doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Doug Woodin PA24 best barrel blacker in America

I have never encountered anyone in North America who could duplicate the best London barrel blacking except Doug Woodin. We sadly miss him on this site. Did he transfer his knowledge and techniques to someone who is now blacking barrels to the quality that he produced and demanded?

Stan, do you know if he did?

Not that I'm aware of, bushveld. The only one I know of to whom Doug gave much of his wisdom was Tony Treadwell ...............and he's gone, too. He recognized in Tony a hunger and thirst for knowledge. So sad they are both no longer with us.

That reminds up a question I have, but I will post a new topic to ask it.

SRH

Bushveld, I spoke with him quite a bit in the last 2 years of his life. He did a number of barrels for me and was quite interested in comparing his bluing work to that of another member here who has done barrels for me who Doug knew did extremely high quality work.

I'd get a set back from Doug, have to get out one of the sets done by the other gentleman and then give Doug a call so he could pepper me with questions.

Both were/are reluctant to share too much of their technique with me but Doug did send me many pics of my barrels in an extremely high state of polish. But that high level of polish was just one aspect of his approach.

Not that I have a very qualified eye, but they both did/do spectacular work. I could hardly tell a difference if I didn't know who had done what. However, I'm not sure the other gentleman wants his name posted here as I'm not sure he wants the work. He's likely to read this so if he wants to make himself known, he can.

Doesn't help you, sorry.

This very subject was briefly discussed here no more than a month ago. Doug's presence is very sadly missed on this site. But as you may be aware, Doug had made the decision to quit posting anything on this site several months before his accident and subsequent decline in health. He did so because he became totally disgusted with some of the Left Wing Liberal politics he deeply despised. Doug felt very strongly about our 2nd Amendment rights, and he did not wish to share his hard won knowledge with anyone who would undermine those rights.

His rust bluing was amazing and without peer in this country. We had many long discussions about it. He was extremely particular and specific about every tiny detail even including what solution to wash the barrels with before applying his rusting solution. He told me that a lot of people tried to get him to reveal or sell his formulas to them, and he said he often told people it was all in the prep and that he simply used a commercial rusting solution such as Laurel Mountain, Mark Lees, or Pilkington's. I only know of one other person who Doug gave the formula to, and that was Tony Treadwell. He laughed when he told me that Tony almost revealed the formula when he was writing his book, but Doug got him to change his manuscript before sending it to the publisher, as he was proof-reading it for Tony. Doug was adamant that he did not want his recipe to benefit any of what he called "Liberal Weenies" who spoiled his enjoyment here. For that reason, he made me promise that I would never reveal his formulas for bluing or browning fluid or Damascus. I never did get him to tell me just how or where he came up with them., but he said it took a long time and a lot of work.

Doug did generously share a lot of his initial preparation techniques. They require meticulous attention to detail. He was extremely careful in his polishing, and if he ever made a mistake, it was that his level of prep was superior to what the gun had when it left the factory. What was most amazing is the fact that he was not a gunsmith by trade, but a commercial jet pilot and Veteran fighter pilot. But he was an extremely intelligent man who seemed to do anything he tried well. I've seen the bluing done by the other gentleman James mentioned above, and know exactly who he is talking about, because Doug did compare his work with me as well. While an extremely talented gunsmith, I still think Doug's slow rust bluing was better.

Ah Keith, you've put a smile on my face. I can hear Doug now talking about those liberals. He is sorely missed.

Me too Keith !
many hours talking about guns,cars and of course liberals-I do miss him and the talks we had.As you say a very intelligent man and very very meticulous in every thing he did,guess you get that way landing fighter jets on aircraft carriers at night !

I would like to hear the criteria by which you judge the quality? Are you comparing to English barrel blackers as the standard? What make British work stand out from any others?

Thanks.

Doug�s blacking was/is on par with Johnson�s in England. I�ve seen both, the quality is indistinguishable. I haven�t seen any other Gunsmith in the US who�s blacking was that good. I personally think the blacking from Abe Chaber is very good and Abe will try and match the original sheen of a best English type barrel finish if requested. Cost obviously goes up. For years a good many people in the US. loved to tell us how �proper� barrel blacking is a more satin type sheen. As I got more familiar with guns of good quality, I found that to be a bunch of baloney, same thing with guys who tell you the furniture on double guns should be rust blued, again...more bs.

All you need to do is to view the photos of Donald Dalls' book "PURDEY gun and rifle makers--The Definitive Period" and you will see the "standard" that is produced by the Johnson family that others try to duplicate. And there are a few in the UK now that are producing such work to that standard, and one of those(a grandson of Johnson's, I believe) comments on this site from time to time. Whoever is blacking barrels for Westley Richards meets the standard. You can view their website.

Here's a picture Doug sent to me several years ago of the barrel on his 1894 Winchester .38-55 which he reblued with his slow rust bluing formula and process. As you can see, he did not stop with the 320 grit we had been told was as far as was practical.

I had a picture on my old cell phone that I took outdoors of a set of Fox Sterlingworth barrels I blued using Doug's process. Unfortunately, I lost most of my pics when I neglected to back them up. I noticed some unusual blotches in the picture of my barrels that I couldn't see when examining them. Then I realized that the blotches were reflections of a few clouds in the otherwise clear sky. As I told Doug, that's the kind of gloss you expect to see on a Colt Python, not from slow rust bluing.