Hello all,

I inherited this from my father , who had another from the early 60s , but this one he bought just a few years ago. It had a rough reblue and some pitting under the finish.

So I thought this would be good candidate for restore since the original finish was already kinda messed up .

I believe the gun was hot dipped without even taking off the rear sight and consequently the plungers and springs were solid rust and impossible to remove with out damage so I need some rear sight parts which I believe I can get from Brownells .

I also need a barrel pin . The old gun seems to be cleaning up well , I was able to get the pitting out with careful work by hand . ( No buffers in this shop.) Slow rust blue on the agenda once everything is corrected and fit .








If anyone knows where I could get a pin I would appreciate the help . If not I could make one out a gauge pin , it is around .069- .

It has been since the 80s that I have spent much time with the s & w revolvers , a new trigger return spring that is not so heavy is maybe something that I would consider , where would you guys suggest a spring kit / upgrade?

Thanks for looking .
KR

A few years ago I needed to replace a front sight pin on one of my older Model 29-2s, so I thought it might be worth contacting S&W's Service Dept. A sight pin arrived in the mail a few days later...no charge! Might be worth a try. Good luck.

It's easy enough to make a barrel pin from either a letter drill bit or a pin gauge, or try Gun Parts Inc. Just round off the ends like an original one.
For a lighter trigger return spring check with Wolff Gunsprings in PA.
Very nice job on polishing the gun and cylinder. Keep us informed as the project progresses.

Second on wolf springs they make a good product. That is going to be a good looker when you get done hope you will continue to keep us updated on progress. And of course at the end we will want a range report .you know how we are lol.

Numrich has the barrel pins. I just bought a few spares from them. Can't wait to see the finished product. I've rust blued a couple shotgun barrels, but haven't tried it on a Smith yet. I have a rough 1917 frame project on my bench I've been working the pits out of. I might try it on that one.

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Chris
SWCA #2243 SWHF #292

Thanks , I did a search and found the pins, they were not listed in the schematics .

I like rust bluing , here's an old colt that I did :

Looks like it's coming along nicely, I have often wanted to do that with a couple of my S&W's that have issues. I have taken some completely apart but not to the extent you have gone.

Look forward to future updates!!

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

As for gun parts, check with LEE's they have lots of small parts still available and will probably have what you need.

Lee's Gun Parts


Good luck,

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

I'd recommend a 14 lb rebound spring for a nicer trigger pull. Rear sight replacement kit with screw and nut, and springs and detente for both windage and elevation S&W and/or possible Brownells for new parts, inexpensive. Looks like a really nice job so far.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

John,
Very impressive job you did! How long does it take to do the rust bluing?
Larry

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

That one was 7 cycles. The cycle of rust boil then carding takes from 3-12 hours depending on temp and humidity in the rust box and alloy of steel.


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GVF Investments
Kingman , Ks

It’s called slow rust bluing for reason you don’t wanna have too much on your dance card for about three days


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GVF Investments
Kingman , Ks

Nice~~~lets see the after photos.

Just a pic of the progress so far. 7 cycles on the small parts and side plate and this picture shows the frame/barrel with 3 cycles .

Coming along very well. Looks to be darkening up good.

Thanks for looking ,
Kirk

Great work so far. I have rust blued for many years and helped others with their projects. The most important part of the process is to not rush to completion. S&W has many different steel characteristics on their guns, with some heat tempered to different levels than others. The key is to not to rush the completion. In time, all parts will show the same level of deep black/blue and it often takes me 20 cycles or more to achieve the depth and uniformity across the parts. Winter is not the best time to rust blue, since humidity is needed, the more the better. Don't quit too soon. Watch the cylinder and sideplate, since they are the two hardened parts that take the longest to get the color to match the rest of the gun.

Only oiling the finish will give you a look at the final appearance and you do not want to do that until you are certain everything is complete. Apply only a light coat of oil to the exterior surfaces at first, then inspect closely. If you get to that final part of the project and see a difference in finishes, strip the oil and continue to apply the solution. I am sure that K-22 will look very nice and good luck with getting your father's revolver back to the heirloom you want for the future family generations to enjoy.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Thanks for the encouragement,I do have a rust box and can control the temp and humidity which speeds things up. I agree there are various levels of hardness and different alloys of metal. I also have had to start over or continue with more cycles.


Kirk





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GVF Investments
Kingman , Ks

Just a quick pic to update you guys . I showed a black glove for color reference . I have the gun hanging up this evening oiled up and will complete the reassembly in the next couple of days or so and get some final pics posted .

I like what I am seeing so far. This was 8 cycles on the frame/barrel and 12 on the side plate and cylinder and yoke .

Kirk

You sure do know how to make an entrance sir. Don't be surprised if people start requesting your services.

Paul

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"NUTS"

Looks really nice. Look forward to seeing the end results.

First and foremost, my compliments--------you do good work!!

