doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gunsmiths Q...New forend for old gun

Following up on Gebs awesome $25 Francotte..
What kind of money would a new forend cost?, the whole deal, metal, wood, fitting ,chequering, cc etc...
just in case I see one like Gebs...just looking for a rough idea
is all
thanks
franc

According to who does the work, anywhere from $1200 to $1500.
JR

I would quote around $1500 for a complete non-ejector forend not including engraving. Depending on if its an Anson pushrod or Deeley latch will also shift that price down. Pushrod being the more expensive option as Deeley latches are available pre-made.

Adding Southgate ejectors adds substantial cost.

This subject came up recently somewhere and I seem to remember that a complete new forend, totally finished, for a SLE by one of the London names was charged at �2500 (about $4250 at current rates)but it may have been more. Or maybe it was �5200.....Old age memory problems!
Whatever, Gunmaker's price seems very reasonable to me.
Over the years I have come across a few guns without forends and with a bit of luck have found scrap ones that could be adapted, re-engraved etc
However, it can be a long search especially with hammerguns as there seemed much less standardisation in knuckle radius, width, depth etc
They have always required a new forend loop or at least the relocation of the existing one and some surgery with TIG welding.
Ejectors are always going to be much more expensive to sort out but BLE's with the Deeley box are often available from the auction houses as scrap guns and become useful donor guns for parts.
Fortunately, most gunsmith in the UK have collected boxes of spare parts from scrapped guns and this helps the search for odd bits.
I once found a complete set of locks for an Acme coil spring lock SLNE, the rest of the gun was toast but the locks were mint condition!

Boxes and bins of spare parts often are the best source. Starting from scratch could make a great buy into a long expensive job. But this gun was bought so cheaply there is a lot of room for work to be done. That looks like a very worthy project.

Thanks, I hope he can find one that just needs a little work..Its a lovely looking gun, & worth the cost, even if it costs 2000
good luck geb
franc

With some help from the people here on this forum, I have one on the way that might work at a very reasonable price. Ironically the serial number is within 50 of the one I have.

One comment I would like to make. I have always kinda kept to myself about my hobby of collecting 30-40 krags. It was a kind of a silent pride to look and polish them up. Gun enthusiasts, in my humble opinion, get a bad rap in our society. So I just go about my life not really stepping out of my shell. I have to say that coming to this forum has been a very positive experience, right from the registration with Dave's help to everyone helping in their own way. I appreciate each of you and your positive forward thinking comments. This has renewed my faith in many things about our great country. Thank you all for allowing me to be apart of this.

I think you will find that most on here are willing to share their knowledge no matter what walk of life you come from or what kind of gun you have. And there is a great amount of knowledge on this site to learn from.

Geb as I am sure have learned never judge a book by it's cover or a gun nut by his. Education and money are no substitute for intelligence, class and being willing to help others. The collective amount of knowledge here is vast and most are willing to share what they know willingly. I do not expect those who make a living in the trade to divulge trade secrets and most do not. Some do so willingly and it amazes me when they do so. Perhaps they know most of us can not do the job correctly, even when we are told what and how to do it. Or they just give more than the get and do not bother worrying about it.

I love the Krags as well but so far have resisted buying up the market. Some of the early conversions to sporters are quite interesting. Having left the call of factory condition is everything behind I find how others alter out of favor or nearly forgotten guns into something that revives their use and does it with graceful lines to be very pleasing.