Parker Stock layout

[Brian Dudley]

Here are a few photos of a DH 16g. 0 frame that I fitted a replacement stock to. The stock was an original Parker DH stock from a 1 frame gun. The head and grip area needed a little reworking to fit the smaller frame.

This original stock had been broken and repaired once already in the past. Look at the grain flow!!!
It goes to show that not all original stocks were laid out all that well. I had to farther reinforce the wrist by inserting a slug of maple under the guard bow tang. As to make sure the wrist would not be a problem again on this stock.

I also have an original unfitted Parker blank that is laid out the same way as this one.

27804

27805

[John Farrell]

Nice refit, Brian. The grain on that wood is nice enough that someone would pay a bit extra so he/she could be seen carrying it. Structurally, from your description of the repair you did, the wood is probably not so good for gunstock material.

[Brian Dudley]

Yes, without additional reinforcement, this stock would no have lasted long.

[Brian Dudley]

Here is the other blank I was mentioning. This is an original Parker blank that someone started shaping at one point. It is laid out the same way.

27806

[John Farrell]

Looks to me like the feather crotch walnut blank should have been cut further up the limb to avoid that mish mash around the head of the stock. Reminds me of the joke about the two guys standing at the urinals in the gym.

[Bill Holcombe]

Brian,

Forgive me for resurrecting this thread, but I was curious what about the grain flow made the stock structurally unsound for shooting? Is it the grain changing directions in the neck head area or what?

[Brian Dudley]

The grain going across the wrist is what is undesirable.
The grain should flow with the wrist.

It doesn't really cause issues with shooting, but makes the stock more prone to breaking due to drops of falls. A stock with cross grain will flex bad.

[Dean Romig]

It really surprises me that the stock pictured didn't have the patented hickory reinforcing rod... unless of course, the stock predates the first application of the reinforcing rod.



.

[allen newell]

Pretty wood nonetheles

[Robert Delk]

I've got dozens of blanks that look like that and that I thought I would never consider using but may change my mind.Lots,maybe most,pretty wood does not fit the commonly accepted criteria for proper layout for a stock for a double gun .

[Bill Murphy]

Brian, could you elaborate on the possibility of fitting stocks of a certain frame size to another gun of a smaller frame size?

[Brian Dudley]

Obviously your only way you an go is down. For example, a 2 frame stock can be fitted to a 1 frame action, but not the other way around. The difference in stocks is the width at the head.
The wider stock would have to be worked down for proper fit to the frame.

[chris dawe]

Brian is right ,but you can also run into differing pitch on the top and bottom tang's ... there are times when walking with the horseshoe in your arse gets uncomfortable ,but for the most part it's never just a simple swap over .

[Brian Dudley]

Yes. All my statements above are based solely on the different stock being a suitable replacement.

[Bill Murphy]

So, the interior inletting is close enough to work among frame sizes?

[chris dawe]

Pretty much Bill, In regard to internal inletting sometimes you do have to do a little finagling for a good fit ,scrape something off here or add a sliver there ...I'm sure Brian ,or anyone else who has tried it will agree... sometimes it can be a great option to get an old gun up and running , or sometimes not so much...it depends on what you want in the end ....I did a hammer gun a while ago where the fitting of a different stock involved just shaving down the top horn to meet the top tang,and a little relief in the lock plates ...everything else was like a smack in the mouth .

[Brian Dudley]

Older hammerless guns that have the horns on the back of the hammers, have large Channels cut out in the head of the stock to clear the hammers when they are cocked. This leaves a relatively thin amount of wood on each side of the head. That is why you can not step down more than one frame size in many cases because you chance not having enough material to work with on the sides of the head.

Hammer guns have differences in tang shapes and sizes between some frame size. But hammerless guns have the same size tangs within most of the common frame sizes.

[Dean Romig]

Older hammerless guns that have the horns on the back of the hammers, have large Channels cut out in the head of the stock to clear the hammers when they are cocked.



Brian, please explain this statement?

[Brian Dudley]

See below photo of both early and later style hammerless hammers and their respective stock inletting.

35730

[Dean Romig]

Got it - thanks Brian.

I'm guessing that Parker Bros. realized that they didn't need all the weight afforded by those heavy hammers and by reshaping the hammers they also reduced the amount of mortise to the stock head.

[Brian Dudley]

Yes. And I have observed on older guns send back to the factory for later work, that the "horns" on the hammers were removed by the factory.

[Dave Suponski]

Brian, What do you guess was the use for the lugs on the back of the early hammers?

[Brian Dudley]

I would suspect that Dean's statement is a best guess of mine as well.

They must have figure more mass meant more reliable operation. But late deemed as not needed. The change came after the multiple cost cutting improvements/changes of the 19-teens. So I suppose that Hayes was reaponsable for the hammer change.