The above inevitably bring to mind scenes from my visit at Perazzi: an order for a stock was received, executed and couriered in less than four hours, guaranteed that it would fit when it arrived. The fitting needing no more than a hex driver.
No, I am not comparing the H&H to the Perazzi. It is the process that seems so anachronistic. The fit of the Perazzi stock "wings" and tang are no less demanding than the lock plates of the H&H, yet there is no equiavalent machine for the Holland (and others), even though the metal work at the factory went over to CNC years ago.
Whoever develops software for precision stock inletting for shotguns will make a packet. Inletting by using the metal work as reference, and not merely copying. I know it is done for other things using laser scanners in conjunction with programs like Solidworks. Once the inletting is done the stockmaker can take over the shaping and other subtleties at a lower cost and much shorter time.
