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Old September 5, 2015, 01:40 PM   #1
Mike Irwin
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Closet find

Found my great grand father's New Ithaca Gun exposed hammer 12 gauge double.

It's 2 3/4 inch chambers, fluid steel barrels, and dates to 1900.

But... both firing pins are broken, and the forearm barrel lug needs to be resoldered.

Does anyone know of a Smith who works on guns this old?

I'd love to be able to take it to the range occasionally and break some clays.
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Old September 5, 2015, 02:00 PM   #2
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While I know an 85+ year old gunsmith who learned at his daddy's knee (and he probably has parts knowing him); I'd check here:

http://www.ithacaowners.com/

2-3/4" chambers from 1900 is something - is it marked 2-3/4? There isn't a lot of difference between 2-1/2 and 2-9/16 and 2-3/4......
I sure wouldn't shoot modern loads in it....best bet would be low pressure ammo from Polywad or RST

Neat find! Hope you get it fixed and are able to shoot it.............
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Old September 5, 2015, 02:07 PM   #3
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Give Les a call at Diamond Gun Smithing. He IS the Ithaca Man, on a double he knows all.
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Old September 5, 2015, 06:06 PM   #4
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Is that Diamond Gun Shop or Osborns of which you speak ? (north of White Cloud)
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Old September 5, 2015, 06:56 PM   #5
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A 2 9/16th chamber insert didn't chamber, but the 2 3/4 one did.

Low pressure smokeless loads should be ok even in a gun this age as it was originally intended to be used with nitro powders.
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Old September 5, 2015, 07:17 PM   #6
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It is www.diamondgunsmithing.com located in Ithaca , NY.


211 Dey Street, Ithaca NY, 14850

607-273-4510

Les specializing in vintage Ithaca shotguns.
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Old September 5, 2015, 07:56 PM   #7
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Awesome!
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Old September 6, 2015, 12:04 AM   #8
gyvel
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Quote:
A 2 9/16th chamber insert didn't chamber, but the 2 3/4 one did.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a 2 9/16 shorter than a 2 3/4???
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Old September 6, 2015, 01:10 AM   #9
big al hunter
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Quote:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a 2 9/16 shorter than a 2 3/4??
Can't correct you. 9 is bigger than 3....except in fractions. 2 9/16 is 3/16 shorter than 3/4. Better check the inserts and chamber for burrs.

And congrats on the awesome find. Love the old hammer guns. Pics?
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Old September 6, 2015, 01:43 AM   #10
Bill DeShivs
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2-3/4 is 2-12/16".
That's longer than 2-9/16".
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Old September 6, 2015, 04:03 AM   #11
gyvel
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Quote:
2-3/4 is 2-12/16".
That's longer than 2-9/16".
Yeah, that's pretty apparent by my rhetorical question. It left me wondering why a 2 3/4 chamber insert would fit and a 2 9/16 wouldn't.
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Old September 6, 2015, 07:39 AM   #12
Mike Irwin
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By didn't chamber I meant didn't fit correctly, not that it stuck out of the chamber.

The 2 3/4 inch chamber guide fit perfectly.

I'm typing on my phone and being sparing with words.
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Old September 6, 2015, 08:56 AM   #13
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It is not the barrel chamber, but the material the barrels are made of. That alone will govern what kind of shells are used in this gun.
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Old September 6, 2015, 09:45 AM   #14
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I already know the barrels are fluid steel.
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Old September 6, 2015, 10:19 AM   #15
jaguarxk120
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No matter what the chamber length is, consider using only low pressure loads/reloads. It is not the barrel material or chamber length, but rather the wear on the locking bolt and the hinge pin. You can shoot a gun loose with too heavy loads.

Fixing a shotgun that is off face is not cheap, Over size hinge pins, new locking bolts, and having the barrel hook re-welded and recut is not cheap.

I think RST and Polly Wad both make low pressure loadings for the older guns.
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Old September 6, 2015, 10:32 AM   #16
Mike Irwin
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The lock up is tight as a drum, and there is no wobble at all in the hinge.

My great grandfather probably had it as a farm gun but didn't shoot it much, and my grandfather was not at all into guns. Didn't like them, and as far as I know never used them.
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Old September 9, 2015, 05:30 AM   #17
Mike Irwin
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Finally got to a real computer, instead of just my phone, and was able to look at Diamond Gunsmith's base prices.

Resoldering the barrel lug will be $160 or so. No estimate listed for firing pins. I'll have to give them a call on that.

Realistically, I'll have more into this gun than it's worth if I decided to go this route and if it's fixable.

Don't much care, though.
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Old September 9, 2015, 07:48 AM   #18
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Mike look up the asking price's on Guns International you might find that gun is very fixable. Any repairs that Les at Diamond would do should be noted with the gun, it just proves the repairs were not made by bubba.

You haven't stated what model you have so prices are all over the board, but a N.I.D. starts at around $550 and goes up from there, in some cases way up depending on the condition and grade.
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Old September 9, 2015, 07:48 AM   #19
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Family heirlooms have an intrinsic value only to the family descendants which makes the expense worth every penny.

Before and after pics would be nice.
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Old September 9, 2015, 08:29 AM   #20
Mike Irwin
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It is stamped, as I noted, New Ithaca Gun.

It's tough to determine if that was actually the model name or not.

According to this list, it IS a New Ithaca Gun model (NIG). It's definitely not a Crass, because they were hammerless.

http://www.ithacagun.com/pdfs/serialnumbers.pdf
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Old September 9, 2015, 08:43 AM   #21
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Guns International shows only two N.I.G. hammer guns, both restored, one at $1650.00 and the other at $1750,00. They are listed by the same vendor, the cheaper one is a 16 gauge.
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Old September 9, 2015, 09:10 AM   #22
Mike Irwin
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Huh. Best prices I was seeing in my limited searches were about $600 for ones in really excellent, unrestored condition.
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Old September 9, 2015, 10:34 AM   #23
FITASC
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Have you looked here as well for info?
http://www.ithacaowners.com/

There's a section for Flues and NIG
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Old September 9, 2015, 11:18 AM   #24
Mike Irwin
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"Have you looked here as well for info?
http://www.ithacaowners.com/

There's a section for Flues and NIG"

Found, and joined, them earlier today, as a matter of fact.

Kframe19...
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