A friend had a very well used Ithaca Nitro Special 12ga that had been in his family for a long time. He had been after me to do some engraving work for him, just something on a knife, or initials on a grip cap. So I told him to give me the Ithaca and I'd put something on it if that was OK with him. He was delighted and hinted at something from his 30yr USN career.

So I took the N/S and stripped it to the bones. The orig butt stock had been repaired a couple times in the past, missing wood up by the recv'r at the top. It had been sanded and refinished. A Black Decelerator recoil pad was on it, or one of those types. His rebuilt shoulder can't take excessive pounding.
Forend wood worn but solid. Frame and trigger guard just brown metal. All about how you find most Ithaca Lefever Nitro Specials.



I think he thought I was going to put something on that original trigger guard, just engraved in and probably re-rust blue the guard.
I had other ideas.

I took the shotgun entirely apart.
I wanted to reshape the frame and parts of the gun to take the block-stocky look of it away. It is a very strong gun, but I felt that with some work a better looking gun could be carved out of it.
Those long straight sides of the frame, the near flat bottom and top give that 'brick with a 2x4 attached' look when the bbls are on it.
Needed to go on a diet.
I thinned the front of the frame back to a point where a decided an arc would look nice and leave the back portion of the frame slightly higher.
Those rear raised panels are also thinned down from the original width of the action.
The bottom of the entire frame is rounded,,not a lot and not in a perfect arc. The idea was to bring the lower edge of the action as viewed from the side up. That makes the side look narrower and trimmer.
The same was done to the top of the action. It's flat top design was rounded along with the top lever to trim it up and bring the top side edge lower,,again narrowing the side view.


The triggers are a bit bulky on the orig so I slimmed them up by filing them and changing their profile. A couple bends under heat changed their positions within the slightly roomier new guard

The action screws all looked as if they had been tightened with a CampKing combination jack-knife and screwdriver.
I used the original action screws but turned the heads down and hard soldered new heads on them. Extra long they are slotted rough w/a hacksaw, turned into position, marked for the final slot on the sides. The shortened, final slots cut, seated and file trimmed smooth to the frame.
Trigger guard and grip cap screws are lathe made. All are engraved.
All the screw slots are .020 wide on the gun now. Simply done w/a Jewelers Saw. A bit much maybe, but why not as long as you're making them up.



Then I did the engraving. The owner is a hunter, so I wanted to put a couple birds on it. One each on the sides. The birds are just cut in steel.






Some simple scroll work but tried to keep it from being full coverage.
On the bottom I put his CPO insignia in 24k yellow gold, 14k rose gold and .99F Silver.

His son is currently in the US Navy and had recently made the rank of Captain.
So below that I put the USN Captains Eagle insignia in .99F Silver

]
The shotgun will go on to his Son and then his Grandson

In the trigger guard bow I put the motto of the US Navy War College in a banner. His son a grad of that Institute.
(No pic of that for some reason,,could it be the camera that uses floppy discs??)

The shotgun frame and parts I finished in a grey tone finish. The Bbls I rust blued, the original straight line rib matting I recut to elliminate some scars. Some scroll engraving to match on the bbls.
The trigger plate is lettered Lefever Gun Co. / Syracuse . Ithaca, NY
The BBl is lettered Lefever Special / Lefever Arms Co



The top lever over all was filed up trimmer and that Bullseye thumpiece stamping was filed off, the thumpiece contoured and then checkered with a graver.

]
I signed the work in my usual spot on the trigger plate.


Though the orig butt stock did have some figure in the wood, I wanted to replace it with a better fitting and dimensioned stock. I wanted to put that Decelerator pad or what ever it is back on.

I had a NOS pre-inlet Nitro Special stock lying around. I had thought of using it on another project gun of mine but I figured this one was a better choice. The stock was rough turned and inletted to say the least and is what was used at the Ithaca factory when these guns were made from about 1921 to just after WW2.
This stock probably came from the Ithaca factory in the 80's when they closed up and sold off tons of old inventory/parts.

The old pad was large enough to be able to be belt ground nicely for a perfect fit to the 'new' wood.

I fitted the stock to the frame but changed the drop a bit, bringing the comb up some to get a better fit than those old style common 3"+ drop.


I squared(flat steps) the back side of the rear tang post that the thru bolt pulls on. Then I glass bed that surface in the wood. That gives a nice flat surface to recoil against along with the recv'r edges. Otherwise that big round surface is like a blunt chisel and backs up and splits the stock at the wrist if the bedding gets loose. A common problem with these shotguns.

There was Plenty of wood to work with. I didn't like the original plain no-tang trigger guard on the NitroSpec gun.
So I dug around and came up with a rather beat but usable LC Smith pre-1913 trigger guard. Polishedup & fitted to the action, tang inletted into the wood, it makes a rather nice compliment to the lines.


It uses 2 screws to secure the tang, both lathe made.
The original Nitro Special A-Grade used a similar full tang guard and it always looked nice to me.

A grip cap of Ebony, but I think it's actually what they call African Black Wood. Not quite as 'black' in color as ebony I'm used to but not the oil and wax in the wood either so it finished and glues easily.
It's glued to the grip but I added a cap screw in the center cause I think it looked like it needed a screw in the center.

The forend is the original factory forend wood. I reshaped it to slim it down and get that slight schnobel at the end. I added the 'Ebony' inlay in the tip to match the grip cap. Same African Black Wood as the grip cap. Looks kind of reddish in the pic for some reason. Maybe gun aliens.


The forend walnut was much darker than the new/old butt stock. I bleached the forend to lighten it up quite a bit then stained both back down to match.
Finish is a sanded into the grain Polyurethane. Then top coatings of Linseed and Artists Drying Oil rubbed out.
I checkered with 20LPI. Simple pattern but usefull.

Well he wanted something engraved,,He seemed to like it.
It shoots nice too,,Just as well as it did before!!
28in,,Mod & Full,,Perfect!

THAT looks amazing. You are very talented sir, thanks for sharing the pics and the story

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Some Might Say.

That is some VERY FINE work! Absolutely beautiful.

Thanks for sharing your craftsmanship.

Bill

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"What does this button do..."

I have a similar Lefever in my safe that belonged to my great uncle. He was a WWI vet and sold my dad the gun in the late 50's or so. I would hunt with it, but it is so poorly stocked that it is difficult to shoot.

A mere "Like" doesn't do justice to your magnificent skills.
Awesome work!

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John

Simply awesome. Not bad on pics either. Thanks for sharing.

Fantastic!!!!
Many thanks for the tour of your work. You are an artist, and deserve a like squared if there were one!

Thank you much for sharing. When I saw the title on the thread I thought lipstick on a pig. I was very wrong! I wish I had a fraction of your talent.

Hard to believe it's the same gun. Amazing talent.

Beautiful work on a good solid shotgun. I've owned a Nitro Special for years, and she's still as tight and solid as day one. I've never seen work on a Nitro Special like you have done. Fantastic

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John

That kind of custom work would be in the upper 4 figure possibly 5 figures. You sir are very talented.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

It's a pleasure to admire the artistry of someone who takes pride in his work, you Sir are an artist. You transformed a field grade shotgun into a beautiful family heirloom. I'm sure the recipient will always treasure this piece you created for him and his family. Thank you for the photos and for sharing your artistic expertise!

Those of us who wish we could do such beautiful work are glad there are folks like you that can to share it with us!

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Sam
S&WHF 333 S&WCA 2198

I agree a mere "Like" would be grossly understated!!


The very first shotgun I ever shot was my Mom's 16ga NS. It is still in the family.

A gun of lasting fame...really well done.

Stunning simply stunning

Beautiful piece of artwork. Congratulations on your great work and, quite honestly, your generosity toward your friend and his son.

Oh, by the way.....

I have a pair of Lefever Nitro Specials in 16 & 20.
Which should I send to you
( only jesting, your talents are far beyond my deserve.)

Respectfully, Jim

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Halfway and one more step

Looks like I need new friends...

Nicely done Jim, you are very talented. Post more of your work when it’s done. it’s a pleasure to sit here and read it. Pretty sure you’re friend had a big smile on his face when he saw what you did. Probably still smiling, Larry

Wonderful gun, craftsmanship, and description of work with supporting photography. Why it's a "tour de force" of an effort and of a thread 2152hq!

" he seemed to like it"
I will bet he did!

I'm not easily impressed, but..... I'M IMPRESSED!!!!!

That's stunning. I would love to see some full-length pictures of the finished gun, top, bottom and each side. I'm sure the overall effect is magnificent.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Wow!!! Words fail to convey proper appreciation!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

WOW!! Just WOW!!

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John 3:16 .

You Sir , are an artist ! It's hard to believe you could take what he gave you and turn it into a piece of artwork worthy of sitting in any firearms museum . Between you and BMCM , I think you guys have the firearm business cornered .

Beautiful work. Simply amazing. Thanks for posting the story and the esp the pics.

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Charlie

What more can be said, great work, technical and artistic. I love old
dbls.

This post is a great example of why I continue to log into the Smith & Wesson Forum. Thank you for this most interesting post.

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Scoundrel & Ne'er-Do-Well

Those pictures with your description really, really made turning the computer on worthwhile. Just plain AMAZING!

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Mighty 90's,Trying 4 a 100!

You do incredible work indeed.

Absolutely amazing work. I wish I had friends like that.

You are an artist. Your work is beautiful, I enjoyed looking at the pictures that you posted.

Thank you for all the great comments and Likes. I do appreciate them.
I don't have any full length pics, should have taken a couple. But I just finish up stuff and snap a few with the gun in my lap usually and that's it.
I'll see it at the range most likely and may get a couple more there.

Already in to a couple more projects. I'd like to finish up a 92Winchester SRC conversion to pistol grip I started,,,ummmmm maybe 15 years ago or more.
It has a Winchester style PG now. It didn't when I bought the wreckage. I redid the work someone else did bending up the tangs and lever trying to fit a Win Model 64 stock to it.
It's restocked now but needs finishing, checkering. I'll probably re-blue the bbl but leave the frame, ect.
I will have to re-do the lower tang and lever finish from the conversion(s).
Yes it would have been easier to just put it back to a straight grip SRC which it most likely was orig,,but I wanted a PG,,,and a smooth steel shotgun butt which it now has. The latter a reworked Model 97 BP.
44wcf,,doesn't get much better..

I found this Mauser Sporter too while looking for another gun. Forgot I had that one. Type C Sporter (Army Sporter)I think they call it. 8x57,,maybe it's 9x57.
Needs some love and claw rings.


Better than watching the Expert Political talking heads and what ever they call entertainment on TV.

Always enjoy your very knowledgeable posts, 2152hq. Thanks for showing us your artistry as well.

That is one beautiful shotgun.

What wonderful work!

Seeing these types of customized and engraved side by side shotguns is going to cost me money someday. I've got a little 20 Gauge Fox Sterlingworth sitting in the safe that is just waiting for that type of treatment.

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Bill Bates

2152hq, glad you are having time to do the projects you want to. I may try that someday LOL