doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Question on my W.W. Greener F35

Good evening all. I was cleaning up my office this evening and I came across a letter I received last year from Graham Greener regarding my W. W. Greener F35 Serial 56905.
According to Mr. Greener, work on the shotgun started on 9-29-1908 and was completed on 01-31-1912. It was made for stock and the original owner was not recorded, so it was probably sold through their London establishment. The craftsmen who worked on the gun were:
Jointer - Lee
Locks - Tomkins
Stocker - Sayer
Finisher - Lowe
Shooting - Smith
Smoother - Luckett
Polisher - Jones
Engravers - Maddox (name, address, etc. on locks and top rib / Bate (fine scrolls)
Blacker - Starkey
Freer - Luckett

I don't know what a "freer" does. Although, I don't know who the original owner of the gun was, it is neat to know the names of the people who applied their trade and skills on the gun. It somehow connects it more with its 110-year history and it I think it adds to the "personality" of the gun.

Has any of the above craftsmen worked on any of your guns?
BillK

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=247300.0

From above

Apparently the occupational term is an Action Freer, Gun Lock Freer, Lock Freer, who adjusted a guns lock actions after they had been fitted by an action fitter, filing them, where necessary with a very fine smoothing file.
As a filer was the general term for a man who dressed metal articles that had been cast, forged, pressed, stamped, wrought etc.,in order to remove rough edges, then they would probably have been employed in the manufacture of locks, but whether they would be specifically called a 'lock filer' is open to question .

Mike

For a real eye opener on how much these craftsmen made in 1913, Doug Tate's book "Birmingham Gunmakers" includes a list of weekly wages. Workers of average skills made from 20-45 shillings. Highly skilled workers made a maximum of 60 shillings. (20 shillings = 1 pound.) Only about 5% of workers were highly skilled.

Actions were normally tightened up as far as possible before submitting to Proof, and case hardening may result in slight distortion to the frame.

The job of the freer, I think more often referred to as the “finisher” these days , was inter alia to make sure the customer would be able to open and shut his new gun without a gunsmith’s industrial strength thumbs.

Interesting remark-- about 10 years ago, in his shop in Grand Rapids, the now late Brad Bachelder showed me a fine looking British 12 bore he had in the sale rack- Sorry, I forget the name off hand, but it would take an Arnold Schwartener to close it- Brad referred to it as a "wrist breaker"--and if memory serves, in Jack O'Connor's "The Shotgun Book" he relates a story about a prospective Limey client remarking that the gun he was examining with a view to buying "sure was hard to close".. It was a self-opening Purdey, and the clerk said: "My dear Mr. Jones, our clients do Not close their guns!"" RWTF

That would almost certainly be a Charles Lancaster back action side lock (with leg of mutton shaped lock plates) known as the “Wristbreaker”.

2 PMs sent. Check your messages.

I’ve seen that quote.
I always thought it was in a Michael McIntosh piece.
I looked in my copy of O’Conner’s Complete Book of Rifles & Shotguns and didn’t find it.
Pretty funny, from any source.

Lancaster model A (aka wristbreaker), Purdeys, etc aren’t hard to close if you know how to close them properly. My kids use to use my Lancasters and they never had any issues.

The answer to what a “freer” has been answered. In most modern shops, the finisher also does the “freer” job. In
some factory’s, the final QC inspection, whoever is assigned that task also might do some minor adjusting or “freeing” before the gun goes to the sales floor.
Just a fyi…A lot of people think the stock maker does the checkering on their stock work when in fact that is usually the job of the finisher.

BillK-
I sent you a PM, to which you did not respond. Perhaps Dave has blocked that also.

In the event that he bothers to allow this, the details on my Greener are as follows.

It was started and finished in 1903. "Ordered from New York with detailed specifications but not in the records we have."
30" Seimens steel barrels
Hammerless, non-ejector
Action, lockworks, and jointing were done in the Mills' Shop within the Greener factory. Exactly who did which jobs associated with this part of the work is not listed.
Stocker - Sayers
Finisher - Thompson
Shooting- Smith
Smoother - Mills
Polisher - Jones (only 6 shilling job, vs. 8 for most F40s)
Blacker - Fletcher
Freer - Sadler
Gardner - chiseled the fences
Engraving: Name - Stokes, Scroll - Horrocks, Game Scenes - Perry

So, at least the same Stocker, Shooter, and Polisher worked on our guns.

I would love to see pictures of your gun. If you cannot get them to post directly on this antiquated forum, then send them to me by email (brentd@iastate.edu), and I will post them for you - if Dave gets around to it...

A friend just bought his first vintage double - also a Greener, and I'm hoping he will eventually get information to compare as well.