Awesome case hardening

Fantastic pictures Les
That trigger couldn't have a better home.
It looks happy on your 28 : )

__________________
Paul
S&WCA #2726

Yep! I hadn't used any of my Armorer skills for a long time. I may have told you, but my first school was something like 3 weeks at the S&W factory there in your home state of Massachusetts!! Back in 1977. That was one of the most awesome experiences of my career. Seeing the guns being created from the big drop forges through the final fitting and finishing, and then working in the shop under the watchful eyes of our magnificent instructors, both experienced fitters and finishers, was a wonderful education. Went to several field refresher courses over the years, but spending the time in Springfield was the best. Also still have the factory tool kits that they supplied, and ended up with more than one, since when we switched to Glocks, the dept had no more use for them.

So, again, Paul, thanks a bunch. I've had a lot of fun with this old warhorse, and am looking forward to putting in some serious shooting with it. I've been shooting an 11.3 ounce .357, and when I shot this 40 ounce one, it was like a .22!!! I can hold up a lot longer with it than my 340 PD!!!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Yeah, anytime you want to make a quick coupla hundred on that one, I'm your guy.

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Retired Dep Sheriff & Armorer

Not a member ...Buddy Savage (of Braverman's) was the Sec or Treasurer and was always trying to talk me into joining...... I use to attend a lot of their shows...... but backed off a few years ago......couldn't keep track of where they were;Monroeville, Pittsburgh Mills, Northway mall now Butler.........

Now that you have a grip adapter..... you need a set of Exectioner's Stag grips for that 28.... got a set on my 4" 28 and it's a "fancy but all business" look.... add a 4/5" belt knife and you'd be GTG in the woods of W.Va.

Les, the 4-inch, blue steel, Model 28 has a strong history here in Muscogee County. Prior to the 1970 county/city consolidation (Muscogee/Columbus), the local County Police carried the described Model 28 as standard issue. I remember seeing those officers as a kid and, man-oh-man, did those 28's look like mini-cannons hanging off their hips, secured within a black leather swivel holster. I do remember that in the 1950's I looked upon those fine men with much awe and admiration. The "roots" of my own LE career starting with that "image" firmly ingrained in my memory. Thanks my friend for a great post on a great firearm!

David

Nice. Never had a 4" 28, preferred the 6" for field use. But for $475, wudda been on that like a pit bull on a bone. You got a good deal.

I like everything about that rig!!! Very nice catch!

As previously mentioned, these make great conversions to .45 Colt. There is a forum member who has one that was redone in .38-40 which makes me envious every time I see it!

This... at $475 I would have injured myself getting to my wallet! Nice snag.

Great find at a very good price... I would have gladly paid it.

As far as the oil soaked stocks.... place them in an empty coffee can cover with acetone. Let them soak for a few days, change the acetone... let soak for a few more. Let them dry for a day, sand smooth the non checkered parts coat with tung oil... repeat as needed.... I did this with an old set that I put on my 66-3

les,

looks like a winner to me. nice find!

__________________
There's nowt so queer as folk

Women seek security..Men seek approval. It keeps the world in order.

Well, nothing is ever as simple as it may seem at first. I have been having much more fun with this 1970 issue Smith and Wesson Highway Patroman than I could have ever had had if I had bought it new!! Those of you who dropped by a few days ago are aware that forum member Weatherby, up in beleaguered Massachusetts had kindly donated a spiffy trigger to replace the rusted and pitted one that came with the revolver. I replaced the trigger, and that is where we left off, in post #50, above.

