I don't mean cutting off barrels rather sleeving entire barrel but keeping outside intact.
Exactly what I was looking for thanks
When Digs wrote his article back in 2017, the writing was on the wall for Teague lining and it has since been given a decent burial by both the UK and US firms that offered it.
It was a GREAT idea, let down by the conflicts of need for lots more development capital and a very small market.
As Digs says, someone may take up the baton but with steel on the horizon, I doubt it.
If you love your damascus gun, the only option for your unusably thin walls, is sleeve (about £3k), re-barrel in steel(about £10-15k) or re-barrel with old damascus tubes (POA!).
thanks, I have two guns with damascus barrels, both have slight pitting. One even has been reproofed and the pitting had to have been there. The newer one might even be worth having a set of barrels made.
There is always the option of lightweight subgauge tubes.
Toby, tell us what or whom we can approach for classic sleeving. I would accept a PM or a reply.
here stateside, kirk merrington does sleeving, has much expertise and many satisfied customers.
best regards,
tom
8b, Kirk is definitely an option, I am told that his sleeving is excellent although I have never personally seen an example. However, I have heard it said that due to pressure of work, him waiting times are long and even a rumour that he has stopped doing it.
There has been talk of other gunmaker/gunsmiths in the USA doing sleeving but I have never seen the evidence. I am happy to be proven wrong.
In the UK there are a few people still doing it within the trade although the well known names of yesteryear are now mainly gone.
Bill Blacker is one and Mike Birch another, both true barrel-makers by trade.
Digory Hadoke can apparently get it done for you through his contacts but I don't know who he uses.
I used Ladbrook & Langton for many years but due to illness and retirement, their sleeving is proceeding at glacial pace. Correction, a glacier would be rather quicker!
John Foster retired some years back.
There are a few others I could mention but I wouldn't use them if my life depended on it.
Frankly, the UK guntrade is calling out for someone doing good work at sensible cost and a few people including myself have been working on the challenges but right now it is Bill, Digs or Mike.
To my knowledge in the UK John Gibbs near Bristol was doing some sleeving ,as was Nick Lucca of Watson Bros. Midland Gun services near Shrewsbury bought John Foster's sleeving tooling but I have not heard much about them .
One of the biggest problem with sleeving was sourcing tubes .I know Foster's used to buy their tubes from Italy in large numbers , 200/300 per order . Also with so few guns now being sleeved costs going up that people who have done it in the past find it no longer viable to do so .
Aaron Little Texas 682.554.0044
My tailor- formely from Saville Row- now that he's here in The Colonies, he's busy altering our Marque names: Carhartt, Dickies, Levis, Wrangler--RWTF
I have had shotguns sleeved by sending them to the UK in cases where I wanted them to be proofed. I have also had shotguns sleeved by Kirk Merrington here in the USA. Kirk began his training in barrels at Churchill's.
The sleeving work that Kirk did for me was better or equal to the UK work, but without UK proof stamp.
It is my understanding that Aaron Little will sleeve shotguns and if his sleeving work is of the quality of his other work then his sleeving jobs will be better or equal to the UK, but without the UK proof.
It is not rocket science to sleeve barrels as I have done it myself; but you must understand excellent machining and machine tool principles and have excellent skills (and excellent equipment) in the execution of these principles and practices to produce first rate work.
About 15 years ago, Stephen Milton, Precision Arms, King City Canada told me he did sleeving. He was a transplant English gunsmith that I had bought a gun from. My recollection was his pricing for the work was very good. He can be located thru the ACGG site.
About 15 years ago, Stephen Milton, Precision Arms, King City Canada told me he did sleeving. He was a transplant English gunsmith that I had bought a gun from. My recollection was his pricing for the work was very good.
I can confirm that Steve Milton is still active as a gunsmith and well known in the area. Whether he is still doing sleeving, I can't say.