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Old 12-24-2011, 07:57 PM
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Default My 1917 Project...Going to need help on this one...

Here is my 1917 Brazilian contract (from I believe 1938) that it going to need a lot of love and a lot of help from more knowledgeable people.

I bought this gun to learn how to work on Smith and Wesson revolvers knowing full well that its value was already diminished from the work done on it.

So let me start with what I know about it:
The barrel is obviously replaced. It was cut down to 4". It appears to have been shot. A lot. I'd say somebody used this gun for competition.

I bought 2 new barrels for the gun. Both are also 25-2 barrels. I like how they look on the frame and they were both NOS. One is 6" and the other is 6 1/2". I've never changed a barrel before so I will need help with that. But there is more to do before that.

The cylinder shows a nasty oscilloscope looking turn line. Not sure how that came about as the original cylinder doesn't really have any endshake to speak of. However, it has the old style right handed screw ejector rod as well as an old and difficult (if not impossible) to replace ejector. I bought a new cylinder with a new ejector. I don't have the rod for it yet nor do I have a new center pin or any of the locking parts that fit onto the end of the barrel.

The new cylinder will need to be fitted because it is very sloppy on the yoke. I believe I will have to learn how to stretch the yoke. No big deal. Again. The purpose of this gun is as a project.

While on the subject of the yoke, somebody had a ball lock installed and removed all of the locking parts on the barrel. I want to at the very least reinstall those locking parts and possibly remove the ball lock if possible. I don't see how it hurts but I just don't like it.

Somebody also installed a fully adjustable rear sight. I don't know if all of the parts are there. But I consider that to be a bonus. Especially since I'll be replacing the barrel with a longer barrel than the original factory configuration.

I have already replaced the hammer and trigger as the gun had sever push off caused by an improperly done trigger job.

With the original cylinder the gun fails to lock up 100% of the time by the time the hammer is locked back. I believe this to be a worn ratchet (or badly adjusted as most everything on this gun has been messed with) or a worn hand. The hand for this gun is not so easy to replace from what I understand.

I plan on getting an oversized hand since there is a little play and fitting the new hand with the new cylinder. I also want to replace the cylinder stop as it has met with a stone at some point in its life and has an uneven appearance. This should hopefully remove any of the timing issues.

My one concern with replacing the hand is that I lose the trigger block function since I won't be able to replace the hand with a similar style. I don't plan on ever carrying this gun though so I guess it should be okay. Do I have any other options?

I bought a replacement sideplate which is slightly oversized but does not feature the block in the event that I am unable to use the block. I suppose I could also remove the locking part from the sideplate that came with the gun as well.

At some point the gun was reblued so most of the markings on it are much more faint than they started out.

As a final note, I know I will have more money into this gun by the time I am done than it is worth. Heck I probably already do. That isn't the point of this project. Since it can't be returned 100% to stock working condition I figure it is a good platform to learn how to work on revolvers without destroying a classic in the process. I'd really appreciate any help anybody has to offer and if you are in the Philadelphia, PA region, any sort of hands on help would be greatly appreciated!

I am not going to suggest that the budget for this project is unlimited, but I am willing to spend the money required to do the job correctly. I have studied the Kunhausen book but it seems like there are a lot of neat tricks and tools that have come out since the release of that book which might aid in my end goal of having a really nice revolver that shoots .45 ACP.

Now the big question...Where to start?

-Zach
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Old 12-24-2011, 09:45 PM
Tyrod Tyrod is offline
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Well, the place to start obviously is the beginning. I've seen photos of guns that were in far worse shape than yours. Amazingly restored to like new condition. Of course, a fair amount of engraving efforts were made to restore proper markings. I'm sure you don't want to go that far. I've never restored a S&W or a revolver of any kind. But, I've done a fair amount of work on 1911 style guns.

The best advice I can give you is to start in one area, say the trigger and finish it before you start on the next. Always being mindful of the next area you want to do. I find it distracting to the max to have to lose my concentration while working in one area only to find I'm missing a part. It's like work work work, then wait a week for the part you didn't realize you didn't have. When faced with a problem that seems to be unsolvable. I've been known to stop working on the project and just think about it, mostly in the back of my mind, while going about my regular daily business. Most time I have an epiphany and am able to complete the task. Don't rush. Think things through. Good luck on fitting the side plate. That's one thing I do know about. I just fit my first one. Took me 8 hours with files and abrasive paper. It didn't come out too bad.

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Old 12-26-2011, 01:58 AM
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Thank you for the advice. Beautiful looking gun you have there as well!

I agree about sticking to one issue at a time and resolving it, but for example, the cylinder needs to be fit before the barrel so that I don't have to adjust the cylinder to barrel gap twice.

I'm actually starting to think that most of my project centers around the cylinder being fit. Fortunately, the tooling for that is a lot less expensive than the tooling to replace the barrel. It also seems a lot more forgiving.

I don't want to crack the frame over tightening the barrel or something. I'll worry about that a little bit more when I am at that step though. One thing at a time.

Any thoughts of what tools I will need for working the yoke and cylinder?

I figure I will need an insert for the yoke so I can stretch it, a yoke face reamer, a tool to tighten the extractor rod, and something to check the straightness of the yoke. Am I missing anything? Any suggestions on decent tools here? I saw Brownells and Midway both have a bunch of different options with varying price points.

-Zach
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Old 12-26-2011, 11:23 AM
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Don't stretch the yoke. Use the Power custom washers. The washers are hardened steel and actually give a smoother mating surface for the cylinder and yoke to run on. You will still need the yoke facing tool. Hands like those in the Brazilian are almost impossible to find. You can use a modern hand but you will have to remove the hammer block in the sideplate. I have seen those hands TIG welded up and then remade to slightly larger dimensions.
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Old 12-26-2011, 11:51 AM
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I think (I have to measure first) that I will need to stretch the yoke as it is kind of a large gap (if I remember correctly - again, I need to measure this before I decide decisively which route to take). From what I have read, stretching it and then using the yoke face reamer to add a small amount of endshake corrected by a washer is supposedly the best course of action. Any thoughts on that?

If just the washer will do, I'll go that route, but I don't want to have 3 and 4 washers stacked up.

With reference to the hand, after searching for months with no real luck, I've just decided to buy a power custom over sized hand and deal with the loss of the hammer block. This is going to be a range gun anyway.

-Zach

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Originally Posted by tennexplorer View Post
Don't stretch the yoke. Use the Power custom washers. The washers are hardened steel and actually give a smoother mating surface for the cylinder and yoke to run on. You will still need the yoke facing tool. Hands like those in the Brazilian are almost impossible to find. You can use a modern hand but you will have to remove the hammer block in the sideplate. I have seen those hands TIG welded up and then remade to slightly larger dimensions.
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1911, brownells, ejector, endshake, extractor, sideplate, smith and wesson

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