John,
A restock is a major expense and undertaking, but, good things can sometimes happen. At the time I restocked the Tobin, Randy had a supply of English walnut that his father had purchased 20-30 years prior. The wood was beautiful, but, sized such that it really was only usable on small frame shotguns. He had stocked a lever action rifle or two in it, but, said that wood with that much figure looked out of place on a lever gun.
I think my cost on the wood was $250-300. I got a $100 or so off the price total by selling him the original stock to use as a pattern. He had been a stocker for 30 years at that point, and had never seen a Tobin. Both events, good deal wood, and him needing a pattern stock, were blind luck that lowered the price.
I sold the gun, years later, for what I had into it. It was cast for a lefty, had beautiful wood, and was a sub gauge, 16 in this case. Stan Baker opened the chokes, fixed the "stepped" forcing cones, and the barrels were rust blued, so it wasn't just the cost of the restock that went into the gun.
Not sure I could pull that trick off again, and I'm doubtful it would have happened with a 12 gauge.
Best,
Ted
