Damascus Barrel Refinish.
 

I am going to take the plunge and have my GH Damascus barrels refinished.

I will be dropping them off Fri. with Craig of Circle Fly Wads, LLC http://www.circlefly.com/html/damascus.html
He is very local to me, and I like his reloading supplies.

Are there any pros & cons of a barrel refinish?

Mike :)

If there are any voids in the solder under the ribs it will become evident in the refinishing process. Be certain they are all resoldered as an integral part of the refinishing process.

We would like very much to see pictures of the finished product please.

Dean,

I have just aquired an O frame 16 Damascus as a project gun. The bores are stock, but it apperently had rusted at some point and the outside had been sanded down. Thickness at the muzzle is .021. The gunsmith (who knows Damascus pretty well) recommended against a refinish because he said it would make the bbls even thinner. Do you find this to be true?

Very good question David.
The last thing I want is any metal sanded off my barrels.
Think I will be asking some questions Fri.

David,

The refinish itself will not make the barrels thinner. If the barrels need a heavy polishing, that would remove some metal. If the barrels are fairly good on the exterior, a light polish may clean them up pretty well, without taking a noticeable amount of metal away.

LOL okay, I am going to step out on a limb here and assume you are the Craig Smith of Circle Fly, and the guy I am going to be having refinish my barrels :bigbye:

That has never been my experience but then, I have never owned a gun that had the barrels "sanded down" by a novice on the outside. Depending on the level of finish you want the barrels to have, i.e., remove any evidence of the barrels having been damaged by the sanding down of exterrior rust and pits, would certainly require more metal to be professionally removed to attain that level of finish would, in my opinion, be inadvisable

That's me...

I have 2 sets of Parker barrels that I'm just about done polishing. I'll show them to you and let you see what is done in preparation for the refinish.

Just nevermind the belt sander marks in them.... :shock: Just kidding!!!

My barrels were scratched up I think Craig just mild polished them and they look GREAT. theres a before and after of mine on parker restortion under lifter barrels by Craig Smith. ch

Thanks all, I am now feeling confident in having this done. :)

Hey Mike,

If you flinch about sending your barrels to Craig Smith my barrels will take your spot in line! (smile) I have four sets I'd like to have done including those of a rather old 2-barrel set which I just acquired.

Craig did a friend and fellow PGCA member's barrels. He ie very pleased with the results.

Respectfully,
Mark

No flinch here, Craig will have them in his hands tomorrow around noon. :)

Craig,

Wise decision!

PS: How do you inset a smiley face?

Mark

Mike,

Didn't mean to startle you. My GS probably thought I wanted to bring the bbls back to a mirror smooth surface. I don't think that is possible, but would like to bring out the Damascus pattern. From what Craig said, it sounds like this is possible without removing a significant amount of metal. Good luck with the bbls, from the some of the pics on the site it looks like you are in for a treat.

I will indeed post pictures when they are finished.
Maybe we can talk Craig into posting a couple of progress
pictures along the way as he refinishes them. :)

Mark, I'm glad I an't the only 1 that can't figure out how 2 put those smilys on. ch

If you use the "New Reply" or the "Quote" you have access to all those
cool little icon's. The quick reply I don't think has them. :)

:) Thanks Mike

Barrel update:

Just got home from dropping my barrels off into the fine hands
of Craig Smith of Circlefly Wads.
He is a top shelf fellow with a very cool shop. :cool:
I was very impressed with the examples of his work he showed me.
I came away feeling very comfortable leaving my one and only set
of Parker barrels with him. :)
Now the hard part, the wait till there done :corn:

Barrel Refinish Update.

PM from: Craig Smith.

"I stripped the old finish off of your barrels, and have to say that they are very nice. It is kind of ironic,... if you remember my Lancaster has 2 different barrel patterns, your Parker does too, to a lesser degree. The patterns are the same, but the left barrel is of a finer damascus that the right. This will be an unique looking set when I am done."

Is this something normal or rare on Parker GH's?

Its common. See all the prior threads about damascus barrels and Dale Edmonds. You'll see lots of such examples. The higher the grade, the better the damascus barrels matched. In some low grades, you'll see mismatched damascus in the same barrel.

Bruce posted this D3 barrel refinished by Dale with mismatched tube segments

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL.../385835791.jpg

Craig refinished these Charles Lancaster barrels with 3 Rod 'Oxford' right barrel, and 3 Rod 'Finest' Oxford left

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL.../385836673.jpg

Baker A grade with slightly different 4 Iron 'Oxford'

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL.../292172023.jpg

The rough forged tubes were paired in Belgium, and after the final fit and finishing, but before coloring, the pattern is almost indistinguishable.

