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Greg Baehman
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Posted: Mon Aug 11th, 2008 01:54 am |
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Do you have any pics you can post of properly restored Parkers? I, and I am sure others, would like to see pics of these guns.
So often we see guns that have been re-colored with colors that are not acurate representations of true Parker colors, we see guns whose stocks have been refinished with too much or not enough gloss, we see restored damascus guns with black and white or a brown and white finish that isn't quite right, etc.
Let's see some guns that were done right. It would be a bonus to know the names of the craftsmen are that are doing it right.
If you have pics and haven't figured out how to post them, just e-mail them to me and I will post them.
Thanks!
Greg
gabaehman@yahoo.com
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Bruce Day
PGCA Member
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Posted: Mon Aug 11th, 2008 02:44 am |
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There are a number of people who can do stock work and refinishing. Some are so good at duplicating Parker stock work that the only way a skilled person could tell the difference is that the new stock looks too new. a few dents and scratches and a person would be unable to tell.
On case colors, the only craftsman I have seen with perfect colors is Turnbull and then every once in a while you see colors that are said to be Turnbull's and they don't look right. There is another company ( not Del Grego) that does a lot of re case color jobs, they are inexpensive, and get the dark, heavy wavy colors that DelGrego gets blamed for. And that company sometimes warps the frames.
If you have worn engraving that is not retouched before case coloring and then you re case color over that so that the engraving is indistinct, that is another dead give away.
I have laid a Turnbull redone C grade ( owned by a Parker man) next to a high condition original gun and not been able to tell it was redone.
I have seen many Edmonds and Flanigan re damascus color barrels that were so good you couldn't tell. There are several who can do first rate fluid steel barrel re bluing.
With some restoration work, the only way it raises suspicions is that it looks too good to be true. Top quality restoration work is expensive and many don't want to pay the price....they are fixing up a gun to sell it and they don't want to get too much in it.
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Bruce Day
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Ron Conover
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Posted: Mon Aug 11th, 2008 02:41 pm |
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| Greg, I like the Bhe restoration by Gaddy and Flaim on Ivory Beads sale rack (sale pending). Ron
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Greg Baehman
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Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2008 06:02 pm |
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You know, I told another person I was going to post this inquiry and he said "Good luck with that", I asked why, he said "you won't get anyone to respond with pics", I asked why again. he said "because those Parker collectors will not admit to having their guns restored and furthermore they most likely pass them off as being original when it comes time to sell".
Could he be on to something? Got another explanation as to why no one has posted any pics of their restored Parkers?
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Dave Miles
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Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2008 06:25 pm |
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Greg, I just had a 1 frame, P grade, 12 gauge restored. I'll post pictures as soon as I get the barrels back from Mike Orlen. Which should be in a day or so.
In the mean time, here's a P grade, 16 gauge, that was redone.
Attached Image (viewed 545 times):
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Greg Baehman
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Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2008 09:40 pm |
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| Wow Dave that's a beauty! Do you feel the colors are an accurate rendition of the original Parker colors? Who did them?
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Pete Lester
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Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2008 10:01 pm |
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OK I will share. Here is a 1900, Three(3) Frame VH 12ga. 32" barrels F/M, 14 1/4" LOP and 2 1/4" DAH. Weight is 9 pounds even. The gun was in pretty bad shape when I got it and had been refinished at least once. The checkering had been freshened up by the previous owner using a jackknife. This had a 100% as new restoration by Larry DelGrego and Son. I am very pleased with it and can't wait to shoot some ducks on Great Bay here in NH this fall with it. I am not worried about having to run low pressure loads though it!