What I didn't mention at the time is that I found a few little challenges in the wake of that replacement. First, the existing cylinder stop had had stock removed to fit it to the original trigger, and it did not work with the new one. Fortunately I had several new, unfitted stops in my shop. This gave me the opportunity not just to fit the new stop to the new trigger, but to fit it to the cylinder stop cuts, and eliminate a bit of play in the cylinder. This in effect tightened up the cylinder, and also timed the stop correctly for the new trigger. Here is the new trigger with the stop fitted:



When I removed the trigger, as I took out the rebound slide, I saw that some one had clipped a coil from the rebound slide spring. Folks often do this to lighten the trigger pull, but it can have several negative effects on performance. I ordered a new spring, but for the time being, I am still using the existing one. This is just one of my pet peeves. I like keeping the correct factory spring, even though I know that many folks change it out or clip coils and still have good results.

One of the effects of a light rebound spring is "push off", particularly if combined with a worn single action edge on the trigger. That was the next little problem that I saw. It has been awhile since I remedied this problem, so I refreshed my mind in the excellent "sticky" right here on the forum, where some of the worlds best Smith Smiths reside!!! Here is a link to the thread: FAQ's ... post number 6 covers the correct procedure for this simple, but delicate sharpening procedure. You must have the correct stone, a 6"X 1/2"X 1/2" Norton medium India stone. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to have attended S&W Armorer's School were issued one, along with a lot of other specialized tools to make the job easier, and to do it correctly. One should remove the very least ammount of metal possible... the case hardening is relatively shallow, and as you go deeper into the metal it is not as hard. Also, you are tampering with a very delicate balance of geometry which is extremely sensitive.

Here is a diagram of how to correctly sharpen the trigger hook, borrowed from Magnum 500 Nut's excellent thread "FAQs" which is linked above:



Anyway, about 5 minutes or less was more than enough to restore the correct edge to the single action of the new to me trigger. Put it back together again (by the way, it's a good idea to have a few used sideplate screws on hand when taking the plate on and off, to avoid excessive wear and boogering of the screws that came with the gun).

After I replace the rebound spring later, I'll go over the action one more time, just to make sure that everything is to my liking. But for right now, the single action pull is just a little ove 3 pounds, and there is no "push off", and no creep. Double action is great as well.

While I was in there, I found a couple of burrs on the inside of the sideplate that must have come from the factory, as they had been blued over when the gun was blued. You can see where they scratched the case coloring on the exposed (right) side of the hammer. I stoned them down just a little to relieve the hammer. Also ran the rebound slide over an Arkansas stone, to smooth it up just a little.

Well, then with the gun put back together, I function tested it, and found that it was shooting a little tighter, a lot better looking (new trigger and grip adapter) the action, trigger and cylinder were all tighter, and I am now closer to having a really great old warhorse that I will gladly put up against anything that the factory is putting out today!!!

Here is today's target compared with the last one on the 14th:



Thanks again to Weatherby, who sent me that new trigger and grip adapter, which started this project going!!!

And thanks to everyone who is reading this, and letting me share the joy of preserving another fine old firearm from the past. I know that there is a lot of detail here, but it probably took me longer to type than to do it. I was able to resurrect some of my old Armorer skills from the past, even though these little fixes are relatively simple, I always keep in mind the injunction from the Hippocratic Oath that Doctors swear: "First, do no Harm"!!! (Well, I think that's how it goes). So, if you haven't been to Armorer's school, you might want to seek some help when doing some of these things. And as a (retired) armorer, I always remind myself that I am not a "Gunsmith". That is a much more highly trained profession, and requires a lot more investment in equipment and skills.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

DevilDog72:

Thanks for the tip. As you see, I've started on the inside, sort of working my way out. This has been lots of fun. I may actually start keeping my eyes peeled for guns with the potential for a little overhaul, I have had a great time.

What I hope to have, when I'm sone is not a "new" looking gun, but one with any rust removed, and stabilized to prevent further damage... There was very little rust, just some minuscule specks that really weren't apparent. I want it showing its wear, but not looking abused.

