doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com necessary to case hardened an old hammer gun ?

Many years ago I foolishly bought someone else's old Belgium 16 ga. hammer gun project. It was a basket case of parts,a crudely semi-inletted new stock and barrels purportedly redone by Oscar G. Talking with a local competent gunsmith quickly made me realize the extent of my error: It would cost $2,000 or more to finish this gun, which would then be worth about $600. I literally put this gun away and forgot about it. Being now retired, I have decided to try and put this hammer gun together. This is an old Belgium gun marked New England Arms on the rib, so nothing special...JABC. The guy I bought the project from had all the parts stripped, polished and lightly engraved. With an enormous assist from a couple of Utube videos, I have been able to put the sidelocks and receiver back together and now am looking at inletting the new stock. Being mindful that I am already underwater financially on this project, I am wondering if the action really needs to be case hardened; a process which is beyond my abilities, I'm sure. I am OK with how the parts look now. Will I end up spending hundreds to have the case hardening done ? OR could I just skip the case hardening process and shoot the gun with only 3/4 oz. low pressure reloads ? I would appreciate any and all thoughts Board members may have ? Thanks

Do you know if the action has been annealed to make it softer for engraving ?
So I am asking; How hard is it now ?
Test it with a file or a graver & see if they bite into the soft metal or glide over something a lot harder.
You must establish what you are starting with before doing anything.
Did the local competent gunsmith test for hardness & say that the action has been annealed ?
O.M

New England Arms Co. was a tradename used by Chas. J. Godfrey N.Y., Rohde Spencer Co. Chicago, and Simmons Hardware. Some were by Simonis, Janssen & Dumoulin.

Question 1-9 should be "are the barrels usable?" ie nitro proved and with adequate wall thickness.

We might be able to provide more information if you would post high resolution close up images of every mark on the barrel flats and just forward of the flats.

Unless the gun was annealed for some reason there is no need to reharden the gun. Even if the colors are gone, the surface is still hard.

Thanks Guys, I do not know if the gun was annealed or not and I do not remember the gunsmith using that term. I will try and post some photos of the barrel flats. I will also test the action with a file and post what I think of the hardness.

Put a file on it. If annealed, the steel will be like butter to the file. If it is hard, hard as glass, it still has the hardness from when it was made. Color wears off but hardness does not. You can find a place on the receiver where it wont show and do it there. Your other option is to use an engraver tool which you may not own. Just try to cut a straight line. If the metal is hard it will float like over glass.

As to the cost to harden it if needed, after all the work you have invested, a few more bucks is academic. It is a hobby gun, a project, not a way to make money.

When I put a file to it, the file marks the metal straight away, seems very soft. I also inspected the proof markings and find just std. Leige black powder proof markings, none other.

Hmmm; At this point I am thinking, better you than me.
That, however, does not help the situation.
Do you want a black powder 16g gun for $2,000 ?
I have been in this same situation with a low grade B.P. 12g gun which I no longer own. It went for parts.
Nice pair of hammers, anyone ?
O.M

You could get it case color/harden for about 200.00 or just finish the gun and hang it on a wall. If you are not going to shoot it then remove the firing pins so the next owner does not shoot it without knowing it is not truly safe.

i curious how hard this action would have been when new,i don't have one of these to test most people don't want o drag a file across there nice looking gun.