Quote:
Originally Posted by padredan
I agree with bill, it,s a shooter enjoy it. you did a pretty good job nothing to be ashamed of.
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+1
Though sandblasting it would not have been my particular choice, I agree with Bill and Dan that it's your heritage. By all means, enjoy this pistol and working with it. Although I understand the aesthetics of preserving it as it was when your dad last touched it, I see honor and merit in finishing it up according to his aforementioned intentions. He'd be proud, I'll bet, of your taking up the standard, staying on the road despite some serious learning curves, and having and using something that he apparently always recognized the inner beauty in--beauty that you will have successfully revealed.
Be sure to consider every move on the path you take. For example, freshening up a pair of old original grips removes the character that took many years and different situations to establish during the life of the pistol, and there's no going back, on some of this stuff. Keep the old grips in a safe place, as part of the pistol's provenance, whether it's strictly collectible or not. I feel they're still part of it, and definitely a conversation piece. Dress it up in those nice replacements for enjoying and shooting, but hang onto the oldies, as they represent, in part, the pistol's roots and history.
I'm not sure if what Eric says about the pros is true. You'd have to ask each individual pro would say about your project. I've always found them to be genuinely and generously informative and supportive in similar situations. Whether they would turn down projects within their specialties, I'd bet, would depend on the particular project. A further wager would be that you'd really have to be an (*) for any of the masters on this forum to wash their hands of you or your project. So far, my friend, you do not sound like one!
David Parker