The stocks only have a very small ammount of varnish remaining, so I think your acetone idea is a good one. I once redid the stock on my early Winchester 94 with tung oil, and put 13 or 14 coats on, letting it dry overnight, and rubbing it down with 0000 steel wool between coats, or if high points showed up, might knock them down with very fine sand paper, then steel wool. The final finish looked like, in fact it was, a classic oil finish, and the wood just glowed through the oil which had penetrated into the wood.

I don't want to make them look new, just gently restored to match the vintage look of the gun.

Thanks again for sharing. I will definitely post again when I get a little more done on the project.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Great work, Les B.! I love these kinds of threads...

Did the tung oil thing on the stock and fore arm of my first rifle a "turn of the 20th century" Steven's Favorite....... still looking good 45 years later.... hanging over the door to my home office!!!!

Only been shot twice in all that time.... each of my boys fired their first day of shooting with that old Stevens Favorite. Rifling is about gone...... shoots soda can size groups...... but was neat to start them out on my first gun!

I'm a big fan of N frame guns that can shoot 38 specials.Anytime that I hear a price anywhere near 500 for one,it just sounds like so much great gun for a very reasonable price,even if it has a few condition issues.

Camster, although I have a few N frames, I hadn't done much with them recently, and had been spending the last year or so on I frames, improved I frames, and J frames. That made the big Ns seem huge. But now that I've been fooling with my new project, it doesn't seem nearly as big as it did a week or so ago. And even shooting full power 158 gr .357s through it seems tame after shooting the little J frame magnums, with their 11. Something ounce weight. This 40 ounce gun soaks up a lot of that recoil. Very pleasant, and with 38 spls, it is more like a 22!!!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I forgot one step... I used a new soft bristle tooth brush to apply and buff the checkering. I did this same thing on several sets and have just two or three coats of tung oil on them. In person they look great. I do not like the shiny look of varnish or poly coatings. As you handle the grips more they take on a very appealing ... glow. I have a set on my EDC 19-4 snub that the more I handle the better they look.

DevilDog72:

I'm going to start on those stocks this weekend, and I see that my new trigger rebound spring (actually I ordered a 10 pack, for future use) is almost here, according to USPS tracking. I'll post some before and after pictures when I get the stocks refinished. There are only a couple of small spots of original varnish finish remaining, so I don't think that it is going to affect "value" negatively by refinishing them. What I hope to achieve is a "used" look in character with the worn bluing, but to remove the staining (in places it seems almost black) that came from being saturated with gun oil, and give them the glow that comes from a hand rubbed tung oil finish. Well, I sure appreciate all of the advice that you and others have given me.

Edit:

Here is a photo of the stocks before stripping the finish. They look worse in person than in the photos. The staining doesn't show in the photos as much as in person:



Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Very nice revolver! I recently joined S&WF due to a newfound interest in older N-frames. Thanks for posting the photos and progress you've made.

Thanks!!

And I'm glad you joined the forum. Welcome from West Virginia!!! In my opinion, this is the best forum on the 'net, bar none. There are world class experts on here (not me, I'm a duffer), and they are congenial and collegial, and willing to share their expertise with beginner and fellow expert as well. My time here has been a continual learning experience. I have made friends here as well, and other brands are tolerated as well, so you can talk Colts if you want, without anyone saying anything about it, or looking down their noses at you. Most of us have all kinds of firearms interests as well as just Smith and Wesson, although that is my main passion.

About this Model 28-2, the thing is, I've got a really nice shape Model 27 3 1/2", a really nice shape Model 29 4", and other really nice N frames, but this gun was sort of like an "orphan", I could spend time cleaning it up, and working on it, and tuning it, and fiddling with it more than I would feel comfortable doing with those higher condition Ns. Not to mention all of the other Smiths that I have. This one may end up being shot more than the others as well, as it is going to reflect more of my personality...and I have some "sweat equity" in it as well, and it will be set up with just the trigger pull I like and so on.

Thanks for checking out my thread about this project gun. I have the stocks soaking in some acetone right now. I'll keep you and everyone else posted!!

