The polishing if done by the owner would probably take about 2-3 hours and remove maybe 0.005" to 0.010" of the barrel metal. The barrel would then be ready for bluing with only a prior degreasing, and the gunsmith would have very little work left to do. Mainly removing and reinstalling the barrel.

The Pedersoli poor excuse for a barrel polish IMO is really the only drawback to their product that would give me pause before purchase. Their wood-to-metal fit isn't quite perfect but then again neither is 
Shilohs. My Shiloh actually had a small chip out of the front of the buttstock where it had been fit entirely too tightly, so I wasn't really overly impressed with it either. Like the madam said to the Bishop, "You pays your money and you takes your choice!"

My own ranking would be Shiloh, then Pedersoli, then C.Sharps.
Regards, Joe

Some of the originals I've seen have had a similar perchbelly but it may have been worn into that shape over time. The original shape underwhelms me anyway, I personally would restock one if I kept it. And as for those 'collars' on some Sharps barrels, well, all I can say is that the first time I saw one I figured it musta been some kinda massive FUBAR and I haven't changed my opinion. And you gotta admit that at least Pedersoli gives you enough forearm material to shape into whatever you want!

For a truly elegant and well-shaped sidehammer Sharps, please look in Steve Hughes' Custom Rifles in Black and White at the '77 Sharps done by Ed Webber. There are several '77s in the book but all the others have rather awkwardly-shaped wrists and are generally not quite as aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They're plenty fancy with lots of gleam and glitter but Webber's is far more pleasingly shaped and sculpted IMO.

But, like Boats said, stockmaking is more art than science anyway, and art is extremely subjective. One man's canoe paddle is another man's pride & joy. Or as a car dealer of my acquaintance is fond of saying, "There's a donkey (or something like it that starts with an a and ends in an s) for every car seat!"
Keep the shiny side up, Joe

Vall, you got a good deal going.  I hear prices that are always in three figures.  Meanwhile figure quite some time flatfiling a Pedersoli barrel to get it close to right.  The price won't be $65 then for sure.

I spent a fair amount of time shopping for a Sharps before making a decision, handling and shooting where possible everything from originals to all the major current production models.  I guess it all depends what one wants to do with a rifle as to which one to buy.  Now I like authenticity and pretty wood as much as the next guy, but a very good quality factory fit and finish of less than the finest materials is more than acceptable.  Pretty wood makes the heart grow fonder, but doesn’t do anything for groups.

For price, quality, fit/finish and the availability of what I wanted (50-90 for long range) the Pendersoli 1874 Sharps Long Range Rifle is the best rifle.  A joy to own and shoot.  My only complaint with it is that it came with a very tight chamber, great for accuracy, but a tad testy with Starline brass without being trimmed just a few thousands of an inch to absolute minimum length (my experience with Starline is that most of their rifle brass is shipped a little long).  I still plan on having an original clunker action I own rebuilt to a quality rifle, but doubt that it will be any better than a Pendersoli and I know with the cost of custom work it won’t be any less expensive.