I have a spare barrel that I would like to install in my S&W 629 classic, but after reading about how involved this process can be I've decided to have it sent to a smith. Does anyone have any recommendations for a gunsmith who can do a good job removing and installing a new barrel on S&W N-frame revolvers? While I'm at it, I'll probably get the new barrel crowned and an action job done as well. My priorities are quality of work, followed by turn around time. Cost is less important if it means I can get good work done in a resonable time frame.

Where are you located? It is much cheaper to be able to drive to a good pistolsmith and hand him/her your gun than it is to have to use mail/package service back and forth. You might also get a better price quoted face to face. ..........

Good point. I'm in Southern CA, near the L.A. area. Kind of hard to find a good gunsmith out here these days, but if there is someone anywhere out here I'd be willing to drive a long ways. I could probably go as far out as Las Vegas if need be.

Some local gunsmiths may not even try to remove a barrel. It is easy to crack or twist the frame even if you have the special fitted barrel removal tools (which are required). I would ask the local smith what steps he would use to remove the barrel and if he would replace the frame if he cracked or twisted it. Some may also apply heat which shouldn't be over four hundred degrees. Kuhnhausen covers this in his book and recomends using his special plate attachment that a torque wrench fits in. He has specific torques listed and if it exceeds the recomendations, damage is likely to happen The newer guns without the pinned barrels have somewhat of a crush fit making the barrel more difficult to remove without damage. My humble advise would be to send it back to Smith & Wesson.

Try Bolsa Gun Smiths in Fountain Valley I believe they are authorized by SW

Send it to S&W. That is the only way to make sure it is done correctly. The PC can smooth the action while it is there.

Likewise, I sent my 629 back to S&W for a barrel change. And that was based on a recommendation by a real gunsmith. I was very please with the S&W work. I had them "renew" the finish also at the same time.

I didn't realize that S&W would actually perform custom work on customer supplied guns through their performance center. It looks like not only can they do the barrel swap, they can also perform an action job, crown the barrel, and refinish the entire gun. And having it all done by the original factory is a nice bonus.

Contrary to what seems to be conventional wisdom, all one piece S&W revolver barrels are crush fit whether pinned or not. The shoulder of the barrel is trimmed so that when the barrel is screwed into the frame hand tight, it is about 60 degrees before TDC. It is then torqued into it's final position using the proper fixtures and frame wrench. This adjustment of the barrel's shoulder is required in order to time the thread, allowing the barrel come to hand tight in the proper position or the barrel will end up overly or insufficiently torqued when at it's final position, causing the usual problems. Barrels which are pinned are not just spun into the frame like a bolt into a nut until the front sight is in it's correct position and then have the pin inserted.

Also, a barrel in decent condition should not need to be recrowned.

Bruce

Bolsa is a S&W authorized repair shop. I would check with them before sending it to the factory. Good guys, good smiths.

It is not really difficult if you have the right tools and patience. I just replaced a barrel on my 10-5 with the correct tools. You may have to soak the barrel overnight and it will take a lot of hard pressure on the barrel wrench to break the grip on that barrel. I hand tightened the barrel until it stopped. Before you do all of that, I would measure the distance from the end of the barrel to the cylinder. Also, measure the entire barrel from the muzzle to the end of the threads. Installing the rest of the barrel after you hand tighten is a bit of a chore. I would go slow and check the measurements. My barrel had a pin and when I was sure of the correct measurements, I inserted a punch through the hole to make sure it was aligned and reinserted the pin. I then check for range with the tools and they were 100 percent in perfect alignment with the cylinder and the barrel. A competent gunsmith would charge about $150.00 but that is about what all of the tools you will need to accomplish the removal and installing a new barrel. This was my first attempt and was a good feeling when everything comes together. If you do not feel comfortable doing this job, than by all means try a competent gunsmith or send it to S&W. Good luck.

Nick

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NRA Instructor\GCA Gunsmith

I sent my 4-inch M64 off to S&W in April/May; they installed a new 3-inch barrel which I sent them. Installation was perfect – no scratches or marks or any such thing any place on the revolver. They charged one hour of labor – $90 – and the $45 inspection/shipping fee – total $135. As far as I'm concerned it is a beautiful and perfect job; and one hour of labor isn't bad given how much work had to be done. That said, be prepared for them to have it probably two months total.

I agree. The rub is the correct tools. Like I said, if the barrel needs to go around another turn, then the barrel's shoulder (not the shank) needs to be trimmed. Some folks who are really good with a file can do this but most use machine tools such as a lathe. After doing this, the shank needs to be trimmed back to reset B/C gap and the forcing cone recut.

Incidentally, I've only seen barrels removed by clamping the barrel in a vise with special inserts on the jaws and then using a frame wrench to turn the frame off the barrel. I've never seen a "barrel wrench" for removing a revolver barrel. Then again, I haven't seen everything.

Bruce

Ferrous, if it is not to late, one of the best S&W smiths is near you in Torrance. Look up Alan Tanaka, he's a member of the American Pistolsmith Guild and was pistolsmith of the year a few years ago. I have used him, his work is phenomenal. -rick

AT Custom Gunwork, Inc.

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NRA & CRPA Life Member