Best Regards, Les

__________________
SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Well, I am still working on my project gun, the 28-2. Today the new trigger rebound spring came:



And I installed it, replacing the one which cam with the gun, which had had a coil or coils clipped. I know that this is a common practice, to lighten the trigger pull, but as I noted above, I am not a fan, and when I encounter clipped coils, I usually replace the spring with a new one. So far, this is my only expenditure, at less than $2.00. I now feel that the revolver is more reliable, although I admit that I had not noticed any problems from the clipped spring.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I think S&W, as well as most manufactures, error on the side of caution when it comes to springs. Taking into consideration, these guns could be used in frigid temperatures, gummed up with improper lubricants, and very dirty! They still need to function when needed. Stronger springs will hopefully overcome these conditions. But if a revolver is properly cleaned, lubricated, and used in normal climates, then you can get away with a lighter rebound or hammer spring most of the time. However, some guns are just tighter, and might be temperamental with lighter springs.

TAC:

I think that my indoctrination at the factory probably has helped shape my preference for factory specs on these guns. While I am mostly a recreational shooter today, during the years that I was a police armorer, I was concerned that every one of the guns that left my bench would go bang every time the trigger was pulled. Back then it might be the difference between life and death. I wanted to make sure that heat and cold, rain, snow, etc were not going to hamper the function of a gun.

Today, except for my EDC, most of my guns just get shot at the range, and details are not so important, but I still like to have all of my guns ready, just in case, and within factory specs. One thing, I always know what to expect when I pick up one of my own guns!!

Just me, as they say... YMMV.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I agree completely.

Here are the stocks after stripping off what little finish remained on them. There were I only a few tiny spots of varnish left on the stocks:



I soaked them for some time in a container, completely immersed in Acetone. Every so often I would take them out and scrub with a toothbrush and more acetone. Not only got the small remaining ammount of varnish off, but soaked out the crud and dirt from the checkering.

After gently smoothing the surface with some 0000 steel wool, I am now beginning to apply the tung oil finish. Hope to have a picture of the stocks at least partially finished sometime tomorrow.

Thanks for hanging in there with this project!!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Well, I thought some of you folks who have been so supportive during this little project of mine might like to see where we are now. I would have posted this earlier, but this doggone job of mine keeps interfering with my Forum posting!!!

Above, you can see how the stocks look with no finish at all. When I soaked and stripped them, I tried to get out a lot of the staining that was partly due, I believe, to leaching from the frame. There is no rust on the frame, but you can see where it has contacted the wood.

Here are the stocks with one coat of Tung oil:



With 2 coats:



With 3 coats:



And finally, for now, anyway, with 4 coats of Tung oil:



Here is where I am with this project now. With the stocks mounted, and remember all of the internal work that I've done, detailed in the above posts:



And one more shot. I think that the stocks look much better now, without looking "new":



What I like about Tung oil is that you can always add another coat at any time, and you can control the "shine" by knocking the shine down with either a little 0000 steel wool, or even a little rubbing compound. When I was applying the finish, I used my index finger to apply the oil, and rubbed it until it would start to feel just a little tacky. I then let it dry over night, and the next day, I would lightly take it down with the steel wool, and then buff it with the palm of my hand until it had a dull glow. Then apply another coat, and repeat the whole process.

For now, I'm going to leave it at 4 coats, and see how I like it.

Next this weekend, I think I'll do another, and more extensive range test. I feel like this has been a great little project, and so far I'm really happy with the results. Thanks for all of you who have contributed ideas and expertise, and in Weatherby's case, new trigger and grip adapter ( I'll be putting that back on, was just waiting til I was done with all the refinishing.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I wudda been on that like a bum on a baloney sandwich.

In addition to a great gun, that holster is excellent and so is the belt!

