61: as i understand it, old ed recolors old shotgun receivers, using a controlled, low heat and chemical process. i did ask him once if he used a torch to heat receivers for recoloring. his reply was, yes, that he used to do it that way long ago, because that was the way he was trained. but there was a problem with the torch in maintaining consistent heat in order for his base chemical solutions to produce uniform results. so, he said he developed a more controlled heat process, that solved the problem. when i asked what that was, old ed just slyly smiled and replied that that is a trade secret...i will say, that i have heard from another party, that he uses some sort of modified potters kiln for metal coloring purposes, but, i have no proof of that claim...

and as for restoring old shotgun receivers to their original factory specs...there is no one alive today that can precisely accomplish that task...even those who do an acceptable job of rehardening, with case colors as by product, are using technigues that cannot be proven to be the same as those used when old guns were originally manufactured...

and keep in mind, that in order to reharden already hardened metal, one must first anneal the metal, which softens it, which is necessary for rehardening purposes. so. the very process of rehardening a receiver requires destruction of the original factory heat treatment. a gun is no longer original, once the receiver has been rehardened.

Last edited by ed good; 11/05/14 09:20 PM.
keep it simple and keep it safe...