Here is another lemonsqueezer that I bought at a gun show last weekend. It is a 2nd. mod.ser.#3592x made as close as I can determine in 1889. It has to have been refinished, as the finish looks to good not to have been. The lockup, and timing feels like a new gun. I bought it because of it's mechanical condition and finish, for a shooter, as I would like to have a top break to shoot. I didn't get ammo for it at the show but will, and can't wait to shoot it.
Chubbo

Have I done something terribly wrong in asking this question? The post has been posted over a week, with many vewings, but not one reply.
Chubbo

can you post a pic of the other side. It's hard to tell anything from that pic. My first impression is that it's not refinished, but I've been wrong before.

BTW, I wouldn't mind having it refinished or not !

__________________
ASA/NSA 67-71
NRA Benefactor

it's very hard to tell from the one photo, which is slightly out of focus. I see some rounded edges that might indicate a refinish, yet the side plate fit seems original. post better photos of all angles of the gun. Ed

There are too many eased edges in evidence for a possible lighting problem....yes, the gun was refinished. And poorly buffed at that. Plus the color doesn't look right....too new.

Smith used wooden buffing wheels they made in-house, ringed with hard felt and custom tailored to the curves on specific models. Modern polishing shops use universal 8" or 10" hard felt wheels with slightly more "give" than Smith's woodies, and aided by heavy hands, the coarse end of the abrasive spectrum will turn a dead-flat margin into a gentle radius beginning an 8th to a 16th from the edge. Just like in your photograph.

If you're doing this kind of polishing work yourself, forego the felt wheels and Polish-O-Ray, and stick to wetsanding in mineral spirits or WD-40 with 320 through 600 grit wet-or-dry paper and a backing block...with grits used in sequence. Then for a final power buff, go no coarser then Knifemaker's Green rouge and you can create a brilliant steel surface completely free of buffer marks, rounded edges and dished holes. The process is just a whole lot slower than using coarse buffing compound.

Thanks for the info. I bought this gun last weekend, and intended to use it to try shooting a safety hammerless gun. I am new to the collecting of these top break revolvers, and have never shot one. I figured that it was refinished, but, thought as it is so tight and the indexing stops on the ejector rod are like new, that It would be a good shooter. I also bought a blued.32S&W second mod. safety hammerless revolver that looks all orig. in a package deal. I will try to post better pictures of the .38, but my photography skills are lacking. This collecting of this type revolvers is a whole new ball game to me, and very interesting.
Thanks.
Chubbo

Naw, you didn't do anything wrong by asking a question. If you want to see some one kill a thread, check my posts.
It is refinished, can tell by the polishing and color of the bluing. Still a cool little pocket revolver.

Myself, I purposely look for refinished specimens because they are half the price and I believe the US mania for original finishes is just that....mania. Guns are tools intended for use, the finish is there to protect the steel, and should be renewed when needed. In Europe and elsewhere, professional refinish on fine shotguns and rifles doesn't reduce their value....quite the contrary.

The Safety Hammerless is an interesting artifact of history, and my family enjoys shooting our little .32:

Saw your post - I am new to the forum. I have 26 years exp in the business. It has definitely been refinished- color is wrong- Looks like Brownells Oxynate No. 7. No patina anywhere on a 100 year old gun? Rolled, over buffed edges where there should be straight lines. I suspect that the faux grip panels do not fit well around the grip frame either. It did not leave the S&W factory that way.

Just my opinon... and you know what that is worth.

SBD

Very interesting post and I love the old S&W ads used in your response Bob. Just curious. What is the cloud eminating from near the bikers derriere in the last ad? Is that S&W's way of saying that he got the "wind" knocked out of him???

__________________
James Redfield
LM #497

It's the accidental discharge of his non-Safety Hammerless handgun.

That is the "other" brand pistol going off in his pocket.

Here is a picture of the other side of my .38 lemon squeezer, as someone requested, altho not much better than the pic. of the first side. Try as I might, my picctures don't turn out like some of the other posters on this website. As to the grips beeing badly fitted as someone suspicioned, they seem to me to be very well fitted.
Chubbo

hi chubbo,you will get the best result when the pics are taken outdoors,natural light is so much better to detect flaws
a nice looking gun tough

Hi, Reinhard:
I am going to have to try taking the pictures outside. I have not tried that. I envy some of our members' photography skils.
Chubbo

the result will be beter when taken outside ,you don't need a 1000$ camera to come to a good result,all my pics are taken with a kodak easyshare ,I believe it was a 80$ camera I always take at least five or more pictures off the gun (in different set up's) and take the best one out ,let the lens focus on the object by pushing the button very slight
I think that your grips are original to the gun

reinhard

Hi, All
I went outside and tried sunlit photos, and you are right Reinhard. Bob, I have never tried to refinish a revolver, but, would like to know your tricks of the trade, on how to remove slight surface rust on guns. I would like to clean up one of my .32S&W blued lemonsqueezers that has some rust on one side. Should I try to clean it up, or let it go as is?
Chubbo

"Slight surface rust" comes in two flavors....new and old.

Old surface rust combined with faded bluing, all well-burnished by decades of use is what is called "patina", or a finish turning "brown". It is deep and relatively difficult to remove, which also ruins the value of the gun. Leave it and prevent it from deteriorating into pit-causing rust by keeping the gun oiled or waxed. (Or even laquered for badly-rusted relics.)

New surface rust should be removed with #0000 steel wool soaked in a light oil-solvent like WD-40. Under no circumstances use anything coarser than #0000, which generally won't remove any remaining bluing or patina if you don't overdo it. So as soon as the rust is gone, wipe it down and oil the gun. WD-40 is a water-displacing solvent with a dab of light oil mixed in, and by itself isn't a very good rust preventative.

On the revolver shown, remove the grips, flood the surfaces with WD-40, and gently rub off the surface rust using #0000 wool. Wipe and oil, then carefully remove the side plate and lube the inside bearing surfaces. I find light oils like 3-In-One or Rem-Oil work best on antiques, which were originally lubed with whale oil. If the insides are varnished up with old, evaporated oil, powder residue, insect parts and the like, the gun should be dismantled for a complete cleaning. But not at the expense of buggering or breaking a screw. And antique screw slots came in odd sizes....insure you have gunsmith screwdriver bits that fit.

Bores in antiques are a different story, as they often have lead or copper fouling combined with some rust pitting from black powder and/or the corrosive primers that were common as late as the late 1930's. Don't use any harsh chemicals like you would on a modern firearm. Obtain a brass jag that fits the bore, buy some JB Bore Cleaning Compound and follow the instructions. JB is a mild abrasive that uses diatomaceous earth that breaks down in use and won't damage the steel. Then keep that bore well oiled so any pitting doesn't accumulate moisture and rust.

Thanks Bob, for all the very good information. It all makes sense if you think about it. I guess I could go as far as lubeing it with real whale oil. if I can find the bottle that I have had for at least fourty five or fifty years, and stashed someplace. This little .32 is extra tight, and I bet it needs cleaning, and lubeing inside. I don't know if cleaning the outside will remove any of the blueing, and if one should try touching it up or not. I think I might just let the outside as is.
Chubbo