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Thanks, Warren!! Those are a couple of mighty nice looking specimens you have there as well. Thanks for dropping by, and sharing your treasures!!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

David:

Thanks for the police history from down ther in Muscogee County!! I'll bet that one of these did look gigantic when you were just a lad. I can still remember the local police officers in my home town when I was a boy. They wore gray military style shirts and dark, probably navy blue trousers. Black belts and holsters. They were armed with either a Smith and Wesson M&P, or a Colt Official Police. Officers supplied their own sidearms, but had to choose Colt or Smiths. By the time that I started in 1975, the department was issuing Smith and Wesson Model 66s. 4" for uniform, and 2 1/2" for plainclothes.

It is always good to hear from you, hope that you are enjoying your well deserved retirement!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I do something very like that using boiled linseed oil. Spending a afternoon working by hand can be good therapy.

I made this walnut guitar body and finished it in tung oil.

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John:

I started out using the boiled linseed oil, mostly on surplus M1 Carbines many years ago, but when I discovered the tung oil, I switched. That was about 30 years ago. I like the results, and think that it is a smoother and easier process. You might want to give it a try one day. I just use plain old "Homer Formby's" Tung Oil Finish, in the "low gloss" version. A tiny ammount is all you need. When I am finished for the day, I squeeze the bottle to get all the air out, which helps to keep it from drying out in the bottle. Great stuff, and I love the glow that it imparts to especially walnut wood. Eventually, I will probably put some more coats on these stocks, but not on the checkering. By the way, when applying the first few coats, I use a toothbrush fo work the oil down into the checkering. Also get enough into the little groove around the checkering, the "border", in order to seal the wood and protect and preserve it, all the while bringing out the beauty of the walnut.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Les.b, I did the same. I started with boiled linseed oil, then tried tung oil, and never went back.

I have applied a few more coats to that electric guitar body now and then, and I swear it looks better every time.

The only thing I can add to your advice is that too little is better than too much; apply in THIN coats.

Warren:

That is a fantastic looking guitar!! Nice job. I see that you can make everything from AK clones to guitars! Now that is what I call talented!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Les, what did you use to strip the stocks?

Sir,

I think you have a new career. Just wonderful. Thank you for sharing.

I followed DevilDog72's advice and used acetone. Actually, my GF had been here at the cabin recently, and left a bottle of Dollar Store fingernail polish remover, which prominently stated: "Pure Acetone". Saved me a trip to town. I took an old Tupperware type container, and put both stocks in it, and poured enough acetone in to completely cover the stocks. Then I put the lid on the container to prevent the acetone from evaporating. Every now and then I'd open it up and scrub the stocks with an old toothbrush, then cover it up and let it soak. DevilDog says he lets it soak three or four days. I wasn't that patient, but you can tell when the finish is gone. These were also stocks with very little finish left on them. If they had been in better shape, I would probably not have refinished them. They also has significant staining, most of which soaked out.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Hey, I play the thing too!

OK, were are getting some major thread drift here, but here is a montage picture that was sent to me after my band played at an outdoor party a few months ago. I am wearing the white shirt and green pants. A side benefit to playing music; if you look closely you can see a a good-looking young lady (white top and pink skirt) that I met that night. sigh...

Edit to add: OK, sorry about the small size of the picture. I don't know "wut up wi'that".

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Les, thank you very much. I have the origial stocks to my little 3" 65 and would very much like to see them turn out like yours. Now I just need to get some tung oil

Looks like my kit when I carry.

__________________
Existimo ergo sum armis

SLT223:

Be sure and let us know how it turns out. We are always learning here on the forum, and we are always curious about how these sorts of projects go. Take some before and after photos, and post them. Either start your own thread, or feel free to post here on this one. Either way, it would be interesting to see how things turn out.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Well, today I took time to clean the leather, and recondition it with a light treatment with Lexol, followed by a waxing with Renaissance Wax, and for the time being, at least, im going to use this leather that came as part of the original deal. Here's what it looks like today:



