A few questions for the Parker experts

[Craig Larter]

I have a Parker and the factory letter says it was shipped in May 20 1905. The gun has the T-type pinned wear plate that was patented 8/15/1905. The water table is not stamped with the 1905 patent date. Was the gun shipped with the 1905 wear plate or was it added at a later date?? Opinions please.
Picture below
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t2/clarter/DSC_0022-1.jpg
The barrels flats have a stamp WK in a circle is this the Walter King stamp that is thought to be a barrel quality stamp?? Picture below
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t2/clarter/DSC_0025.jpg

Also, according the TPS page519 Vol II the end of a 12 ga. chamber is .798 (C Dia. small end) Does that mean that the proper chamber length gauge for a Parker should be .798 dia.???
Thanks Craig (just trying to educate myself)

[Dave Suponski]

Craig, Many guns were retrofitted at the factory for the 1910 bolt plate. Yes the "WK" is the barrel stamp for Walter King. As far as chambers go I think the .798 is a starting point I have seen some variances in chamber diameters.

[Bill Murphy]

Refresh our memories here, Craig. Do you have your PGCA letter yet? It may mention a return to the factory between 1905 and 1910. That could explain the early bolt plate. Otherwise, I would assume that the gun was fitted with the 1905 plate while the patent was being approved.

[Craig Larter]

Bill: I do have a letter and no mention of a return to the factory.

[charlie cleveland]

show us some pictures of this gun craig...looks interesting... charlie

[Daryl Corona]

Craig,
My guess is your gun left the factory with the new wear plate. Murph is probably right. The gun was fitted with the plate with the patent pending. Also, as Dave says, I too have seen variances in chamber ID's especially with damascus/twist barrels.

[Dean Romig]

A question about the removable wear plate Craig. There were two styles of "T" shaped and pinned plates, the 1905 design and the 1910 design. The 1910 plate had flats cut into the sides of the plate and the bolt was manufactured to engage the plate more positively than the 1905 design. Which design do you have?

[Craig Larter]

Dean: My gun has the 1905 design, just a plain block letter "T". The newer design appears to have two tapered surfaces on the top ends of the "T", correct???
According to TPS the lowest serial number with the 1905 patent date is 131179, my gun is 131942 so it is close to the time of the change. I would guess Parkers were not assembled in exact serial number sequence. Thanks for the help Craig

[Dean Romig]

That's right Craig and that is the 1910 patented design.

[Bill Murphy]

Craig said he had the one surface 1905 plate. I have to review my TPS reference to this. Whatever the situation, I don't change them or try. In 1972, LDG Sr. did a 1910 plate conversion on my 28 gauge VH. There was not really a need for it, but I thought I wanted it. How was I to know that I would still be shooting this gun 52 years after I bought it? I have never bothered to convert one since.

[Kevin McCormack]

As the improvements in design of the bolt plate (correct terminology here, please) were perfected, most guns sent back to Meriden for whatever reason were converted to the latest improvement in bolt plate technology as a matter of routine while they were in the factory (e.g., insert with planar shoulders, insert with sloped shoulders, etc.) without ever informing the customer who had returned the gun, and they were not charged for it. Let's just say it was Parker Bros. way of insuring forward thinking improvements in technology. Most people never detected the difference and to this day the different styles of bolt plate pinning, sloping, etc. are routinely seen on very early guns built after the non-insert era (e.g., static rear lugs which were simply machined at the correct angle for compensation for wear over time). Previous to the inserted (pinned) bolt plate, the only way to compensate for wear was to weld up the surface of the bolt sloped incline, then hand-file it to the correct tolerance. The bolt plate insert was indeed a milestone in prolonging the correct fit of the barrels to the standing breech, putting the gun (as our British friends say) "back on face."