On Lefever guns the SB&Co (Sanderson Steel) a Sheffield, England, company, stamp many times also had a diamond or rhombus shaped stamped near the SB&Co stamp. This may not have been a Sanderson trade mark as it has also been found on barrels marked LLH. SB&Co appears in the Syracuse city directories of the 1880's.
But of course:
http://books.google.com/books?id=OaFKAAA...ca+steel+brands (it should be at the top of several of the pages) .
Ludlum Spring and Steel Company of Pompoton, N.J. began in 1854 and were excellent quality control folks bordering on the edge of insane. In 1906 they began construction on a facility in Watervliet, N.Y. with an electric furnance much like Roechling. Plumbago crucibles were used as well as short bars of either Swedish, Wallon or Styrian charcoal iron. The end product may have actually been better than Roechling and was quite cheap for the end product. At one time industrial spies were sent to work at Ludlum Spring and Steel Company(inc. in 1898 I think) and after a couple of weeks they returned to their master with a report. Ludlum Spring and Steel had the same mixture as their competitor but after 4 hours of heating they were Johnny on the spot with their very specific time table of activity.
As a sidenote, Bethlehem Steel Company made tubes for Winchester and possibly Remington:
http://books.google.com/books?id=g28AAAA...barrels&lr= A 2001 text with the title of "Home Of Morgan" by Chernow notes that German investors were trying to acquire Bethlehem Steel I think during WWI.
Circa 1900, other barrel, could have been big guns, makers were:
Carpenter Steel Company
Midvale Steel Company
Sanderson Brothers Steel Company
Spauldings & Jennings
http://books.google.com/books?id=wNmgAAA...l+steel&lr=Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
