doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com L.C. Smith Forend Identification / Chuck

I was told that Chuck the stocker might be able to help with this question. Is there a way to tell the gauge of the splinter forend wood of an L.C. Smith? Is there a distinguishing characteristic or measurement? Sorry, I don't have the experience to identify them visually nor the luxury of a SXS collection to allow me to individually fit them. The difference in barrel grooves seems minimal but I have noticed variations in the raised rib of wood ahead of the iron fitting underneath the barrels. Some are flat and wide, some are narrower and higher. Your help and the comments from anyone else will be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

Mike, not that anybody was eluding you over at the L.C. Smith site, but I don't think that anybody has ever measured or tried doing so, of if they have never posted.
Anyway I took 3 forends all from Featherweights, top one is from a 1927 Field Grade pull off forend. Middle is from a 1919 16 ga. Field Grade with ejectors, bought gun it has a beavertail on it and not the right type, went to Gunparts (Numrich) and bought one. They sell ones for ejector (slot cut already) and non-ejector. Cut too deep where the barrels lay and wouldn't fit right, sloppy on barrels. Had to add a piece on each side,(you can see the slit where I added the piece) and try again. Now waiting for another piece of nicer wood and make another one.
Bottom is from a 12 ga Ideal Grade with the roller release also. You can see from the photos that they are all about the same, and yes I would say that they would fit from a 20 ga -12 ga. Like you stated the only difference is in the width of center rib.





Hope this helps, David

David
Your pictures show exactly the differences I was referring to. Do you think the higher, narrower rib defines the forearm as a 12 gauge? Therefore, the wider, flat rib as a 20. As you said, they are probably to some degree interchangeable. I'm trying to put the final piece on an Ideal grade 20 and want to make the right choice. Thank you very much for the time and effort you have put in to your response.
Mike

Russ Ruppel gave me a crash course on L C Smiths when i first got into them.All FW forend irons will fit different gauge featherweight frame guns. It would be nice to have the measurments of the wood for the different gauges. I put 12 ga. forend wood on my late 20 gauge and it fits fairly good, not perfect though. Bobby

The forend irons of FW guns in 20 ga, 16 ga. and 12 ga will fit into the receivers of different FW guns, it's the "J" spring and the barrel lug that will be off. Also on Field Grade ejector guns and Ideal Grade up the roller release will be the same problem as the way it catches in the back of the barrel lug.

The following is a start to identifying LC Smith forend fastening systems...The Lewis system is sometimes referred the hourglass, banjo, or segmented wheel. I can find none of these terms in the patent specs, but all work well...The Wadsworth appears to be a Lewis segmented wheel with a further fastening improvement for withstanding heavy range use...there is a rod that runs clean through to the front of the full beav wood, as can be seen in the pics....the other two are the common spring type fastening systems that I can not tie to Smith, so for the moment I am calling them unknown type...There is also a drawing of the Curtis FE latch which looks very much like an Anson type..I once owned a Smith with a Curtis (Anson type) latch, and I once owned a Smith with a Deeley type FE latch (like a Parker)...there are probably others that I've not seen yet, but positively identifying 3, the Lewis, Wadsworth, and Curtis is a start..

Robert, great pictures! The bottom unknown forend is very similar to a type two hammer gun forend but not exactly. It may have come off a very early type one hammer gun. Bobby

The grade 3 forend appears to be like the early ejector forend latch, Page 147 in Brophys book has photo of this, although the forend pictured is a non-ejector forend for a hammerless gun. The unknown spring latch at the bottom is the common one used on the field guns after Hunters arms abandoned the Curtis latch.

Jim A.