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January 20, 2023
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According to Schwing, the standard checkering pattern on Model 21 stocks and forearms was diminished in 1946 from 20 LPI to 18 LPI.
The D.O.M. of my Skeet Gun is 1947, according to its Cody letter. Curious, I ordered a checkering gauge and both wrist and beavertail forearm are checkered at 22 lines per inch. Obviously, the employees who made the 21 had considerable leeway. I also suspect this gun’s furniture may have been done before Pearl Harbor. Again according to Schwing, a 1947 Skeet Model should have 28″ barrels and this one has the pre-1946 26″ set.
Now the bad news. When I unsafed the gun to measure its checkering, I saw the crack in the forearm wood emanating from the rear forearm iron mounting screw hole. This is new; wasn’t there when I bought the gun last year.
I suspect this occurred the first and only time I shot it. The very first shot left the forearm wood in my left hand and the gun high in recoil. My guess is I hadn’t secured the latch properly and the screw shaft was forced into the wood.
So, off to my gunsmith it goes. While it’s there, I’m going to have him disassemble the lockwork, check, clean and lube it as needed. Against the possibility that hasn’t been done for 79 years. My gunsmith works on Hollands and Purdeys, so I trust him to do the work.
Lou, its just like Roseann said….
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
March 31, 2009
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Zebulon said
According to Schwing, the standard checkering pattern on Model 21 stocks and forearms was diminished in 1946 from 20 LPI to 18 LPI.
The D.O.M. of my Skeet Gun is 1947, according to its Cody letter. Curious, I ordered a checkering gauge and both wrist and beavertail forearm are checkered at 22 lines per inch. Obviously, the employees who made the 21 had considerable leeway. I also suspect this gun’s furniture may have been done before Pearl Harbor. Again according to Schwing, a 1947 Skeet Model should have 28″ barrels and this one has the pre-1946 26″ set.
Now the bad news. When I unsafed the gun to measure its checkering, I saw the crack in the forearm wood emanating from the rear forearm iron mounting screw hole. This is new; wasn’t there when I bought the gun last year.
I suspect this occurred the first and only time I shot it. The very first shot left the forearm wood in my left hand and the gun high in recoil. My guess is I hadn’t secured the latch properly and the screw shaft was forced into the wood.
So, off to my gunsmith it goes. While it’s there, I’m going to have him disassemble the lockwork, check, clean and lube it as needed. Against the possibility that hasn’t been done for 79 years. My gunsmith works on Hollands and Purdeys, so I trust him to do the work.
Lou, its just like Roseann said….
Wood glue and a clamp, all done.
January 20, 2023
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Chuck,
Yeah, and I’ve done a lot of glueups but somebody has to disassemble this piece first and then know how much clamp pressure will close the gap and not crack the piece into two pieces…. and then spot refinish and reassemble without buggering the screws.
I don’t mind admitting I paid more for this gun than for any other I own. Pass.
I’ll post pics of the repair when I get it back. And that’s the last 3.25 dram ammunition it will get fed during my custody. The gun would easily handle it but it counts on me to hang onto it.
Bill
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
November 7, 2015
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Good call. Only a few ways to fix it right and a dozen ways to wreck it.
Mike
March 31, 2009
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Zebulon said
Chuck,
Yeah, and I’ve done a lot of glueups but somebody has to disassemble this piece first and then know how much clamp pressure will close the gap and not crack the piece into two pieces…. and then spot refinish and reassemble without buggering the screws.
I don’t mind admitting I paid more for this gun than for any other I own. Pass.
I’ll post pics of the repair when I get it back. And that’s the last 3.25 dram ammunition it will get fed during my custody. The gun would easily handle it but it counts on me to hang onto it.
Bill
I was just talking about the forearm. How much has to come apart to get some glue into the crack?
January 20, 2023
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Chuck, I don’t know the names of all the steel pieces in the forearm that are in inletted into the wood but I would want to make certain before I applied pressure to the edge of what is a fairly thin, highly figured piece of stump Walnut, that nothing i cant see is going to be forced into the wood that would act as a fulcrum or a splitter.
The method of forearm attachment is different than any Ive ever seen. The latch thumbpiece not only depresses but rolls forward. It is under tension from a flat spring that protrudes from the forearm vertically. The tip of the spring must engage a crevice in the steel hook of the barrel block.
I’ve since read the forearm can be cracked by incorrect assembly and I may have done just that.
In any event, I want to know what caused the crack and how to avoid repeating it. Ron will know the answers. He also has the skill to minimize the crack through checkering. Ive done that work on a Sweet 16 forearm but this job is well above my pay grade.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
March 31, 2009
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I have never picked up a Model 21 let alone messed with one. When I work on guns I try to stabilize the problem but try not to do any restoration. I would never mess with checkering.
April 30, 2023
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Dang! I’m sorry that it cracked, that sucks…probably good that she’s going for some love anyways. Can’t wait to see the finished product!
August 8, 2024
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Zebulon, There are plenty of examples of Winchesters made in 1947 assembled with Pre War parts.
January 20, 2023
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Good evening, Bo. Thanks. I figured that was probably the case.
I’ve wondered if, as the War was winding down but Winchester was still under War Department restriction, the factory didn’t have idle hands that could quietly be kept busy building inventory for when VJ Day would come. The company had a lot of friends in the War Department.
After Germany fell but before Hiroshima, the AAC didn’t know what to do with my dad, an expert on heavy bomber electrical systems and loaned him out to various civilian, non-aviation-related businesses that needed somebody with mechanical skills. Mother was almighty grateful he wasn’t aircrew flying missions in the Pacific. I probably wouldn’t be here if he’d gotten what he wanted.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
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