brad: thank you so much for your response re tempering.

i have been asking that question of individuals who claim to do high heat bone charcoal case coloring, for many years. you are the first one to correctly answer that question. most others seem not to comprehend what i am asking.

as a result of this thread and your fine reputation among some of our mutual customers, i have come to the conclusion that it is now cost effective and safe to recolor a high value shotgun receiver via your processes. thank you so much for your willingness to share your knowledge and expertise...the sign of a true professional.

ed lander, my go to gunsmith, is in the process of assembling a 28 ga ithaca nid repro, from a kit of parts left over from the sadly, now defunct ithaca classic doubles operation. should this effort be successful, the next step in the process, after engraving, will be heat treating and case coloring as needed. according to old ed, none of the parts seem to have been heat treated. would you be interested in taking on this phase of the project?

I should think that business propositions are better conducted by PMs.

I agree....

The first gun pictured is a knock out Bruce. Suppose I could take her out on a date?

as to these nid kits, i have three friends and customers who are each sitting on one of these kits, hoping to find a way to turn them into usable guns. the first stumbling block has been finding a gunsmith with the willingness to accomplish the fit and finish phase, which as it turns out, includes making parts not included in the kit. so far, old ed is the only one i have found who is willing to attempt the assembly of one of these guns. next is the engraving step. no problem there. lots of engravers to choose from. next is heat treating and case coloring. before this thread, there was only one other source that i would trust with this work. now there are two. next is final finish. no problem. lots of choices...

so, hopefully you will see that this not just a business proposition, but instead it is more like a mission or a quest or perhaps an obsession? generally, i would consider a business proposition as spending money to make money...in this situation, it is doubtful that any money could be made here, due to the anticapated costs involved. but, then if we four wind up with a finely finished custom gun, instead of a pile of parts, perhaps that would be a good thing?

My heart is pounding with excitement. Please, Ed, don't make us all wait for Sunday to hear the final answer. This thread started off with a great purpose and excellent photography. It has diminished into, "Who Cares" and poor photography. IMHO could we please give it a rest?

Dennis

dennis: the pictures of the fired pots are kinda nice, dont you agree?

Ed, are you asking me if I like the photo quality or do I like the pots. I like the pots but wish the photo was a little more of a close up to see details. As for the photo quality itself it is a decent snapshot but if I were looking to buy a pot (I am not) I would want more detail. If you are REALLY asking about the photos of the three case colored guns I think to really judge which is which the photos should have been a side view of each receiver rather than parts that really can't be looked at closely due to the distance from the lens and not all photos depicting the same part of the gun. I hope that makes sense.

dennis: makes sense...what also makes sense is that you may have this thread mixed up with another one?

Ed, you are correct. I was reading two threads, Parker Case Color Quiz from you and Real Deal Case Colors from Bruce Day. I had seen the photos of the pots from your niece and somehow in my pea brain got it mixed up with your quiz on case colors. Sorry! I will try to be more careful next time.