Food for thought

[Researcher]

I would suspect that had fluid pressed steel barrels been in use during the time that the modern progressive burning powders were developed and put on the market, there would likely have been a lot of blown fluid steel barrels... and what would the gunmakers have blamed it on then???

Parker Bros. had been offering "Modern" steel barrels for a quarter of a century when progressive burning smokeless powders shotgun shells were introduced with Western Cartridge Co.'s Super-X loads in 1922. Union Metallic Cartridge Co. began offering factory loaded smokeless powder shells in 1891, and Winchester a couple of years later.

The interruption of supplies of tubes from Europe by WW-I was probably the primary cause for the demise of Damascus barrels. Our thrift Yankee gunmakers never threw anything away!! We've seen examples of Ithaca guns marked as steel barrels that when refinished had one or both tubes of Damascus or Twist, yet nobody cried the dangers of Damascus louder then Lou Smith!!

[Drew Hause]

Indeed.
Wm. Powell & Son used "Fluid-compressed" Whitworth steel for barrels in 1875. The first Purdey Pair Nos. 10614 & 10615 were delivered January 1, 1880 with the “New Whitworth Fluid Pressed Steel”.
Lefever Arms Co. was the first U.S. maker to supply Whitworth steel for their Optimus in 1887. Parker Bros. used Whitworth for the first AAH Pigeon Gun in 1894 SN 79964 delivered to Capt. Du Bray. Hunter Arms first offered Whitworth on the Monogram, A2, and A3 in 1895.
P. Webley & Son began using Siemens (similar to "mild" AISI 1020) steel barrels about 1880.
Hunter Arms was one of the earliest American maker to offer Fluid Steel on other than the highest grade guns. Crown steel first appeared with the Pigeon Grade in 1893, No. A 1 (SN 1130) in 1894, was also used for the No. 3 about 1895, and in 1898 for the No. 2.
Parker Titanic steel barrels were offered for Grades 3 - 6 from 1897 until the introduction of Acme steel for Grades 4 - 6 around 1910. The Grade 0 VH was introduced in 1899 with Vulcan steel, Parker Special Steel barrels appeared on the Grade 2 GH in 1908.
'Decarbonized Steel' barrels were offered by many U.S. makers by the late 1890s, some were “Special (Cold) Rolled Steel” to a higher tensile strength; Marlin & Winchester.
More here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...EK8OtPYVA/edit

[Parker Bachelder (Brad's Profile)]

Dean, we have several rough tubes from Dyson. They average 7 1/2 lbs, 39 " long, .946 OD, .510 ID.and very rough. Even so they machine very well.

Brad