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A barrel maker takes about 50 hours to make a pair of side by side barrels and 100 hours for an over and under pair. This entails making sure that the tubes are straight, the wall thickness is correct by striking it down to size, brazing the lumps together keeping them parallel and with the correct convergents. Fitting the top and bottom ribs to the barrels, then lapping them out to their proof size and making sure the chokes are to the required size, finally finish them off by giving them a first polish.

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Actioning a side by side sidelock takes about 300 hours and a over and under 400hours. Because there are so many hours for an actioner to do, it is better that two or three actioners share the jobs out between them, as their job skills will be different and by working together you get a more highly skilled made gun. The jobs range from machining up the barrel lumps, fitting the extractors in the barrels, jointing the barrels, action and forend together, then fitting the locks, lever work, cocking limbs, ejector parts and safety work, making sure that the customers personal measurements are correct. File and chisel the shape on then getting it passed at the proof house in London, then making and fitting the trigger plate, finally making it all work together and getting it ready for stocking.

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Stocking a sidelock takes about 90 hours and an over and under 140 hours. He must fit the action body correctly on to the stock blank, then fitting the trigger plate and the lock plates in. Then fitting all the internal parts allowing them to work inside the wood. The stock is then made off to the customers measurements and shape required. The forend iron is then let in to the wood and then layed on to the barrels until the forend iron is laying in the correct place. They also fit all the snap work and make off the forend. Finally clearing any wood that stops the gun from working smoothly.

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Engraving a London style scroll on a gun takes about 100 to150 hours, and Game scene engraved gun 350 hours minimum. He will engrave on the gun whatever you want, from a basic scroll to a deep carving or gold inlay work. But be prepared to pay for the best.

After the gun has been engraved it must be hardened to protect the engraving from getting damaged and make the action and parts hard wearing. There are two ways of doing this, colour hardening, this will leave the harden parts with a green and blue spectrum of flowing colours, this is mainly done to scroll engraved guns. Then there is brush bright hardening using a form of cynonide to give a 5 thou deep layer of hardness to which the finisher will polish and this will allow all the engraving to be seen. This type of hardening can be used on scroll and all game scene guns.

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The gun should be stripped by the finisher, about 25 hours, prior to engraving. He will make sure all the metal is under the wood work and seated down properly, then he will make off all the pin making sure they are slotted and straight, and polish the outside metalwork for the engraver to start work on.

After engraving, finishing a gun takes about 100 to 150 hours. This will entail refitting everything together making sure it works freely, polishing most of the internal parts to a mirror finish, taking the barrels to be blacked and polishing them after, checker and oil the stock and forend wood. Then when everything is ready, they assemble the gun and test fire.

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Originally posted by p dog shooter:
The numbers seem rather high to me. It must take a whole lot last to make double shotguns the prices just don't add up to those kind of hours. double rifles are more expensive to make but still they don't add up to those kind of prices. Some do but others don't. Seems to me thoses hours might be from the times when it was all don't with a file and chisels.

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Look at this Pdog shooter! http://www.ejchurchillgunmakers.com/lock.htm

I think this will tell you where the hours go!