Just picked up this 19-4 today.
Very clean throughout.
There is a gap at grip bottom, what can be done.
Take a look.
Thank you.

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New to me.

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What can be done? Nothing, that is quite normal and less than many guns show.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

Nice looking revolver.

Looks to me like the grips might be a mismatched pair. All of the grips I have from that era, and I think from later too, have the grain at least running in the same direction. The grain on the grips on your revolver run in different directions.

Do you have another set you could try to see if they fit the same? If they do it could be the center pin in the frame is bent a little toward the back. If they fit ok its probably something with the grips. I have a 686 that the pin was bent just a little backwards and when you tighten the screw up it would leave a crack in the front. Straighten the pin and fixed my problem.

I have to try my victory grips i just remember i have.
I have had several revolvers and never had grips like this fitment.
The pin isnt bent, the grips dont number to gun.
Maybe mismatched.
Thanks all for any info. I will report back.
The gun itself looks hardly ever fired i paid 700 out the door.
Regards
Mike

South Florida has some wicked humidity,
Try putting a thin cloth over the grips heel then wrapping one of those thick rubber bands used on lobster claws around them pulling the gap together.

Like said above quite normal. Now the fix lightly sand the part of the grip that touched ok .even it out so it lowers the high part (gap).

Target stocks, from that era, will not be numbered. So they won’t number to the revolver. That tiny bit of a gap is nothing to worry over. Any sanding you do will only expose more wood to the humidity. If you don’t like the stocks, put them away, replace them with what you prefer.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

What can be done? Several things. IMO anything less than a perfect fit is unacceptable. What I do in the following order:

1. Remove grips from revolver and place each half frame side down on a PERFECTLY flat surface such as a mirror, piece of glass, granite countertop. You are looking to see if all edges are touching surface or are there gaps. If not level you can sand down by rubbing against a sheet of fine sandpaper placed on a perfectly flat surface. NOTE - this can create another issue where the grips will mate perfectly when not on the gun but there will be a consistent gap when placed on the frame. This is because the inlet area on the inside of the grip panels is no longer deep enough for grip halves to meet when on the frame. This leads to….

2. Remove wood from inletted area on frame side of each grip panel. This is tedious work and needs to be precise. REALLY sharp chisel can shave paper thin layer of wood with each stroke until the halves meet when on frame.

I am currently refinishing some diamond target K/L frame grips. I have already repaired the multiple chips from the bottom of the grips by sanding away, glueing and clamping pieces of wood to area and then sanding down to original profile. I just acquired a model 14 today so the grips will now have a home! I have already done step #1, will be doing step #2 this weekend to custom fit grips to this frame. I also plan on recontouring right grip panel at top edge, creating a sort of “speed loader cutout” so the grip willnot cover the S&W logo on the right frame plate.

I don't think those are the correct stocks for that gun. Shouldn't a 19-4 have a football cut out?

Otherwise, I'd leave them alone. The gap is common and not that bad. Far too easy to make matters worse.

OP, very nice gun, and at a good price. My 19-4 has football targets.
Take the grips off the gun, and see if they mate flush to each other. Target grips may have a date stamp but not a number.

Make sure the locating roll pin is centered, and the holes in the grips for the locator pin are deep enough, and unobstructed.

Beyond that, I would not sand the grips. The super sharp chisel to improve the inletting depth a few thousandths may be an idea on point.

Now, what do I really think? Because the gun looks so nice, I would look for a more pleasing set of factory football targets with grain and color, see what can be had from Culina LLC, or look for stags from Bigmtnman on this site, or stags from Grashorn grips. Keep checking Ebay for a set of Speigel grips ( tough to come by ). Be prepared to spend 165 to 300, depending on what you get.

Place an ad in the " want to buy " section of this forum.

Just my .02

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

Your grips have a minor space that a skilled woodworker can easily fix. Wood does warp and many times some slight internal fitting can be done. The person doing the work MUST understand the relationship of how the wood fits the metal and a skilled person can easily make them fit much better without destroying h them.

This is not rocket science, not difficult or a lengthy process, HOWEVER the person removing the wood to fit them MUST understand exactly where to do it! Just like a good Dentist fits a new Crown to your tooth! Skill and knowledge is the key. I have fit I’ll fitting grips in the past but I’ve done woodworking all my life and understand how to do it. If you have no clues, leave them alone until you find a competent woodworker who understands how to fit wood to metal.

Good info here.
Ill take a close look and ponder a fix, im very mechanically competent not much i cant do.
If i screw up i have gained knowledge.
Plus its fun to fix stuff.
I dont rush i will sleep on it a day or three, then decide.
Thanks

I think that sometimes when the grips are new people over tighten the screw which pulls in the center and causes the edges to lift a bit.

Nothing to worry about. Clean it, shoot it, repeat.

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Pine_Worker
Ex-LEO, NRA Life