doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How do tell if barrels have been re blued

Just curious?
Monty

My standard rule if the barrel flat is blue it has been reblued.

If silver, it may or may not have been

Monty, if you're wondering about the Ithaca I'll wager a lot that they are original. The jeweling on the flats is old and original.

People look for signs of metal polishing prior to re-blackening plus how does metal look in relation to wood. It also depends on the gun model itself. Ithaca double is far less likely to be refinished than Winchester Model 21.

As far as the barrel flats being blue that is not always correct. Purdey leaves theirs blued and I have confirmed that with them. A few years ago at an event a fellow from Holland and Holland looked at my Purdey and commented that it had been re-blued. That was a sign of his experience.
Now you can look for any engraving and see how light it may be from the buffing before re-blueing. But a good gunsmith will take careful precautions to prevent this.

Are barrels finished better or worse than they would've been from the factory? To know this, you'll have had to do a fair amount of study with other examples of the makers guns. Most guns that I have had the barrels refinished, the barrels actually turn out to be much better than they would've been from the factory. The degree of polish, the sharpness of the engraving, the polishing strokes on the lumps, Those are good indicators too. In regards to blacking remaining on the flats...a lot of makers left the flats black. You should change your "rule" if that's your criteria for refinished barrels.
A biggie on guns of English make is the "sheen" of the blacking. Most metal finishers in the U.S. believe that the proper sheen for barrel black is a non-glare, satin type finish. To me this is a dead giveaway for a U.S. barrel refinish. If the blacking has too much of a "gray" color too it, not right. If the barrel lumps are polished horizontal rather than vertical.
There's all kinds of indicators out there.

First, how do the barrels look compared with the rest of the gun? For instance, if the wood and action show a lot of use but the barrels are perfect it's time to suspect a refinish. Hold the barrels toward a good light and watch the reflection down the outside of the tubes. If there are "ripples" it indicates polishing was done on a wheel rather than by hand. If any barrel engraving looks soft or dull it probably has been refinished, etc. Basically, anything other than sharp, clean work leads me to be suspicious. Having said all this, a properly refinished set of barrels doesn't bother me at all, especially if it's older work that blends nicely with the rest of the gun. LeFusil is correct, many good refinished barrels are better done than the factory did. For instance, look underneath the original finish of a set of Parker barrels and you'll see numerous longitudinal scratches. Most quality refinished barrels will be hand polished to remove these. Oh, the presence of a weep hole drilled into the underlug near the forend loop is usually a good indicator of a refinish.....but not always.

Oh, one danger that can lurk under a set of nicely refinished barrels is they can hide flaws such as removed dents or even worse, bulges that have been beaten down and restruck. Here is where a bore gauge and wall thickness gauge are worth their keep. Everything can appear perfect and then suddenly the wall thickness dips to almost paper thin. Caveat emptor!

Joe
Weep holes in the forend Loop ???? Why do they have to do that.
Please explain.

I think he might mean weep holes- in the section of the bottom rib near the forearm loop. My 12 LONGRANGE LC Smith Ideal ejector gun has 4- in that section- two visible at the rear of the loop hanger, where the Vee shaped reinforcement lays- and two ahead of that. Gun was re-blued, also the receiver and lockplates, and restocked with a Bishop blank, both buttstock and splinter forearm. One reason why I as able to buy it for under 4 figures. Any alterations such as on this "working gun" of mine can be a good factor in negotiation of the asking price, IMO. I can hardly wait for our Sept early goose season, will use 2&3/4" Bismuth loads- both barrels are full choke, and I have been exploding barn pigeons in flight with AA 7&1/2 shot Handicap trap loads-lotsa white puffy feathers in the air when I connect on an airborne "shit-birdie"--hope to see that same result on geese, albiet with a different load.

jeweler, not to take your question away from Joe, but "weep holes" are exactly that...to let moisture that has gotten in between the top or bottom rib. Mostly the bottom rib. It is usually just after the for-end hanger or loop.

It is very important to make sure this moisture is out from between the ribs when you do your final rusting as the water can weep out and stain that area. Always a good idea to have the barrels with the bottom rib down and at a slight angle to let any water out.
When I do mine I usually use a propane torch and lightly heat the barrels to dissipate any moisture.
Since I only do my L.C. Smith's, they all have this weep hole from the factory, both Damascus and fluid steel.