A new BTFE for a Repro

[B. Dudley]

This 12g. DHE 2 barrel set had its original forend broken on the one side a couple times and repaired once or twice in-between. The owner deemed it time to just replace it with a new one instead of trying to repair it again.

I made a new one for the gun from a piece of claro walnut that was a good color match to the buttstock. The buttstock of the gun, as well as all of the metal finishes had already be refinished at another time by the owner by who knows who. I didn't really care for the level of finish that the butt had, but that was not part of the job.

I rough glued the broken piece back on the original forend just for the sake of duplicating it. Since I was altering the profile a lot, I just duplicated the inletting and the barrel channels. But the barrel channels were done very undersized to allow for perfect hand fitting. The outside profile was done from block.

I took the opportunity to make the new forend in the Meriden style which is thicker in the sides than the repro fronds and also has a more attractive nose to it. I cannot stand the nose that was put on a lot of the Repro btfes and the razor thin sides sure to lend themselves to breaking easily. That should not be a problem with the new forend.

The checkering was done in the typical repro style to match the wrist. But I placed it in a more attractive position on the forend in relation to the latch.

Here are some photos including some comparisons of the new next to the old.

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