How interchangeable are they from revolver to revolver, both in rubber and gutta percha?

I do not believe that S&W made stocks that were considered gutta-percha? Technically, gutta-percha is made from the latex of trees native to Malaysia. It is polymerized into a thermoplastic and could be heated and molded to shape. Hard rubber is made by heavy vulcanization of India rubber which is based on the latex of different trees. The addition of sulfur under heat is termed vulcanization, which was the process of making both hard and soft rubber. The process required up to 30 percent sulfur by volume. That is the telltale smell that makes it possible to determine whether a set of S&W stocks was hard rubber or reproduction plastic.

I used to believe that Gutta-percha was the material used to mold the original hard cases for the Model 1 S&W, but a video once supplied by Roy, that is hanging around here somewhere, shows that the “Gutta-Percha” cases made for the Model 1 revolver was actually made from molded shellac. I believe the term gutta-percha was quite generic and used without regards to the actual process of manufacture. Lots of early rubbers and latex derived plastics may have been called gutta-percha, but were really not.

Frames leaving the forge were thick, rough, and had to be substantially reduced in mass. I ran across a plaque that showed forged parts of later model S&Ws from forged to finish and the transformation was amazing. Jigs were available to help, but workers did a lot of work by memory and reflex. Other workmen then hand fitted stocks to the frame and removed both metal and wood or hard rubber in order to have a perfect fit. It is easy to see why frames were not perfectly machined, especially in the earlier the models.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Glowe,

This thread was in reference to your recent listing. They still were for sale when I saw your listing and almost posted “I’ll take them!”

ya snooze, ya lose

I only have 3 NM #3's (.32-44, .38-44 and .44R) but I've found the grips/stocks to be very very close in size and fit. I think I have 1 wood set and 3 hard rubber.

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Chris
SWCA #2243 SWHF #292

I have this little 32HE that had the black stocks, and the left one was cracked as shown in the first attached photo.

I wrapped the cracked section heavily with rubber bands and soaked them in nearly boiling hot water. This warmed up the material allowing the crack to close, and then I let them dry and cool.

Unfortunately soaking in water also changed their surface from black to a dark brownish color.

After they cooled I wicked superglue into the crack and held it closed with rubber bands until it set. Unfortunately after having been squeezed by the rubber bands they were no longer flat.

So after a couple of days I soaked them in hot water again and clamped them flat onto the overhanging edge of my granite countertop and let them cool and dry again.

The dark brownish color on the surface remained after the repair.

HOWEVER, I found that after I gave them a few days to fully dry out they returned to the original black color. The second photo shows the repaired grip after the black color returned.

Because they absorbed water, turning brown, and then returning to black after fully drying, I figured they couldn't be rubber. AFIK vulcanized rubber doesn't absorb any water OR turn brown.

Gutta Percha on the other hand IS known to turn brown. Also there were some early S&W grips that were a mottled red-brown color and they are always referred to as being made of gutta percha.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

Not really. I didn’t need them but would be nice to have. Or could have been not so useful had the answer to this thread been that the fit from stock to stock is imprecise.

I have read a few posts about soaking hard rubber over the years and you are lucky they returned to original color and you were able to take out the warping, since many do not turn out so well. Some have swelled and warped, never returning to original after drying. I would not advise soaking them in anything. I think Ralph had a sad story about a set he once tried to clean up as well.

I have been successful in repairing cracks by "washing" out the crack with mineral spirits. Using an eye dropper, put thinner into the crack then blow it out with canned air. Repeat it a few times, let it dry overnight and then glue.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Just messin" about

I sent a pair of HR grips to Don Furr for repair.
I wrapped them with rubber bands.
Don told me that the bands had turned the grips brown and he had to fix them.

If a guy had needed them, they were a bargain IMO

Absolutely, at $100, shipped. But I didn’t really need them but would have purchased them had I been certain about interchangeability.