3rd Gen S&W 4526 Restoration Resurrection

[BLUEBELLYYANKEE]

Just thought I would share with you this project that I have been working on. When I saw this gun I could not believe it's condition. I wish I would have taken pictures before I cleaned it up.

A 4526 is a very rare special gun. This one was abused by somebody's teenage son. He even threaded the barrel and tried to install a homemade silencer. Barrel is bulged from obstruction, lockwork will not cylcle and the slide will not move freely on the frame. Also, the back of the slide was obviously "hammered" on the back in order to drive the slide into battery.
These pictures were taken AFTER I had disassembled the gun and cleaned it thoroughly. I ran this gun TWICE through a sonic cleaner and took these pictures:

It does not look bad from this distance:

But a closer look reveals the condition:

This brown stuff is rust.

Here you can start to see the threading attempt on the end of the barrel.

Looking at the slide just to the right and left of the hammer and just above the frame you can see the "bright" areas that are reflecting light. This is where he hammered to get the gun into full battery. Probably bent inward about a 1/16th of an inch.

A little later today or tomorrow I will post pictures with the work finished.

 

[Kadonny]

Wow, what a shame. What are your plans for it?

 

[Aegis]

Hopefully you can return it to it's original glory. I think only 548 of these were made. I was lucky enough to find one in excellent condition.

 

[BMCM]

I think that'll clean right up like new. Rust is not uncommon on 410 martensitic steel, a little wire brushing or a brief soak in distilled vinegar (acetic acid) will clean that right up.

A crowning cutter will make that muzzle look like new.

Oh the bulge, I guess a replacement tube is in order.

Various ding divots and hammer marks can be erased with some careful file work.

Resurrecting beaters is one of my favorite past times. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Cheers
Bill

 

[scwv67]

Keep us posted on progress/results.

 

[Smee78]

What a shame, I will like to see the outcome of this project.

 

[GaryS]

What a shame. Too bad that no one tried to thread the end of the kids barrel and then hammer him back in to battery.

Uncharitable, I know.

 

[BLUEBELLYYANKEE]

OK, Here we go with the "after" pictures, they are in the same order as the "before" pictures in the beginning of the thread.

I sent the slide back to the factory after I re-fnished it to have it re etched with the original warning.

I still see a couple specs of rust in those grooves.

And a couple specs in those grooves.

I spent a lot of time on this muzzle.

This end of the slide and frame was a real mess. I was afraid this was going to be difficult but it was actually the easiest part of the whole project to get right. I think it turned out pretty good.

Here is the old barrel. That is my daughter's hand not mine.

All in all this project took about 8 to 10 hours for me to complete but I am accustomed to working on these guns and have the tools ready at hand. The only new parts are the barrel and grip. Everything else was in good shape inside the gun. You could tell it had not been fired too much in its tortured life. I had to do a lot of work on that muzzle in order to get it into shape. I did not remove the bushing so working around that bushing took a lot of time. I re-filed the cocking serrations on the slide and a little on the front strap of the grip. I still need to touch up those a little more. Even the slide stop needed attention to get it to work right again.

I wanted this gun to be extra tight to try to wring out all the accuracy possible so I fitted the barrel extra tight to the slide. I mentioned in the first post that the slide was binding on the frame. This actually presented a opportunity to re-fit the slide to the frame in a much tighter fashion than what we are accustomed to in these 3rd gen guns. There is absolutely no play or slop in the slide to frame fit. INDEED THE ACCURACY IS SUPERB!!!


Anyway, I thought some of you guys would be interested in this project to demonstrate just what can be done to these 3rd gens to bring them back to life.


BB

 

[t-bird]

At least the 4526 is in the right hands now. Best of luck and thanks for the info and pics.

 

[GaryS]

Beautiful work. Unfortunately, I can only give you one "Like".

 

[BMCM]

Truly outstanding work!

 

[18DAI]

Very nice! Nice catch on a very scarce model. Great job on the restoration.

Is it going to see some carry time or is it for range fun? Enjoy that fine 45! Regards 18DAI

 

[Aegis]

Outstanding work. Good to see it restored to it's original state.

 

[BLUEBELLYYANKEE]

Very nice! Nice catch on a very scarce model. Great job on the restoration.

Is it going to see some carry time or is it for range fun? Enjoy that fine 45! Regards 18DAI

Thanks for the comment.

No carrying this gun. I do not think I will shoot it much more. It is very tempting though because it is very accurate compared to my 4506. Earlier this year I put up some videos on Youtube on how I gunsmith these guns and I gave this gun that same treatment. This is definitely the smoothest operating gun by far that I own now. Zero noise or grittiness when you pull the slide back or work the trigger/hammer, it's like wet ice on wet ice.

After seeing how one of these can be brought back to life is there any doubt that these guns will be around for several generations to come?

 

[Kadonny]

That's freaking amazing, well done!

 

[18DAI]

I have seen your Youtube videos, OUTSTANDING! Sorry, I didn't realize that was you. Your videos should be stickies here.

In fact, I've watched your slide disassembly/reassembly several times this month in anticipation of a project I may be doing in February.

You sir are quite talented! Any chance we will see some videos dealing with the 2nd gen 645? Regards 18DAI

 

[C/O]

Very nice job.

 

[D Rock]

Really well done!

Dave

 

[Smee78]

Looks great, wish my projects went together that fast. Congrats

 

[zedsdead]

Great job, glad to see a fine pistol returning to caring hands.