Sounds like you couldn't get much better service than that. I haven't gotten my frame drilled yet, been too buisy getting ready for a show to spend much time out side the shop. I do know from email corispondance that R&D definatly sounds like an outfit I'd like to do buisness with.
Sounds like the caseharding wasn't drawn back, just left hard, though that shouldn't have been a problem. Since basic color caseharding is done by bringing the metal up to around 1500 deg. F., if I remember rite, in a carbon rich pak and then quenched in airated water the crack could have happened in the quench and gone unoticed till stress from firing made it spread. Could have started as a very tiny crack that wouldn't have been noticable to the naked eye. Water quench on high carbon steel is very stressful.
Good luck and let us know how it goes,