 "
Last edited on Thu Aug 14th, 2008 10:44 am by Pete Lester
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Mike Poindexter
PGCA Member
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Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2008 11:48 pm |
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| This is a Turnbull restoration of all metal on a GHE 16, plus repair to the head of the stock at the left upper where a hot shell blew out a chunk of wood . The wood had numerous separate issues, but I handled those myself. I thought the case colors were great, the chased engraving was great, the restoration and indexing of the screws was great, the wood repair was great, but I don't like his refinish of the barrels. Much more matte than original high condition Parkers I have seen, and it looks to me like he bead blasted the rib too. Not real happy with that. The frame warped slightly in the quench so that the frame rails are now about 2 thousands wider apart than they were. This makes the barrels wobble slightly on the joint roll when open, but did not affect the breech fit, i.e. the gun was and still is on face. This was a 10% or less gun overall when I got it, but I still wouldnt have restored it if the chunk of stock hadn't blown out and the gun wouldn't open. I sent it to Turnbull for repair only in 1995 but after talking with them on the phone, I decided for the metal restoration. The cost was about 1/3 of what he is currently quoting for similar work. Knowing then what I know now, I would have had the barrels reblued by a qualilfied smith, and left the receiver alone. Here are several pics. Attached Image (viewed 486 times):
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Mike Poindexter
PGCA Member
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Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2008 11:48 pm |
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| another Attached Image (viewed 483 times):
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Mike Poindexter
PGCA Member
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Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2008 11:49 pm |
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| another Attached Image (viewed 482 times):
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Mike Poindexter
PGCA Member
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Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2008 11:49 pm |
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| Barrel refinish details Attached Image (viewed 484 times):
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Mike Poindexter
PGCA Member
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Posted: Wed Aug 13th, 2008 11:50 pm |
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| Repaired head of stock. You can barely see the diagonal line. Attached Image (viewed 481 times):
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E Robert Fabian
PGCA Member
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 12:28 am |
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Great colors on receiver, I see what you mean on the barrels. Its not what I've witnessed of his recent bluing.
Bob
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Keith Lembo
PGCA Member
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 12:53 am |
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| I agree. The barrels certainly don't look like Turnbull barrels I've seen. You mentioned he bead blasted the rib--the barrels appear blasted as well--strange he would let them out of his shop like that. Colors look nice though.
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Keith Lembo
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Tom Bria
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 02:55 am |
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Mike, I agree on the barrels, but don't feel like the Lone Ranger. I bought a restored LC Smith Crown Grade with a similar finish on the barrels but with a clean rib. Gun was overall just too nice to pass up. I'd put your GH in the same category.
I have an upgraded Smith 20 gauge that Turnbull did relatively early in his career (has the Turnbull "DT" logo stamped on the water table), and the barrel polishing is just great, but the bluing is turning plum, very much like the Miroku Daly guns from the 60's do as they age. He seemed to spend a lot of years refining his techniques, so that may be why his current prices are where they are. I had a VHE 16 recased by Turnbull a few years ago, and it's a close to "right" as I can imagine. No pics available but I need to take and post a few.
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Dean Romig
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 03:25 am |
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Right Mike, they let the barrels rust too long without stopping the action and carding then rusting again as necessary - to the point where the rusting actually caused pitting of the barrels and the rib. Too bad. Even Turnbull had to go through the learning curve 
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Dean Romig
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 03:26 am |
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Pete, is that the one we shot a couple of months ago? Now there's a gun with built-in follow-through 
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Bruce Day
PGCA Member
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 04:35 am |
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You're right Mike. Great case colors, bad barrels. The barrel finish can be corrected.
The other guns that are re case colored look correct to me from the photos.
I think many people come to the realization that they would have barrels and stock redone and leave the frame alone. I know I did, three times.
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Bruce Day
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Pete Lester
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 10:54 am |
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Hello Dean, yes that is the same gun and it came off the shelf with built in follow through. Pretty effective recoil reduction too!
Bruce, I had little choice on redoing the frame on this gun as it had been polished and cold blued before I got it.
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Bruce Day
PGCA Member
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 12:55 pm |
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| Pete , you do what you have to do on any given gun. If somebody has polished and blued the fame, you did the only thing you could. Its shocking sometimes what gunmanglers will do then you have to repair the harm they have done. More Parkers have been harmed by people messing with them.
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Bruce Day
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