[Dale R K]

Nitro,
I anneal a strip of shim stock and bend it around the lug slot in the forend iron. The screw holds it in perfectly. The most I ever used was .005 to snug up a well used BT. Dale

 

[Nitro Clays]

Thanks Dale. I have doubts about the Loctite and wanted to see if anyone had tried it. Shimming the forend iron sounds like a good solution. The gun is not worth much so nothing lost by trying.

 

[Steel Charlie]

Putting the barrels back on face is not the same as tightening the forend. A shim on the hook is not an uncommon cure to put the barrels back on face.

 

[Red West]

I just completed this operation on an HSB&Co 12ga that was given to my daughter by her grandmother's husband Ray. It measured 0.011" loose. I used "shim stock" from a tin can lid and I didn't have Loktite 680, but I do have JBWeld Steel. Larry doesn't show restoring the hinge pin radius to the shimmed hook. I don't have a lamp for smoking the fit, so I deferred that step. The front trigger is quite hard to pull and needs attention. I feel good about returning a 120 year old loose "wall hanger" to operational condition. Now to put together some very light loads to try it out and take pics for Ray.

 

[bossbasl]

If a good double is worth putting back on face, it's worth paying a pro to do it right.

 

[Red West]

If a good double is worth putting back on face, it's worth paying a pro to do it right.

I don't know about the "good" part of that description. From what I've been able to find, this gun sold new in hardware stores for about $10 - 12, when it was common to earn about $1 per day. Current value/sale price is between $175 and 400 for much nicer specimens. While not a trained gunsmith, I fancy myself an amateur with skills. I'm a couple noches above a hack. Maybe you have resources to employ the services of a reputed gunsmith that will take months to get around to a two hour task for twice the realistic value of a gun that probably spent many years propped in the corners of the barn and looks the part.
The best part of this will be the look on my 17 year old daughters face when she gets to shoot her first SxS shot gun that was given to her by someone special, which was intended, to be a wall hanger, brought back into operation by her dad.
Maybe it will be a "good" shotgun!

 

[Nitro Clays]

The shotgun I'm working on was a $50 find at a local gun store. The enjoyment I get from working on and learning about these old guns is worth more by far than the finished product. For a collectable, high dollar gun, by all means, send it to a qualified gunsmith.

 

[Nitro Clays]

I wish Larry had shown more about matching the pin radius to the hook. This was a problem as the added material created pinch points where the hook hit the pin top and bottom. By the time I reshaped the hook the glue had broken loose and the shim fell off. Took several tries but finally got a usable fit. Still not perfect but it was a good learning experience.

 

[Red West]

I wish Larry had shown more about matching the pin radius to the hook. This was a problem as the added material created pinch points where the hook hit the pin top and bottom. By the time I reshaped the hook the glue had broken loose and the shim fell off. Took several tries but finally got a usable fit. Still not perfect but it was a good learning experience.

Same for me. I went back to work on the right trigger, took the barrels off to show my daughter and the shim fell out. I'm considering low temp so solder and a shim that only covers about a fraction of the hook radius.

 

[Red West]

I ordered some Harrris Stay Brite silver bearing solder and flux. Fabricated a new shim from steel stock. I wrapped the barrels in wet rags to keep them firmly attached. Afterwards I filed hook and the forearm attach hook. My daughter will shoot it Wednesday at Trap. I loaded some gentle 7/8 oz loads for the rebirth.

 

[1straightshot]

I ordered some Harrris Stay Brite silver bearing solder and flux. Fabricated a new shim from steel stock. I wrapped the barrels in wet rags to keep them firmly attached. Afterwards I filed hook and the forearm attach hook. My daughter will shoot it Wednesday at Trap. I loaded some gentle 7/8 oz loads for the rebirth.

Gentle 7/8th loads??? Is that gentle in recoil or Pressure ? It is the pressure that is important.

 

[vatrap]

I know a guy that does this all the time with old Parkers, usually he uses brass shim stock to get a good fit and if he's going to shoot the gun any amount replaces the brass with steel stock. This guy was a machinist for T/C back in the day and knows what he is doing. He has the tools and skills to fit a new hinge pin if he felt it really needed it.

 

[Red West]

Gentle 7/8th loads??? Is that gentle in recoil or Pressure ? It is the pressure that is important.

Low pressure.