I think I own thoes D3 barrels

Mike,

Not to worry.... The patterns match, there are no mismatched segments, etc....
The left barrel's pattern is just a little smaller that the right's. I just thought it looked neat.

The Grade 2 or "G" is the lowest grade that Parker Bros. fitted Damascus (not Twist, Stub Twist, Laminated or any of the other composite) barrels to so probably the least costly of the Damascus barrels were used on this grade with the greater possibility of mismatched patterns. This in no way compromises the integrity of the strength of the barrels.

No worry here Craig, I think it’s awesome when little secrets are uncovered such as this. :cool:
I just added your comment to keep the thread alive as you progress in the refinish of the barrels. Hope you don't mind. :)

BTW: If any of you moderators feel this thread should be moved to a different section of the forum, that’s more than fine by me. :)

I am aware that some people use damascus pattern matching as part of the selection criteria when looking at G grades. Some want consistant patterns, others want variety. Some G's have fine damascus, others coarser.

D's are more consistant, but not always.

On all the C's and above I have seen, the fine damascus pattern has been consistant in the barrel and between barrels of the set. All the Bernards I have seen have been consistant. Sometimes you can see segment weld lines, but the segments are generally consistant.

The same is true for twist. Being a lower grade barrel steel, there can be much inconsistancy.

I am an enthusiast of damascus barrels, I find them much more interesting than fluid steel, and have both in my small collection.

Barrel Update:
Got the call from Craig last evening saying the barrels are done
and ready to be picked up. :cheers:
Friday evening can’t come soon enough. :)
I will post pictures this weekend as time permit's.

3 pictures Craig sent me of the finished product. :)

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...S/DSC_0891.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...S/DSC_0894.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...S/DSC_0896.jpg


ooops... Lets add a fourth one from Craig. I really like the looks of this one. ;-)

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...S/DSC_0914.jpg

Mike,

The pics aren't the best, but will give you an idea of what they look like.
Be sure to bring the rest of the gun when you come to pick them up! I like seeing everything back together...

I will do that Craig :)

Well here they are guys. {1900 Parker GH #1 frame 12 ga.}

Things worked out well today; Craig was gracious enough to let me stop by his shop this afternoon and pick up the completed barrels.
(thanks a million Craig :-)

I am one very happy camper with the results. They are absolutely awesome in person. Taking a good picture of Damascus barrels is not the easiest thing to do, I have got to work on producing a better close-up picture.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...edBarrels7.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...dBarrels10.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...edBarrels5.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...edBarrels9.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...edBarrels8.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...dBarrels13.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...edBarrels3.jpg

The barrels look great. The photo are fine showing good detail. I wouldn't worry to much about your skills with a camera.

The barrels look so good they tempt me to send mine off for refinishing.

Mike,
Your outdoor pictures came out very well. Good work!

Thanks so much for the compliment Bill.
That’s extra special coming from you.
In my mind you’re one step from God when it comes to photography.
I love all the gun photo work you do for Cabela’s.

Mike :)

(Craig can indeed help you out with your barrels)

Thank you for the kind words. I do try to make sure things at work are in focus and exposed well.

I have people compliment me on my photography but not very often is it the work I do at Cabela's that they are talking about. Seems pretty woman are much more popular than firearms.

Well now that you mention it Bill, you indeed do some mighty fine
photography work in that department as well. :)
My wife & I just love our Facebook friend and your pretty wife and
model Ms. Wanda, she is just way cool. :cool:

Mike, were there any dents in your barrels? I'm wondering about dent removal. There is an old LC Smith sitting at work with lovely chain Damascus barrels that I'm toying with buying as a project gun (don't be posting anything to face book I don't want Wanda hearing about it until the time is right)

It is a good solid gun, on face, lever right of center, no cracks in the wood, no major bruising and reasonable dimensions. The down side is the 30" barrels: the bores are a little rough and there are few dents but they ring as clear as a church bell. The bores don't concern me as much as the dents. Anyone have any expierence with dent repairs in Damascus and how they turn out?

They turn out just as well as fluid steel, no different.

Bill,
Yes Craig is set up to do 12 ga. dent removal.
He did remove a very small dent in my right barrel.
Craig is away at his camp in the mountains this weekend.
I’m sure when he gets back he will be able to give you a more detailed answer.

LOL And don’t worry Bill, I wont spill the beans to Ms. Wanda on FB. :rotf:
I very well know about wives & buying guns. Like vinegar & water.
Good luck, and after the dust settles and ya have the new baby in hand,
take lots of pictures for us to drool over. :)