A family Parker - Page 4

wayne goerres · 06-15-2013, 08:50 PM

I forgot to mention. You might try PMing Brian Dudley on the screws. He may be able to help you out.

Patrick Hanna · 06-15-2013, 11:14 PM

Thanks, Wayne. On a brighter note, the main receiver frame cleaned up pretty well, too. I'll post some before and after pics of that sometime tomorrow. And both hammers seem to wiggle on each axis, so if I could get those hammer screws out, I could remove the hammers and gently clean up the outside of the lock plates real well. But you guys have seen that one boogered up hammer screw, so you know at least one of them will be a long shot. No pun intended there.

What do you guys make of that one barrel? Do you think I'm right? Does it look like a failed weld in the original barrel lamination strips?

Best to all.
Patrick

Dennis · 06-16-2013, 06:34 AM

Though I have never created a weld in my life that sure looks like a weld to me. I think you are right not to shoot it, at least more than once.

Dennis

Patrick Hanna · 06-16-2013, 10:25 AM

You got that right, Dennis! I think a person would be about as safe in front of it as behind it! The right barrel is probably no better. It looks great from end to end on the outside, but has some fairly deep pitting in the bore. Interestingly, most of the pitting is in the third nearest the breech. The forward two thirds aren't too bad. But it's a moot point.

wayne goerres · 06-16-2013, 12:49 PM

Most likely caused by an obstruction. I dont buy in to the rust in the seam theory. When they hammer welded metal togeather it fuses it useing heat and preasure. If done properly there are no pockets in the metal to trap air. You need air for it to rust. Just my opinion. Old rule of thum is if the barrel blows in the first half of the barrel (Breech to center) it is because of an over load. If it blowes in the second half of the barrel (center to muzzle) it is because of an obstruction.

edgarspencer · 06-16-2013, 01:27 PM

I thought you intended to give this (or sell it to) some cousin who had an interest in it. Seems your taking it upon yourself to clean, restore, and make decisions the cousin should have wanted to make. Most guns on the edge of junk or new life have been pushed over the wrong side by well intentioned amateur restorers. Why not let the guy you said was going to get the gun determine it's fate?

Patrick Hanna · 06-16-2013, 03:57 PM

Hi, Edgar. Your point is very well made and well received on this end, too. I failed to mention that the cousin who is receiving the gun and I have been all over the gun together, inside and out. I've shown him all its visible problems and detailed for him what I was willing to do and what I wouldn't touch. He asked me to clean it as well as I can and is aware of everything that I am doing. So, he really has made that decision. My approach to this continues to be ultra conservative. Mostly, it has been a matter of removing a really sloppy, funky coating of sprayed-on shellac. It included overlaps, runs and drips. (I assume shellac because alcohol takes it off better than anything). I have removed three screws to facilitate this process. For example, I just removed the right side hammer so I could clean the lock plate under it. I separated the wood and metal parts, too, although some assemblies were already off the gun and in a paper bag when they came to me. If I had not had the proper sized screw drivers in my gun screw driver set, I wouldn't even have attempted those tasks. Nothing is touching the metal except soft cloths, alcohol, and in some cases like the barrels, a lubricated Frontier pad. A lot of effort for a display gun, but my cousin has a case full of display guns that will never be fired. He enjoys having them in addition to his contemporary shooters. And I enjoy doing this project for him. The best part is that he's the sort of guy who wouldn't bat an eye at also buying a fully restored Parker if the whim strikes him. He's not going to balk at replacing some missing screws--or anything else if the mood strikes him. Quite a remarkable guy. In the meantime, I'm realistic about my own abilities and limitations, and I don't have any intention of messing up this gun. Genuine thanks for your concern. I'm in total agreement with you.

Patrick Hanna · 06-16-2013, 06:54 PM

Here's a picture you haven't seen yet. When I said the applied coating was full of overlaps, runs and drips, I wasn't kidding. Here's the way the right barrel (and some other pieces) looked like when they came to me:

Patrick Hanna · 06-16-2013, 07:02 PM

The receiver frame is an example of something I wish I could do, but I lack the specific tools and experience to do it. The outside cleaned up well. I'd love to remove those plunger screws and get the firing pins and springs out for a cleaning, but you can see that someone else has already bungled that screw slot a little bit. I don't have the right sized driver in my set for this slot, so I'm not going there. I'd also love to get to the innards because I can feel them working smoothly and well, but I know there's rust in there. I'd love to remove the top lever so I could clean under it better. But I'm not going there. I believe this receiver is really sound, and could probably function just fine if the barrels were okay, but I'm not the one to strip it.

Patrick Hanna · 06-16-2013, 07:19 PM

One thing I've noticed about the damaged screw slots on this gun is that they were mostly caused by over-tightening with improperly sized drivers. Very few have any damage from loosening or removing them. So this makes me wonder: Was it common for these guns to shoot their screws loose? Take a real close look at this hammer screw slot. Fortunately, it's not on the "display" side of the gun. I'm not sure the photo will show it clearly, but to the naked eye it's obvious to me that this slot was damaged by clockwise turns. Ergo, someone was trying to tighten it down for the umpteenth time: