The short answer is that Varney undoubtedly DID NOT make the locks and barrels ......... Like most of the gunmakers in this specific "late percussion" time period, commercial locks, barrels, trigger assemblies and most other parts were bought . Each gunmaker then picked the type parts he wanted and then made the stock, fitted the desired parts to his (or the customer's ) specifications, and did the final finishing. Engraving was sometimes done in the gun builder's shop and sometimes farmed out to a local engraver. .... that's why you can find percussion guns made in widely different location with the same patchbox, or inlay, etc. Note however, that in some parts of the country, commercial parts were difficult to get and the local gun builder was forced to make his own parts. These differences are what makes antique gun collecting so interesting to me.
