. I think I am going to hone the bores and keep it as a shotgun. If that doesn't work out, well, there's always Plan A.
A couple hours with acetone, 0000 steel wool, rags and a toothbrush and the shellac is gone. Underneath there was... a pretty nice old shotgun, actually. I put a thin coat of lacquer on the stock to seal/preserve it, but I'll need to make a new fore-stock and will probably refinish the stock to match.
Now that it's clean the damascus really pops-
Right now I'm in conservation mode, but a full restoration is not off the table; I haven't decided yet. From the wear on the checkering this gun had a long, long working life, and I fully intend to put it back to work!
Full details- this is a Hunter Arms Company L.C. Smith shotgun, Grade No.0 (their second lowest grade) made in 1908. 30" barrels with modified chokes, English Walnut stocks and damascus barrels. This gun listed at $48 in 1908, when the average wage was $39 a month; these were not the weapons of the casual sportsman!
Very happy with this; I've been wanting a nice damascus gun for a few years now, and I think this is going to work out very well.
On the other hand it locked up like a bank vault, the triggers are superb, there's easily enough metal to hone the barrels and the English Walnut stock is a pretty nice hunk of wood. Did I mention that it was cheap? After a brief negotiation I handed them a card and walked out with it.
Thick, icky, gloopy shellac. Yuck.
I was considering getting a pair of 20" .45 ACP barrel-blanks and using them to line the bores to shoot .44-55 Walker, but after cleaning the barrels I consulted a buddy in Norway that makes double rifles and shotguns. I think I am going to hone the bores and keep it as a shotgun. If that doesn't work out, well, there's always Plan A.
A couple hours with acetone, 0000 steel wool, rags and a toothbrush and the shellac is gone. Underneath there was... a pretty nice old shotgun, actually. I put a thin coat of lacquer on the stock to seal/preserve it, but I'll need to make a new fore-stock and will probably refinish the stock to match.
Now that it's clean the damascus really pops-
Right now I'm in conservation mode, but a full restoration is not off the table; I haven't decided yet. From the wear on the checkering this gun had a long, long working life, and I fully intend to put it back to work!
Full details- this is a Hunter Arms Company L.C. Smith shotgun, Grade No.0 (their second lowest grade) made in 1908. 30" barrels with modified chokes, English Walnut stocks and damascus barrels. This gun listed at $48 in 1908, when the average wage was $39 a month; these were not the weapons of the casual sportsman!
Very happy with this; I've been wanting a nice damascus gun for a few years now, and I think this is going to work out very well.