Will Brothers Restoration
 

I met Channing Will and his wife Danielle at the PGCA Banquet and had a good chat about their gunsmith business. I've been looking for someone to replace Bachelders, and so yesterday visited Channing to drop off some guns for work. He was kind enough to spend some good time with us looking over my guns (seven Parkers!) and the work that would be done. He also gave me a tour of his place. I was impressed with the work I saw going on, and the finished work he had on display. I thought others here might be interested in seeing a bit more about Will Brothers Restoration in Ossineke, Michigan.

Photos:

1&2 Elaine and I enjoyed talking with Channing about his pathway to being a gunsmith, including his time working with Brad Bachelder. His family has an impressive history of gunsmithing, and some of it was on display in his showroom. We were greeted by his German Shorthair, always a good sign to know there's a fellow bird hunter in the house.

3&4 He showed me the stock making process, from choosing blanks, to making templates, to the finished product.

5. He employs a small staff who we met, each engaged in a special part of the work. The bags on the pallets below the flag are charcoal he buys by the pallet for the case hardening he does using his own recipe.

6. Guns awaiting work. I saw a range of double guns awaiting work and through our discussion it was clear that Channing has a broad backround of experience.

7. I like to be able to meet with the smith that works on my guns, and was very impressed with all I saw in the small town of Ossineke, MI in a beautiful part of the State.

That is very interesting. Looks like he has plenty to keep him and his team busy for the summer! Thank you for posting this Garry.

I met him at the Southern, and now he has my HJ Hussey Imperial Ejector to replace a broken firing pin.

Thanks for posting this. I also met Channing and Danielle at the Southern. He did some major work on my LC Eagle and has my 21 barrels now. Great to see a youthful couple in the business. And even better is their quality workmanship.

Mr. Will has a Model 21 of mine.
I'm anxious to get it back but you can't rush the artist.

Did you happen to get a closeup of the case colors that he produces with his recipe?

Sorry, I did not, Scott, but they have photos on their website.

Gary, thanks for the tour. Channing came recommended by Trevor, Buck Hamlin’s grandson for case color and stock work. I spoke with Channing at length about making a spring for a Lancaster “wrist breaker” of which he was familiar. I was hoping to make the Southern and meet him but issues have intervened and will send that gun to him in the near future. A very nice shop that looks to be busy.

I also met him at the Southern seemed like a really nice guy also a plus that he's a younger fellow like myself so hopefully we will have a great smith for many many years. Also he recently restored a ph parker that he laser engraved that looks really nice.

One of my Reproductions is on that rack. Excellent guy!

Garry,

It was very nice visiting with you and Elaine earlier this week. I know it was a long trip and I hope you enjoyed the tour. To everyone else following along I also appreciate your kind comments.

We try to upload pictures weekly to our social media platforms and our website. Here are some photos of a Parker Trojan we color case hardened recently. For comparison I have also attached some pictures of high condition original Trojan grade guns. Hope you enjoy!

https://i.postimg.cc/DwNDFJtt/TROJAN-CCH-01.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/s2ZL2fr8/TROJAN-CCH-02.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/XvyPvNbP/TROJAN-CCH-03.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/tRzMJmK4/TROJAN-CCH-COMP3.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/7PNWhQFb/TROJAN-CCH-COMP6.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/tRzMJmKY/TROJAN-CCH-COMP7.jpg

Great work, Channing. Thanks for sharing it. Elaine and I appreciated your time and really enjoyed our tour.

Those colors look very good

Very nice colors! Question: on your first photo, the colors have a deep shine to them. Is that due to the polishing process before coloring or is it some coating after the process. Or just because the piece has not been handled yet? Thanks!

Scott,

Thanks for the compliment. Parker colors are difficult to get right. This receiver has oil on it, but part of that shine is from the polishing before coloring. Dull or low polishing will produce dull colors. A big part of restoration is the metal preparation.

Even though the Trojan grade was mostly a course polishing job, it appears the factory still dry burnished the metal to help give them a little shine. This helps the colors look bright and vibrant. The charcoal mix is a very low bone content, as mentioned in the Parker Story and other sources and I have a feeling this gave a superficial hardness that wore quickly compared to other brands of guns with higher bone charcoal content. Here is another Trojan we colored, but a client sent it pre-polished and did not want any additional prep work performed or screws replaced. This attention to detail is what separates a good restoration from an average refinish. You can see it colored nicely but it’s just not very vibrant.
https://i.postimg.cc/SN12SBFD/D43C65...54EFBAF532.jpg

Looks good to me

I have a project I am sending him too, but keep getting sidetracked.

Channing and Danelle are great people and fantastic to work with. I’ve talked with Channing many times at shoots and after seeing some guys with guns they have fixed or restored I had zero hesitation brining my 34 inch DHE to them for restoration. (You can see it in the rack…even with the current 12.5 inch stock the barrels are still taller than any other gun there.)