Damascus barrel salesmen’s sample

[Kirk Potter]

Thought you guys might find this interesting, shows the steps in making a damascus barrel.

http://www.dogsanddoubles.com/2017/1...otgun-barrels/

[Drew Hause]

Thank you Kirk. I added the images here
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/20091342



From the July 24, 1886 "Scientific American" article on Parker Bros. courtesy of Jeff Kuss
(The illustration)...shows the manner in which the metal is worked up to form the gun barrel, to make the Damascus twist. Alternate rods of iron and steel are placed upon one another, and then forged and thoroughly welded together into a solid bar, which is afterward rolled into rods. The rod thus formed is raised to a bright red heat, and on end placed in a revolving chuck, while the other remains fixed, the turning of the chuck subjecting the rod to a severe twisting throughout its whole length, so that at last it acquires the appearance of a screw having a very fine thread. Three of these rods are then placed together, the twist of one being in a contrary direction to that of the other two, and they are welded together and rolled, making the strip which is wound around the mandrel...the coil being welded till the spiral unite to form a hollow cylinder.
The fine figures that appear in the finished barrel are the result of the skillfulness with which these several operations are performed, after which follows a process of hammering while the barrel is nearly cold, to further condense the metal, and the barrel is then ready to be bored, turned, and finished. About three-fourths of the material is cut away in the making, 16 pounds of iron being used in the first instance to make a pair of barrels which would weigh only 8 pounds when the welding is finished, and from three to four pounds after boring and grinding.
In the manufacture of laminated steel barrels, the best quality of steel scrap is mixed with a small proportion of charcoal iron, heated in a furnace, puddle into a ball, well worked up under a forge hammer, drawn out under a tilt hammer into strips of the required length and thickness, and then treated as above described. Such barrels are much esteemed for hardness and closeness of grain, and show a different marking and appearance from those made by the Damascus twist.
It is only by such elaborate treatment of the metal that gun makers have succeeded in making guns so very light, and yet of such great strength and beauty.

[Mike Franzen]

What would something like that be worth?

[Kevin McCormack]

I have only ever seen 2 of these. The first one Oscar Gaddy showed me after he purchased it from an auction somewhere in England. The second one I had hoped to purchase as part of my deferred commission for selling a large collection of antique reloading equipment (100-shell multi gauge hardwood blocks, brass sieve drop plates with powder screeds, and capping/decapping tools). Unfortunately, a "helpful neighbor" of the great old guy I was selling the collection for spirited it out of the house and it disappeared while the garage was being "cleaned out." My old friend died about 2 years ago; I'm still trying to learn the identity of the neighbor. His daughter, for whom I sold still more remnants of his "collection", says she never remembers seeing it in his jumbled garage "workshop."

[Bill Murphy]

Kevin, our flyer club mentor sold one at the Maryland Vintagers a few years ago. I don't know who purchased it.

[Kevin McCormack]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

Kevin, our flyer club mentor sold one at the Maryland Vintagers a few years ago. I don't know who purchased it.

I don't remember him ever having anything like this - but I do remember him selling a "salesman's sample" selection of 6 or so segments of various Crolles in a small box that came from Oscar Gaddy's original collection.

[Brett Hoop]

Was there not one of these offered several years back at Julia's?

[John Allen]

There was one in a collection I appraised last year.The owner sold it for $250,which was a little less than the the $300 I had appraised it for.

[Bruce Day]

Originally Posted by Mike Franzen

What would something like that be worth?

We often show one at Pheasant Fest but did not bring it this year. We’ll bring it in 2020 to PF in St Paul. Come on up and be surprised by the weather.

[Matto]

Bruce, PLEASE bring that to PF in Minneapolis next year. PLEASE, Dean and I will gush all over that for hours. That is a super cool piece. would really help to explain to people why the barrels look the way they do and why they are so strong. Even the pictures are super cool. That is a really neat pice of memorabilia. You seem to have all the cool toys. hmmmm this is starting to sound like a cool thread??