| bonanza |
| (.400 member) |
| 13/11/06 01:01 AM |
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Restoration Advice
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Gang,
I'm going to have my 1906 Hollis restored (stock refinish, reblacking, case coloring, put back on face, and minor mechanical repairs). Who have you used and/or recommend. I already now about JJ and Pete Mazur.
| Raff |
| (.300 member) |
| 13/11/06 02:43 AM |
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Re: Restoration Advice
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Give David Yale a call in Colorado. 970-562-4225.
Just super work. Leather pads to new front sights.
Have fun.
Raff
| bwana600nitro |
| (.224 member) |
| 13/11/06 03:04 AM |
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Re: Restoration Advice
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I second on David nice guy and a hell of a gun guy. He will do just as good a job a JJ and will be back to you faster.
You may also want to try Nick Makinson PH# (519) 471-5462. He does good work also. Fast turnaround too.
bwana600
| clark7781 |
| (.375 member) |
| 13/11/06 05:33 AM |
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Re: Restoration Advice
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I think 400 Nitro Express will second this, but for a restocking, I would recommend Paul Hodgdon out in Colorado, I think. He was a stocker for Holland and Holland.
| 400NitroExpress |
| (.400 member) |
| 13/11/06 08:21 AM |
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Re: Restoration Advice
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First off, unless the finish issues are significant, I'd suggest leaving it alone. If you must, forget turnaround time. The best are rarely fast. If you're going to diddle with a fine British or European gun, diddle with it British or European. Stick to British or European trained professionals. They do things differently. If you want the gun to be worth your investment when you're done, the difference matters. Is this gun really off face? Odd for a Jones UL.
Unless there are serious pitting issues that you want fixed, avoid re-colour hardening. If you have to do this, stick to established mainstream companies, and make sure the action is completely annealed first. There are very few who know how to do this right. Don't let anyone near it with a torch. J. J. uses Turnbull. Frankly, if I were to have a British DR of mine re-hardened, I'd return it to England and have it done by St. Ledger's, who does much of such work for the British trade.
Ask how things are to be done. For re-blacking, barrels of fine double guns are prepped and carded by hand. If they're going to use a polishing wheel find someone else. Also, inquire about how the re-jointing is to be done. The Hollis doubles ususally have a fixed pin and a round dolls head. With plasma spray and tig weld methods available for the fixed pin guns, personally, I would never let someone dovetail the hook. Also, the dolls head will need re-fitting, and very few do this. The SOP in most shops in the US seems to be to just dovetail the hook and ignore the top extension/third fastener, and that's unacceptable. Of the re-jointing work I've seen in recent years, J. J.'s is really good.
Be cautious, ask lots of questions.
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| bonanza |
| (.400 member) |
| 13/11/06 08:41 AM |
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Re: Restoration Advice
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This why I ask for advice!
I have no personal issues with its current state of finish. It actualy looks pretty good for its age. However, none of the screws match and some are not original. That has to be sorted in my opinion.
It is just off face, the extractor needs a little work, and the hammers need cleaning up.
So i'll get the mechanics done and leave the action and stock alone.
| 470evans |
| (.333 member) |
| 13/11/06 09:15 AM |
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Re: Restoration Advice
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I just got my Evans 400/360 back from JJ.
He reblacked the barrels, reblued the furniture, reregulated it for 286 Woodleighs, put on a new front sight, put on a leather pad and refinished the wood. I thought about case coloring and decided to pass. I'm glad I did.
It wasn't cheap and it took him 5 months but the final product was worth every minute of the time and every $.
| mehulkamdar |
| (.416 member) |
| 14/11/06 11:46 AM |
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Re: Restoration Advice
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Consider this a biased post in some ways as both the gentlemen I am posting about are personal friends of mine:
1. David Norin in Waukegan IL, an ACGG member gunsmith who does a beautiful job of reproducing the exact colours that the British coloured their guns with in case hardening and blueing. Dave works with several British gunsmiths and businesses these days and also builds complate rifles from scratch
2. B Ka'imiloa Chrisman in Arizona whose hammer double restoration project I posted here some time ago, taken from the pages of a magazine. He is a retired plastic surgeon who studied engraving under Rachel Wells and who works on restoring mostly BPE doubles though he also restores NE guns
If you would like to talk to either of them, I could introduce you on e-mail and you could then decide.
Cheers!