Opinions on minimally invasive restoration?

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Jennison

Jennison

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I was looking at a near mint 1952 Chief’s Special yesterday; crisp clean checkering on the grips, almost zero discernible wear on the finish (there is a light drag line). The odd thing is, 3 of the side plate screws have buggered slots with that shiny damage. Now I’m not one to refinish original guns, but in this case, if I were to take the gun to my local smith to ONLY have him dress the 3 screw heads and reblue them, would this devalue the gun or improve it? If the latter, what type of bluing? At least to me, these screws really stick out. (Note: I wouldn’t be interested in finding different screws since they wouldn’t be original to the gun and that would bug me just as much).

Sorry, no pics; I’d forgotten to take my phone (as is often the case)

Thanks! Jennison.
 
Simply get a decent gunsmith screwdriver kit and remove the screws with the correct bit.

If the screws are "buggered" from someone using a Harbor Freight screwdriver on it, then sand the top of the screw with 1200 grit sandpaper and heat it with a long lighter until almost red. Once done, dip it in a decent Brownells cold blue solution...Repeat this multiple times and when done, oil it profusely and carefully reinstall.
 
Funny, first thing ai thought was “Harbor Freight screwdriver.” Should the screw head be dipped in the bluing solution while still hot?
 
Not all that many years ago there was a vender that sold replacement screw kits. I've picked up a few revolvers over the years that looked like a cub scout worked on it with his pocket knife screwdriver. I have a buddy at the rifle club that has always carried a Swiss Army knife on a belt holder. He is very fast to pull that damn thing out to loosen a screw on someone's fine firearm, I usually give him a "Mike!" Wait a minute I'll run out to my car and get a proper screwdriver, he is patient but many times I have come back in and found the screw already removed and his triumphant grin, he doesn't have very many nice firearms, they are mostly well used and abused by improper tools, like using unpadded crescent wrenches to removed stuck nuts and bolts.
I can't remember the name of the guy that sold those screw kits but they were high quality and for all intent and purpose could not be distinguised from factory, there might be a very slight machining at the tip of the factory screws that his kits miss. I could see no reason to not use replacement screws that could not be distinguished from factory, unless you are dealing with something like a Registered Magnum because if someone were to take one of those screws out and be able to tell a replacement from the original they might be disappointed.
For some reason or another I think the same guy that sold those screw kits also sold those neat "Wondersight" jobs.
 
It came to me in a flash, the guy also built custom hollowpoint molds. You could send him your old Lyman "Keith" Special and he would turn it into the best damned hollowpoint. I wouldn't purposely destroy an old mold in great shape that was the only one I had but when I ran into a few from a friend and found about this guy I either had him or the guys at NOE make me a hollowpoint mold that looks like an inverted ice cream cone.
 
About the only 'restoration' I do is replace the hideous gripes with something more fitting. (I'm thinking of the various rubber grips. Good for shooting but horrid for collecting.) Heavenly days, old grips with diamonds on the screw holes are really high.

Usually I try to find some period correct grips but on one revolver I left the set of "Mershon 10 Point" grips in place. The revolver is a six inch M&P (.38 Special) made in the long ago.

Mershon made the after market grips that Pachmyer bought out in the 1950s (?) that became Pachmyer grips.
 
MelvinWalker said:
…

If the screws are "buggered" from someone using a Harbor Freight screwdriver on it, then sand the top of the screw with 1200 grit sandpaper…
Click to expand...
Sanding merely removes metal. You need to reposition the metal that has been displaced by using the wrong screwdriver. Vtgw938 has provided the correct information.

Kevin
 
I don't call this a restoration. I call it a repair.

Fixing the screws won't hurt the value in the least. In fact, it will help. Collectors are leery of guns that have messed up screws - you can imagine why. Buggered screws will scare off some buyers. Or, you can get all the original parts you need online. There is a J frame set of original screws in good shape on ebay right now.

If the chief is 1952, I would be looking to see if it was the earlier style trigger guard. That would be a plus. What serial number range is it and what is the price?
 
Gun Relics said:
I don't call this a restoration. I call it a repair.

Fixing the screws won't hurt the value in the least. In fact, it will help. Collectors are leery of guns that have messed up screws - you can imagine why. Buggered screws will scare off some buyers. Or, you can get all the original parts you need online. There is a J frame set of original screws in good shape on ebay right now.

If the chief is 1952, I would be looking to see if it was the earlier style trigger guard. That would be a plus. What serial number range is it and what is the price?
Click to expand...
Thank you for this answer. The serial # is 18,2xx and the price is $850 (perhaps with a little wiggle room).
 
Jennison said:
Thank you for this answer. The serial # is 18,2xx and the price is $850 (perhaps with a little wiggle room).
Click to expand...
So that should be a "baby" Chief but the version with a ramp sight. It will have the smaller, rounder trigger guard compared to slightly later versions. The price is about right. I have a 19,000 version. The red boxes are hard to find.

If it had the half-round sight, it would be worth more. Nice little guns.
 
Jennison said:
I was looking at a near mint 1952 Chief’s Special yesterday; crisp clean checkering on the grips, almost zero discernible wear on the finish (there is a light drag line). The odd thing is, 3 of the side plate screws have buggered slots with that shiny damage. Now I’m not one to refinish original guns, but in this case, if I were to take the gun to my local smith to ONLY have him dress the 3 screw heads and reblue them, would this devalue the gun or improve it? If the latter, what type of bluing? At least to me, these screws really stick out. (Note: I wouldn’t be interested in finding different screws since they wouldn’t be original to the gun and that would bug me just as much).

Sorry, no pics; I’d forgotten to take my phone (as is often the case)

Thanks! Jennison.
Click to expand...
Get some new screws. It would be less expensive than having a gunsmith fixing them and bluing them. Sometimes they are so badly buggered there’s only so much you can do with them. Refinished or new ones I don’t think is a big deal.
 
It takes minimal skill to peen, file, and sand smooth and re-blue screw heads. If you are "new", take a couple of older screws to practice on. You will soon find it isn't difficult if you are patient. You should be able to repair screws to the point that only a real expert will tell the difference.
 
Before you take a file to those screws, watch Mark Novak's videos (Youtube's "Anvil"). He displaces the metal with gentle taps with a 2 or 3 oz. ball peen hammer (with a POLISHED head). Then clean up the slot with a file. His often-stated goal is to make it impossible to tell he was ever "in there."
 
Wouldn’t a “true collector” spot that the “restored” screws have been reblued? The bluing chemicals back in the day are different than todays.
 
I have replaced side plate screws on 2 antique revolvers
Only because they were both broken in half by Bubba
Probably the best solution would be to exchange screws between 2 similar guns of similar age......If you were gonna do it
 
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