Putting a CHE back on face with an oversized roll joint

[B. Dudley]

Here is a process post on a job I just completed. As many of you may know, I have on hand oversized roll joints for Parker extractor and ejector guns. The installation of the proper sized joint allows for weld-free refitting of the breech.

This Rondel engraved CHE 12g. had been restored many years ago and is exceptional, however, the fit of the barrels was not 100%. The gun was tight, but it was off face quite a bit. About .005-.006" at the top. These photos show the condition of the gun when I received it. Note the fit of the dolls head rib extension which really shows the issue, as well as the daylight that is visible at the top of the breech. It was a pretty glaring issue that was the only wart on an otherwise beautiful gun.

Before 1.jpg

Before 2.jpg

Before 3.jpg

A new oversized roll joint was installed into the frame. The joint selected was a diameter of .550" which is approximately .012-.015" larger in diameter than most original used roll joints. This gave me the .005-.006" needed on the hook face to get the barrels back to being ready for refitting.

New Joint.JPG

The top and bottom sides of the hook were smoke fitted to the new joint. And then the breech face was smoke fitted to the frame until the barrels fully seated on the frame. Making the barrels seat fully then left some play in the bolt lockup, so a brand new bolt (also available through me) was fitted to tighten up the lockup.

After fitting.JPG

The back side of the forend loop also needed some very minor reworking to get the forend to seat tightly as a result of the barrel fitting. The new roll joint then needed to be case hardened for both functional and cosmetic purposes.

Colored joint 1.JPG

Colored joint 2.JPG

The end result is a gun that is back on face and as tight in every way as it was when the gun was new. The photos below show the assembled gun. Note the appearance of the rib extension fit in comparison to the before photos.

After 1.JPG

After 2.JPG

And to finish the job, the breech face was stripped as it would have been new.

Striped breech.JPG