31-1 32 H&R Mag Goes To the Range

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last week while at my lgs, the owner showed me a 31-1 and asked if I would be interested, and at the time I wasn't. but now after this post I'm interested. Is the work done only to the cylinder or is there another modification that needs to be made. I guess my concern would be the added pressure to the gun itself.
is the only tooling to be done is the reaming?

Bryce
 
Smith & Hammer said:
wow, that is very cool to know. thanks
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Another thing to know is that any .32 Hand Ejector MUST be a -1 (dash 1) or higher, Model 30 or 31. That is when they went to a J frame with a slightly longer cylinder. A no dash or pre model will not work, due to the shorter cylinder, and the H&R Mag cartridge is too long.
 
That's pretty cool Tom. If you don't mind my asking, did you purchase the reamer? If so, what brand, where did you get it from and how much did it cost? I obtained a near new 31-1 a few months back with the intent of reaming it H&R Mag. Still need to do that, so any info you can provide would be much appreciated.
 
kscharlie said:
Another thing to know is that any .32 Hand Ejector MUST be a -1 (dash 1) or higher, Model 30 or 31. That is when they went to a J frame with a slightly longer cylinder. A no dash or pre model will not work, due to the shorter cylinder, and the H&R Mag cartridge is too long.
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Looks like I'll have to stick to Sharpe's handload data for the .32 Long. ;) (Though it means I'll never play with my marvelous 115-grain H&R loading in my Improved I-Frame.) Thanks for doing the measurements and saving me the effort! :)
 
The instructions I received from AJ helped immensely. The key is to take your time, keep it oiled and clean the shavings as you go. Then oil some more. When the rim of a 32 H&R mag casing fits flush to the rear of the cylinder you are done...with that chamber. I used a tap & die handle to turn the reamer. If the cylinder will not close that rim is not flush. I'll let Gil comment. I forget the brand. I know Clymer makes one. They run $100-$130 I believe.

Here is the 31-1 that I modified. It had a broken hammer spur when i bought it but I had a hammer for it in a parts drawer. It has a couple minor scuff marks from when the spur was broken and then it was put away until I bought it and brought it back to life...as a 32 Mag.
 

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Retired W4 said:
Here is the 31-1 that I modified. It had a broken hammer spur when i bought it but I had a hammer for it in a parts drawer. It has a couple minor scuff marks from when the spur was broken and then it was put away until I bought it and brought it back to life...as a 32 Mag.
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Oh boy! That's just dandy! :) Fantastic - talk about a handy gun!
 
The 32 H&R has a case length of 1.076 or the 32 long case length is .920

As the throat is about .312 and the chamber .337 your removing .0125 from the radius for .115 more depth. The total amount of material removed is pretty small. I did the math and it is right at 2.9 grains of steel which has a way higher density than powder.

The 32 long max psi is 15,000psi and the H&R is 21,000psi
 
steelslaver said:
The 32 H&R has a case length of 1.076 or the 32 long case length is .920

As the throat is about .312 and the chamber .337 your removing .0125 from the radius for .115 more depth. The total amount of material removed is pretty small. I did the math and it is right at 2.9 grains of steel which has a way higher density than powder.

The 32 long max psi is 15,000psi and the H&R is 21,000psi
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Sometimes I get a little over my head and that just roared past me. Help me understand Slaver. Is that a good thing or a bad thing. Remember, I'm not a gunsmith or a machinist. I do know the amount of metal shavings I got out was minuscule.:confused::eek: I will probably lose sleep thinking about that.;);)
 
Retired W4 said:
Sometimes I get a little over my head and that just roared past me. Help me understand Slaver. Is that a good thing or a bad thing. Remember, I'm not a gunsmith or a machinist. I do know the amount of metal shavings I got out was minuscule.:confused::eek: I will probably lose sleep thinking about that.;);)
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Sleep well. You won't overstress that J frame with factory .32 H&R magnum ammo.
 
Retired W4 said:
I did the reaming conversion to my little 32 S&WL. Functioned perfectly, thanks to AJ and MuleyGil. It's pretty snappy shooting 32 H&R JHP Magnums in it. Nice little SD gun. Ran some 32 S&W Longs through it and that was pleasant to shoot but I would describe it as anticlimactic. ;)
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Muley Gil said:
Glad to be able to hep out!
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Let's see if I have this straight. the head space is the measurement of the case fitment of the .32 mag in the cylinder bore 1.075 , using a 32 mag case as a guide which is the depth were after with the reamer. the pilot fits the 32 long bore as the guide. I was looking at brownells at the .32 mag reamer and I'm assuming the pilot fits the 32 long.

am I missing anything in my assessment of this job?
 
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"That's nice shooting soldier! Two can play at that game!" A great ccw gun.
 
Retired W4 said:
Sometimes I get a little over my head and that just roared past me. Help me understand Slaver. Is that a good thing or a bad thing. Remember, I'm not a gunsmith or a machinist. I do know the amount of metal shavings I got out was minuscule.:confused::eek: I will probably lose sleep thinking about that.;);)
Click to expand...

Your removing the thickness of the brass on a case neck for a bit over 1/10 of an inch.

J frame 38 specials cylinders handle +P loads which run at 20,000 psi and the outer chamber wall is thinner on them than it is on a 32.

If it was a bad thing I wouldn't have done it to all of mine
 
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PS. A smaller diameter tube will handle more pressure than a larger diameter tube even if they have the same wall thickness

Not only is a 32 chamber smaller in diameter than a 38 shamber but, it has thicker walls.

Of course on the 5 shot J frame the 38 has the cylinder notch offset to the chamber, while the 6 32 it does not, BUT, the stop notch is a small percentage of the wall which gains support by the rest of the wall around it. I am regularly involved in pressure testing and inspection of pressure tubes and some small sections of corrosion thinning do not cause failures. They may however cause rejection, but that is because of concerns over additional future corrosion thinning a larger area. A cylinder chamber does not corrode
 
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