Engraved Cylinders?

[Dave T]

I was just cruising through one of the gun sales internet sites and noticed yet another USFA ruined (my opinion) by Doug Turnbull when they engraved the cylinder. Not the gun, just the cylinder. This strikes me as a cheep and easy way to charge more for a gun that is actually, now that they've messed it up, worth less than if they had left it alone in original condition.

Anyone else agree or is this another case of an old, cranky geezer not getting it?

dave

[Major 2]

Have you seen the Haribo, Goldbears Gummi Candy commercial ?
Where the Board Room executive's act & speak in adolescent voices ?

I can imagine that was the same atmosphere Doug Donnelly's board room was like !   
 

[Coffinmaker]

Unless one is covering some form of damage ...... Engraving nothing more than the Cylinder is .... Dumb.  Understanding, Colt put that Texas Navy battle scene on their Percussion Guns.  It was done as some sort of commemoration.  Accomplished nothing of merit except, today, there it is.  Most, today, don't even know what it commemorates.  So .... I do agree engraving on the Cylinder only on a modern built gun is STUPID.

Dave T.   Ah well, you're still an Old, Cranky Geezer, but that don't mean you ain't right.  In fact, I find I am also oft referred to as an "Old Cranky Geezer."  Get in line   

[Advertising]

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

Dave,
I. too, am an old, cranky geezer and I couldn't agree with you more!  Those "cylinder only" engravings, offered by Turnbull, are, to my mind, cheap and tawdry looking at best. 
Why in the world did Turnbull, in an apparent attempt to distinguish his "in-house" manufactured guns - made from USFA parts while USFA was going through it's death knell - try to separate the two and brand his own with the aforementioned "cheap & tawdry" looking cylinder only engravings? 
Say what you want about Turnbull, I wouldn't want one of those guns if you gave it to me.

[Dave T]

Capt.,

Turnbull had his own, unique serial numbers all starting with "DT". Wasn't that enough to distinguish them? I don't know the man but this seems like an ego driven thing, and badly done at that.

Dave

[The Pathfinder]

Dave, I've got a pair of the Turnbull 'DT' guns, no cylinder engraving. I can't speak for all of them, but the pair I've got, 44 WCF 7 1/2" BP frame Blue/CH consecutive serial no's, are some of the best I've ever seen. I agree, I've never had any attraction to the cylinder only engraving, on a percussion gun it was meant to act as a trademark of sorts, letting you know it was an original Colt, on a SAA I can't see it having a meaning at all.

[yahoody]

John Adams Sr. did the engraving on the USFA DT cylinders.  John does nice work...but he only does what you ask of him     It  had to be an acquired taste but the ones I owned I really liked.  Not the way I would do a gun but not a lot of money for them originally either.

[LonesomePigeon]

I wonder if Turnbull just did a big batch of cylinders so they could get bulk pricing. It would make sense if they intended to offer guns with different levels of engraving.

[yahoody]

The DT serial numbered guns weren't Turnbull guns.  They were USFA guns.  And yes USFA  sent A&A a bunch of cylinders in the white to be engraved.  Those were fit, finished and stamped with serial numbers to match  the guns they went in.   

Only Turnbull "USFA" guns are the guns built from USFA parts and clearly marked with Turnbull's address and silly ass BULL.

[Dave T]

The DT serial numbered guns weren't Turnbull guns.

Thanks for that info. I had been told on another forum that the "DT" serial numbers were Turnbull exclusives. Appreciate having that incorrect information corrected. (smile)

Dave

[yahoody]

Hey Dave,  Just wanted to be more succinct.  The DT marked USFA guns were finished by DT in blue and case.  So the barrels were off the guns at  some point.  I don't know if the guns were shipped to DT as "parts kits" or just guns in the white.  It would make more sense to me to send DT working guns in the white than a box of parts.

Cheaper to get the guns finished and back to USFA to sell that way with the USFA labor force doing the heavy lifting.   

That BP gun you got from me was finished by DT.  Still a USFA gun just as the DT prefix/suffix guns were.  The DT finish is what got a premium price no matter what gun it went on.

[Dave T]

Yahoody,

What did USFA call the deluxe finish on the Pre-War guns? Was that the carbona (?) blue or did they have another name for it? And was that the DT finish you were referring to?

Inquiring minds want to know. (smile)

Dave

[yahoody]

USFA's Turnbull charcoal blue finish was called "Armory Blue".
The regular USFA blue was called "Dome Blue".

Turnbull did the vast majority of USFA color case but not all.  At least one and may be two other  shops did their color case when they had (financial?) trouble with Turnbull.

The blueing difference was the upgrade not the color case.

[Dave T]

Kool! Thanks Dane.

Dave

[Lou Nick]

Yahoody, I`m with you about Turnbull`s silly XSS Bull on his guns!