Second, the only spring kit I've used/know anything about is that provided by Jerry Miculek (BANG, Inc.). It is merely excellent---and contains both the mainspring and the rebound slide spring. (And as one who ignored his instructions because I have no need for such instructions, I am uniquely qualified to recommend that they be followed to the letter. You get to start over otherwise.)

Ralph Tremaine

Rimfires need a harder whack. A review of the Wilson spring set reports misfires in a 617. A little less rebound spring might be all you can do.

Here are some final pictures . I still need some rear sight parts but stuck things together for a photo op.

Turned out pretty good , not perfect but I'm happy with it.

Thanks for looking ,
Kirk




Oh and can anyone identify the prop that I used through the trigger guard ? Here's some clues : It is gun related , about ten years older than the K22 and it comes from Deutschland .

Beautiful work. Great job.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

Just fabulous in ALL regards....A true craftsman !

Randy

Beautiful! The project came out great, congratulations!

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"lets be careful out there"

Some sort of game call?
Beautiful work.

Very nice looking and I would say some sort of duck call.

Wow, just wow.

Is the finish hard, or does it scratch easily?

Well done!
I just sent my M-48 off to the "Blues Brothers" here in Prescott Valley for a refinish. The frame was flecking badly but the barrel/cylinder were in perfect shape.....go figure!

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

That came out great man you really showed off . Thanks for keeping us updated .

Turned out very nice, thanks for showing us.

Beautiful work sir I would love to give that a try, I might have to find me an older finished challenged revolver like a Rossi or Taurus to practice on.

Naw! that's Mata Hari's tube of eyeliner!

Thank you gentlemen for all the kind words.

The prop is an oiler that was in the buttstock of a G43 that the wife's uncle brought home from Germany in 1945 . The rifle was brand new in the crate when they found them.

The oiler has not seen daylight in over 70 years. It is made of bakalite and spring loaded but was never filled with oil .

Oh and that is his hat too , from England circa 1942 .

Kirk

Great job, looks professional to me! When you finish the rear sight let us know how it shoots. I'm sure it will be dead on.

Very nice and you obviously have the patience of Job.

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James Redfield
LM #497

It was 6 inch day at the range .

The old K22 shot excellent .

Kirk

A great ending to a work of love.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

That is sure pretty spiffy. My kinda guy. Sows ear to silk purse. Hard work and patience. Kudos.

DW

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"NUTS"

Just pure skill and patience. Fantastic work!
Mike

Making it pretty probably didn’t make it shoot any better, but shooting that well sure makes it pretty in my mind’s eye! This was an excellent project and the outcome was outstanding. Congratulations!

Froggie

Hi
I did my first one last summer at SDH Class if you want to do this kind of work you need to go to SDH,s class he has one very year.
There is a thread on the fourm with pictures of the 1917 I did in class.
Jim Fisher LM1491

As I said before great job. My only comment is that I think that you need to find some period stocks to complete it. According to the charts, your gun would have shipped in 1952 and therefore the stocks would have diamonds around the screw escutcheon. Your stocks without a diamond would be from post 1968.

Small detail on a beautiful restoration job however, after doing all of that caring work, I believe it needs age appropriate shoes.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Beautiful work!! Obvious it was a labor of love. I really like the front sight too. Is that a Keith type long range or just deep serrations?

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PTLAPTA!

Beautiful, the polish is the secret. Looks just like a post war, pre ~1955 factory satin blue. What was the final grit finish you ended with?

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Good eye ! The front sight was dinged pretty good so I took my 25 lpi checkering file and reworked the front sight . It looks OK to my eyes . I figured I was working with what I had .

Kirk

I ended up at 320 grit for the most part . Then went with a slow rust blue , I used brownells slow rust solution . It etched a bit more than I would have liked on the flats . So the satin finish look.

Kirk

Thanks , I do believe that would be a good idea to replace the stocks with period correct . I thought that the stocks were replacement . Like I said when I started this pistol was pretty rough and thankfully nobody buffed this one beyond recognition.

I have one more issue or question for you guys , the ejector rod has quite a bit of run out , so do I replace it (right hand thread not all that available ) or get a yoke/ ejector rod jig to straighten things out . I'm not opposed to buying tools for a good cause and have a few others that could use a tune up also.

The gun has a position or two where its harder than the others to cock so I'm thinking the ejector rod being bent maybe having an impact . Maybe I need to check the yoke alignment also?

Its not a huge problem but one I would like to address at some point and unsure how to proceed .

Thanks ,
Kirk

Kirk,

Yoke miss-alignment will be felt on all 6 cycles of the hammer. I believe you're right on the ext rod since you can see the run out.

Remove the rod and roll it on a flat surface like a piece of glass, a table saw surface, etc. They're not that hard to straighten with a rawhide, plastic or lead hammer.

FYI for future reference, S&W serrations on sights and barrel ribs are 40 LPI.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Thank you Jim , I was sure that the front sight serrations were not correct , but I'm the kinda guy that uses what he has sometimes without much thought since the sight was in bad shape anyway so not much to loose .

I'll work more on the rod like you said , I made a feeble attempt at straightening it , more dedicated try this weekend.

Kirk