We hope you enjoy this multi-part blog series on the restoration of a 1921 Parker BHE 12 gauge shotgun. Do you have questions about the process of gun restoration? Feel free to ask in the comments section below, or drop us a line.
Day 1: Making a New Buttstock
Day 1, Step 1
1) Since the original stock was cracked, we glued it together using acraglas so a duplicate stock could be made using our duplicator.
Day 1, Step 2
2) A blank of English walnut was selected.
Day 1, Step 3
3) The original stock and the selected blank of wood were put into the duplicator.
Day 1, Step 4
4) Here is a close-up of the original and the blank of English walnut.
Day 1, Step 5
5) We used a stylus to trace the shape of the existing stock while the router moved over the new blank of wood to duplicate the pattern of the original stock.
Day 1, Step 6
6) The new stock!
Day 1, Step 7
7) Close-up of the inletting that the duplicator is capable of matching.
Day 2: Fitting the Stock to the Receiver
Day 2, Step 1
1) The frame and floorplate are used to further inlet the stock to make sure that all the parts fit properly.
Day 2, Step 2
2) The first step is to apply inletting black to the frame to show the contact points.
Day 2, Step 3
3) The frame is put onto the stock and then removed. Any inletting black that remains on the wood needs to be reworked using a scraper.
Day 2, Step 4
4) The contact points are where the black inletting was left behind.
Day 2, Step 5
5) The high points are then scraped off.
Day 2, Step 6
6) Inletting the stock can sometimes take a few hours to do.
Day 2, Step 7
7) The stock is clamped to inlet the bottom tang.
Day 2, Step 8
8) The same inletting process happens here. Inletting is applied, the bottom tang is fitted, and then more scraping occurs until everything is where it should be.
Day 2, Step 9
9) Here the gunsmith is filing the wood to metal.
Day 2, Step 10
10) Rasping to shape the Parker shotgun buttstock.
Day 2, Step 11
11) Profiling the shape of the fleur de lis.
Day 2, Step 12
12) Comparing the original Parker BHE shotgun buttstock to the new one.
Day 2, Step 13
13) Detail sanding and shaping to achieve the desired fleur de lis.
Day 3: Fitting the Skeleton Buttplate
Day 3, Step 1
1) First, the spur is inletted to find the center for the skeleton buttplate.
Day 3, Step 2
2) The buttplate is put on and the metal is traced.
Day 3, Step 3
3) Filing extra wood down.
Day 3, Step 4
4) This shows a nice profile of the inside of the skeleton buttplate.
Day 3, Step 5
5) At this point, the skeleton buttplate is about halfway inletted.
Day 3, Step 6
6) After some more scraping and fitting, the skeleton buttplate has been fully inletted.
Day 3, Step 7
7) Since the buttplate and frame have been inletted, a final sanding happens.
Parker BHE 12 Gauge Restoration: The Full Process
Days 1-3: making a new buttstock, fitting the stock to the receiver, fitting the skeleton buttplate
Days 4-6: last day of inletting, polishing the barrels, inletting the gold shield
Days 7-9: re-cutting the barrel engraving, polishing the action, rust bluing the barrels
Days 10-12: stock refinishing, checkering the buttstock, finishing up the checkering
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This installment of Restoration Resources appears in our Shoot History e-magazine. If you'd like to see more stories like these while learning about classic firearms preservation, head over to Shoot History. Be sure to hit the subscribe button while you're there.
I really enjoyed seeing you go through the steps of a Re-Stocking. Beautiful work.!!!..I see you are using a Don Allen machine.. I have his first Stock Machine ,still going strong. I have made many of Stocks, and even made furniture legs , the lists goes on..
Most of my work is Flintlock Rifles, and Pistols
Thanks,
Joe Scorsone