Over a year ago I took on what appeared to be an old hopeless 44HE project gun. She had been rode hard and put away wet. You can see she has been on the trail all her life. She had end shake, side play, barrel/cylinder gap like the grand canyon, and zero timing. Thanks to Forum members who were kind enough to answer my novice questions and in some cases provided parts and suggestions this old "cast aside" now has new life. The cylinder notches had to be peened back into tolerance as well as the pads on the ejector star. A serviceable ejector rod, new hand, and cylinder stop along with all new springs. She is as tight as a bug in a rug. Two books were of great value to me in this project: "The S&W Revolver, A Shop Manual" by Jerry Kuhnhausen; and a book by David R. Chicoine ,"Antique Firearms Assembly/Disassembly". It was a great learning experience. For those who dare!

Bravo for resurrecting that old war horse. How did you deal with the barrel cyl gap? Do you have future plans for it besides shooting and enjoying it?

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Looks like a lot of fun was had on that rebuild. Lot of learning too. Congrats on your project.

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Jeff

Gonna re-blue it too?

Hondo44, I was prepared to set back the barrel one complete turn, but when I put it back together it was tight. I even procured a very nice 5" barrel for this project. I failed to mention that I also put in a new bolt with spring, center pin with spring and a frame stud to keep the cylinder from sliding all the way back when open. When I got her, the bore looked smooth (shot out) but it cleaned up very nicely, all the rifling is there with a few pits. All the numbers match, I may do a slow rust blue sometime in the future. It was truly a labor of love. I'm not sure how the gun got so worn, must have been carried 24/7.

There's no better feeling for an old dog, than learning a new trick. Like you, I'm indebted to the members of this forum and the authors you've mentioned for helping me learn some really valuable new skills.

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Why, I aughta.....

Nice work, Jim!

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

I love resurrection stories, and this is one of the best. Good work!

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David Wilson

Very, very nice work. It will look great with the rust bluing.

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S&WCA 1729

Be ssure to post pictures of the final results. Nice job.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Jim, when are your going to show us the "after" pictures? . . . just kidding. I know these project guns require lots of patience and perseverance to put back in serviceable condition. Congratulations on a successful repair.

I normally don't like to see these classics refinished, but in your case, I think it might be worth the expense, since overall the metal looks smooth without any major pitting anywhere.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Jim, consider refinishing it with Blue Wonder. They make a blue and a black kit. I've read that putting the black over a base of blue comes closest to the original S&W finishes.

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629