Could someone let me know where I could find information on rifles / stocks by T. Shelhamer? I have a Commerical mauser that I am trying to find details on. The butt stock carries a serial number and Mr. Shelhamer's stamps. Thanks,

I would guess Michael Petrov (2mp of this forum) might be your best bet for a concise collection of Shelhamer information. He has spent considerable effort collecting data on the early custom gunmakers.

There is certainly background data (and pictures) to be found in the gunsmithing books of Howe, Dunlap, etc.....as well as Monte Kennedy's checkering book and vintage copies of the American Rifleman.

GV

BTW......link to two Shelhamer stocked customs. A Mauser and a Springfield.

Shelhamer customs

Joe, I sent this via your email, I�ll post a copy here as well for other folks that might have an interest.







Taken from an article I wrote for PS on the Niedner Rifle Corporation.



Thomas Shelhamer:

The first reference that I can find to Mr. Shelhamer is in 1921 when he wrote Townsend Whelen asking for advice on stock finish. At this time Shelhamer was making stocks for locals in Greenwood, Wisconsin. Niedner hired their first and only stockmaker in 1924, Thomas Shelhamer. Shelhamer continuing working at the Niedner Rifle Corporation until after WW II when NRC went out of business. When Shelhamer came to work at Niedner�s he used his grandfather�s stamp T. SHELHAMER to mark his work. This stamp was used in the barrel channel or under the buttplate. I�ll let Mr. Shelhamer tell you about the stamp, from a letter written by him in 1967 to a friend: �At first I started stamping my name under the buttplate, using the old stamp my grandfather had used to stamp his name on his wooden carpenter tools. But as an employee of the corporation I had to do any job that came in , and a lot of these stocks differed widely from what I thought they should be. So I soon stopped this stamping practice. Since going on my own I started stamping every stock with a number, in addition to my name, so all the later ones have it. And if someone wanted a stock that did not suit me as to design, I simply turned it down.� Shelhamer�s style of stocking, in my words, is �Simple Elegance�. Nothing about his work is anything but first class. Most people who have seen but a few of his stocks can identify his work at first glance. Before 1940 he developed a �stock signature�: This is a small fillet of wood behind the pistol grip that has become know as the �Shelhamer Chinstrap�. Many of his stocks have this �Chinstrap�, but not all. Thomas Shelhamer�s work received high praise from the very beginning. It was not long before he held the position as one of, if not the best stockmaker in America. Turnaround time averaged eighteen months for one of his stocks. Shelhamer�s name has been misspelled (Shellhammer or Shelhammer) so often that now the misspelling is common. Several years ago I saw what was surely a Shelhamer stock and in the barrel channel was �T. Shellhammer� stamped with individual stamps. Let this be a lesson: If you are going to forge his name, at least use the proper spelling. Shelhamer continued stock-making from his home in Dowagiac until his death on May 6th, 1971.

Guys thanks very much for all your help. If anyone has any more details, I would appreciate hearing from them. This one has a serial number of 16xx and a stock serial number of (what looks like) 11xx. I'll post a picture of it in a day or two. A very nice piece.

Well here we go with the pictures - hope it works.....

Very nice, Joe. An excellent example of Shelhamer's work......very typical.

The checkering pattern is reviewed by him in Kennedy's book. He thought this the best fancy pattern he'd seen. It was known as the Rex O'Dell pattern........who originally created it.

In Kennedy's book the pattern is on a stock for a 1917 Enfield, another example is on a Springfield in Roy Dunlap's Gunsmithing book.

You have an excellent custom from one of our great masters. It appears to be in pristine condition.

Thanks for posting the pictures.

GV

Mr. Shelhamer at Niedner Rifle Corp. circa 1940.

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THanks again guys. Any idea who would have done the metal work? Barrel brand? I can't imagine the hours that go into pieces like this, never mind the super fancy ones!

I must admit I get a strange feeling seeing the photo of the master stock builder who put this rifle together! Thanks for posting it. I have to say, I have a great appreciation for these rifles and the work that went into them, but I'm sure this is a piece I should hang on to. I hate to say it or perhaps I should say I'm almost embarrassed about it , but I've drifted away from this style of firearm.

Engraving appears to be standard FN DeLuxe, compared it to a factory FNDL I have here. PostWWII stock job with the high Monte Carlo. I think it inferior in appearance to Shelhamers prewar stocks which were much more graceful albeit perhaps not so well suited to a big scope sight.

A pre-war Shelhamer.

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I understand that all Shellhamer stocks have his mark under the recoil pad or buttplate whichever the case may be...or so I have been told by several collectors.

Just a thought ...

That G&H side-mount seems as if it is mounted a bit far forward...perhaps it is especially fitted for a Noske scope of the period? They had more eye relief than many of the contemporary scopes, IIRC, and were meant to be mounted wih the objective lense just in front of the raised bolt handle.

Seems that could be an even more beautiful classic if so equipped, though an old Noske in the same coditon as your rifle may be very hard to find.

Alberta Canuck