Laminate Barrels
 

Back in January or so, I purchased at auction an L2 grade lifter (transition model) with the new lifter and no pin but with a wedge fore end. It was marked as a Parker made lifter barrel set but the pattern was invisible (no finish left). It was an 1879 12 gauge barrels with typical 11 gauge tubes,The barrels were pitted throughout but had not been bored or honed. I sent them to Skeet's and had them bored .010 (.005 per wall) and the chokes adjusted. I then sent them to Breck and had them refinished. He contacted me today and told me he is shipping them back today. He included a picture of the finished barrels and I wanted to post it here as I think the pattern across the barrel is interesting. Looks like another super job from Breck. Click on the picture for an enlarged view.

While the gun was away, I removed the frozen top bolt and replaced it, stripped and de-oiled the stock and insert a missing section of the right lockplate surrounding wood. When everything was solid, I refinished the stock. I isn't a high grade gun but the barrels are interesting and the original gun didn't attract any interest and I got it for a few hundred dollars. So far I am out less than $1500 and have a nice useable lifter with rare barrels.

I will post a few finished pictures when I recieve the barrels.

Nice one Art. Good save!!

1879 was the last year Parker Bros. produced their Laminated Steel barrels, according to Superintendant King. And if I've done my homework correctly only between 300 and 400 guns were made with them.





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As I've said probably a little too often, Parker produced laminated are a thing of beauty!!

Thanks for sharing Art.

PS. Please let me know if you have a BIG 8 with said barrels:smiley7:

I agree the pattern looks like the other Parker produced Laminated Steel tubes
Scroll down about 1/2 way here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...4S6OIN1bA/edit

Cost on the bbls Browning ?

All of them I have had Breck do are very reasonable even compared to a neighborhood walk in gunsmith hot blue job;. Realize too that he completely restores the barrels. They look exactly what I would think they looked like when they left Meriden.

Since every set is different, the price differs based on dents, pits etc. I don't want to quote exact prices on a particular set because they are all different and the price may be different for a different set. But the price of a modern hot blue job is in the same range in my experience.

Please pass on his contract info thanks

No, but I am always looking.

I know of a Grade 6 lifter hammer with beautiful laminate barrels and would love to own the barrels, but the whole gun is not worth what the dealer is asking due to the restoration work needed on the stocks.

Here's the info:

I thought the barrels here after refinish had a little more variation along the tubes than I am used to seeing. The breech ends look to have a different fundamental pattern than the sections closer to the muzzle. The rib is also of an interesting pattern.

Thanks

Art, the difference in patterns is because of the fact that, for some unknown reason, the barrel tubes are made from two sections, each roughly 15” long and weld-jointed together to form the full-length barrel tube. I currently have two that have this sometimes not very obvious feature. I’m not aware of any Parker-made Laminated Steel barrels any longer than 32”… but I certainly haven’t seen them all.





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Or possibly 3 sections; obviously the thicker at the breech which is why the pattern if often slightly different
Hard to tell but the arrow may be the weld line between the sections
The other arrow is likely an area of decarburization from excessive heating during the helical hammer welding of the tube

https://photos.smugmug.com/Damascus/...0marked-XL.jpg

The neat rib pattern is from the same laminated steel rod turned on its side and ground to fit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...Ix2xJM9bA/edit

Parker D6 with decarburization

https://photos.smugmug.com/Damascus/...tion%202-M.jpg

A Parker D3 barrel refinished by Tom Flanigan with 2 tube segments, which colored differently, with the obvious weld line

https://photos.smugmug.com/Damascus/...tion%201-L.png

Just got a pair of Dam2 10 ga barrels back from Breck, perfect experience as anticipated. Interesting thing is the front half of the left barrel is an unusual pattern I am not familiar with. Joins with the rest of the Dam2 pattern just in front of the roll stamp on the rib. Love these unusual Parkers.

To the L is Parker D3 3 Iron "Oxford", the butt weld between segments at the arrow, then it turns into (a messy) "Horseshoe". That is pretty common as the segment is thinner

https://photos.smugmug.com/Damascus/...orseshoe-S.jpg

Browned "Horseshoe". You see the connection between the scrolls

https://photos.smugmug.com/Damascus/...0browned-S.jpg

The lower picture looks like some of the English laminate I have seen from the 1870's. I have several well graded English guns from the 1870-1885 era that are, along with Parker Laminates, some of my favorite composite barrels.

There was (briefly) something called "Laminated Damascus", which by appearance started with individual strips of iron and steel rather than a “puddled” mixture

Wesson Fire Arm Co., Springfield, Mass. percussion double with 2 iron “Laminated Damascus”

https://photos.smugmug.com/Damascus/...Lam%2012-M.jpg

Wesson with a messy 3 Iron Crolle

https://photos.smugmug.com/Damascus/...%26A%206-S.jpg

Letters in The Chicago Field in 1878 state that a barrel forger named John Blaze of Birmingham, England had immigrated to America to make Wesson's barrels. He was listed in the 1865 Worcester, Mass. City Directory as a ‘Gunsmith’, and 1878-1881 as a ‘Blacksmith’. Whether he left Wesson for Parker's employ after Dan Wesson shut down his shotgun production in December 1870 is uncertain. Other Wesson gunmakers did take jobs with Parker, including Charles A. King.