To sum up: Outside cleaned with bronze wool and gun oil to remove the light rust, and stop its spread. Completely refurbished inside, every part scrubbed and relubricated, new trigger, new cylinder stop, new trigger rebound spring, trigger reprofiled and fitted to hammer, retimed, the stocks stripped, cleaned, and refinished with Tung oil. Sights adjusted to fire .357 magnum 158 grain JSP to point of aim at 25 yards. (I have a bunch of factory Federal ammo in this loading, and I handload a 158 gr LSWC 357 Mag that approximates it). The gun and leather still has the character of long use, but are completly free of rust and crud, yet glow from their overhaul, and I believe that they are now ready for a new life with yours truly!

I've really enjoyed the project over the last few weeks, and appreciate the advice and encouragement, and even parts that my fellow forum members (like Weatherby, who supplied the trigger, which I installed, and the grip adapter, which I have been experimenting with) have provided.

Eventually I will provide a final range report, but for now I'm sort of winding down this project. Time to enjoy playing around with the final product!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Just discovered this thread... really enjoyed seeing your M-28, and the leather come back to life.

Just a comment on refinishing the checkered area of grips.

The trick to getting that area sealed without it having a built up look to it, is you need to thin out the finish and apply it very sparingly with a tooth brush.

When I used to use Tru-oil, I thinned it down to 50/50 mix of oil and thinner.

What I use now is Laurel Mountain Forge Permalyn stock sealer, which is an oil-modified polyurethane. The sealer is water thin to penetrate wood fibers, so it is easy to control surface build up. There is a Permalyn stock finish which I don't use... it's too thick.

By just using the sealer alone and applying coats until you get the results (sheen) you want, you get a really nice finish without a heaviness look to it.. in my opinion, closer to a factory look. And when the Permalyn dries/cures.. it's durable.

In the before/after pics, notice how the checkered area still looks sharp with no filling in of the lines or build up of the checkering points, which is a common thing that happens when an un-thinned finished is used.

You can also see how this Permalyn brings out the grain pattern. The best way I can describe it it that it is unobtrusive while it does it's thing... yeah, if you haven't guessed by now, I'm really sold on it after having tried various finishes over the years.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Les. I am envious of that whole rig. That is a perfect packing outfit for me. No way to improve. Been shot, looks shot, leathern worn on the hip not in the safe. No way to improve! Billy

This is some really great information, Gunhacker!! I am always willing to learn and am making note of this post. I have had a great time with this project, and of course, the first consideration was functionality. I have the revolver really performing well now, and have brought back some of my armorer skills that I hadn't used for some time.

As far as the woodworking side, I did use a very thin tung oil, and as you recommended, scrubbed it into the checkering with a toothbrush. Also, as I added coats to the surrounding stock, I did not build up the checkering coats as much, to avoid clogging the checkering. I added some coats to the surrounding area, and lightly buffed them down with 0000 steel wool to help fill in the grain a little, while not building up the thickness of the coverage. After everything had cured throughly, I buffed it a little with Flitz, and then Renaissance Wax.

But I like the sound of this Laurel Mountain Forge Permalyn stock sealer. I'm going to see if I can find it online, and get some to experiment with. Thanks for the information!! This may lead to even more projects.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Gunhacker:

I have been to Laurel Mountain Forge's web site, and they have a wealth of information there on stock refinishing, as well as the ability to buy their products. I was pleased to see that I was pretty much on track for finishing stocks, in their instructions they were suggesting many of the same things I was already doing.

I have ordered a small 4 oz size of the product that you suggested, as well as one of the stock finish, and will let you know how my next project works out!! I'll be happy to add these to my modest shop, and am looking forward to experimenting with them. I recommend that anyone who is interested in this sort of work go to their site and read the very detailed instructions on surface prep, application, finish technique and so forth.

Thanks again for the heads up!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

That picture make me want to carry it cross draw...................

Purty work, WS.
Melody Maker pickups?

( sorry 'bout the drift)

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Halfway and one more step