28 GA PARKER

[Ruff Hunter]

But after all that is done, whatever it is that you have at that point wouldn't be a Parker any longer. If its a classy looking 28 gauge shooter that one wants, there's plenty of better options out there in the $6,000 (or less) price range, and without all the risk and work....like a Parker 28 gauge Repro, with $2K left in your pocket. No matter how one analyzes it, that purchase just doesn't add up.

[Chuck Heald]

Justin,
Some people have more time and skill than money and a different vision of what they want than others. Then there's a huge amount of pride in taking a gun like this and making it into a beautiful working gun again with your own hands. When you do something like that, it feels really good.

My opinion is; if I was looking for such a project, I'd much rather spend $2400 on this Parker 28ga and fix it up than $240 on similar condition Nitro or similar. The Nitro will never be worth much no matter how pretty it gets. The Parker 28 ga has such an inertia of followers that it stands the best chance of a the most ROI, if that's what the guy is after. But I'm guessing this is a project monger who bought this gun.

[Bill Murphy]

Yup, a project manager who likes 21" barrels or is on real good terms with a sleever.

[Chuck Heald]

It'd make a heck of a kid's skeet/upland gun.

[edgarspencer]

This thread reminds me of another, a few months back, when we were talking about "My Grandfather's Axe; 3 new handles, and 2 new heads".
I'm certainly no one to question the motives of someone who wants to restore something that could easily (or at least with less trouble) be replaced. I spent 5 years, and more money than i'd care to admit, restoring an 1892 steam launch. I didn't learn from that lesson and am now having a 1928 Old Town canoe restored. The company in Maine, doing the restoration could have built me a new one for around a grand less than the restoration.
Chuck, with all due respect, I can't help but think you're over-simplifying what is involved in restoring this gun, or at least, restoring it properly. The welding required to bring the frame back to it's original dimension will require post weld heat treat, to relieve the stresses. This will bring the basemetal to a soft, annealed condition, and then require another heat treat cycle to get it back to a suitable tensile strength, and ductility. The temps required, as Brad pointed out, are way higher than whats involved in simply renewing the colors achieved in re coloring an action. Distortion of the already machined surfaces are more than a likely result. This is all before getting to splicing in a new set of tubes and fitting new wood. In the end, anything that can be built, can be re-built, but at what cost?

[Chuck Heald]

Edgar,
I have done this type of work and found it simple, albeit time consuming. First on the list after disassembly and degreasing is annealing, then the file and weld work, polishing, any engraving needed, then out for casehardening, since I don't do casehardening myself. If you don't have the skills to do this work yourself and have to pay for it, I agree, it's a money pit. For someone who enjoys taking something unusable and making it a nice thing again, it's a rewarding project that would not cost much to accomplish.

[AmarilloMike]

Must be one of those things like those people who spend tens of thousands of dollars each year to take birddogs out to the wilderness and walk behind them amongst the rattlesnakes and cactus from Sunrise to Sunset in the hopes of shooting a bird and netting twelve ounces of usable meat on an average day.

Best,

Mike

[Chuck Heald]

Who would do that? Sounds like a waste of money.

[charlie cleveland]

mike you hit the nail on the head...good train of thought... charlie