Vintage S&W Revolvers- Gunsmiths and Craftsmen

I have read hundreds (if not thousands!) of posts from Forum members wanting to know the whereabouts of quality gunsmiths and other craftsmen to work on their vintage S&W revolvers. Has anyone on the Forum compiled a database (or spreadsheet) with that information? If not, what a great project and reference that would be for Forum members and others- perhaps with its own section in this Forum. I'm talking about expert gunsmiths that can diagnose and repair mechanical issues, and craftsmen that specialize in such things as bluing/refinishing (e.g. Ford's), stock repairs/refinishing (e.g. DWFAN and others), replacement stocks (Culina, Badger, Grashorn, BgMtn, Altamont, etc.), box and presentation case repairs and relining (e.g. jcelect), vintage and relacement parts and hardware, and other projects. The database could include submissions from Forum members that have had great success with particular artisans, from Forum members that are gunsmiths and craftsmen (we have many Forum members that perform outstanding work), and from other sources. Thoughts?

BTW: Any recommendations for vintage S&W revolver gunsmiths in the Southeast USA? I have used Ford's gunsmith in the past with limited success, but wondered about others. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Happy Holidays to all!

A bit of reminiscing from "the good old days"----and then maybe, just maybe, a tie-in to today--------and tomorrow---some food for thought.

70 years ago, give or take a little, my gunsmith's day job was as "the wood guy" at Browning's service facility in Arnold, Missouri. His evening and weekend job was as a gunsmith------a gunsmith with a COMPLETE MACHINE SHOP who could make anything from scratch, and do anything to/with any kind of firearm------and do it perfectly---------and give good and lasting advice and counsel to dumb kids like me. That was then.

Fast forward to today: Browning's facility is still where it was (+/-?), and still going strong--is it not? And it's doing so with similarly talented people. It stands to reason other manufacturers have similar facilities staffed with similarly talented people. Then there's the folks here----members of this forum who sign off as S&W Factory Armorers, or some such. I don't know exactly what that means in real life, but I suspect it means they do (or at least can do if/when the spirits so move them) things I can't do, and/or never heard of, and/or don't understand even if I have heard of them.

Are some of these folks similarly available, never mind we don't know who/where they are? Let me suggest there are many highly skilled craftsmen who "hide their light under a bushel". It's not necessarily because they want to, but perhaps because they're more like my guy from the good old days----they're good at what they know and do, and don't know how to market it. Then too, maybe they don't want to market it------and put themselves in the position having to deal with chiselers---those who want it for "Wholesale---and on credit". Those folks are their own worst enemy---and ours.

(A case on point: I'm maybe 15 years old. I have a French made, muzzle loading, double barrel shotgun----an exquisite piece---as light as a feather---Damascus twist barrels, carved stock, elaborately engraved lock-work----even the screws are engraved---and the screw slots serve as part of the pattern (when they're tightened). I lost one---one of the hammer screws (because I was a dumb kid). My gunsmith said he could make a new one----and he did---from scratch---engraved head and all---and you couldn't tell which screw was the new one unless you were told. The cost was $15 (70 years ago). My reaction was "Fifteen dollars?!! What the hell for?!!" His (slow and very calm) response was, "Half was for my time----the other half was for knowing what to do." That was the first and last time I ever challenged a professional of any kind about their fee------a lesson which has served me well----both as a buyer and a seller.)

I'll suggest those folks are still out there, and still doing their thing----for the folks they want to do business with.

Ralph Tremaine

Nelson Ford, "The Gunsmith", in Phoenix is my go-to for bringing my crusty vintage S&W's back to life. He keeps threatening to retire.

The Gunsmith, Inc.

The Gila Bender said:

Nelson Ford, "The Gunsmith", in Phoenix is my go-to for bringing my crusty vintage S&W's back to life. He keeps threatening to retire.

The Gunsmith, Inc.

Click to expand...

And he's one of the best!

Ralph Tremaine

The Gila Bender said:

Nelson Ford, "The Gunsmith", in Phoenix is my go-to for bringing my crusty vintage S&W's back to life. He keeps threatening to retire.

The Gunsmith, Inc.

Click to expand...

He is my goto. Frank Glenn is also a great one, a few miles from Nelson.

And as long as you brought it up-------Fords gunsmith---the one you note "limited success" with. I know next to nothing about him----only about one project he took on---and completed masterfully. The gun is a 3 1/2" Registered Magnum----a fugitive from a junkyard if there ever was one. Its most glaring deficiency aside from its horrible finish was its grip frame conversion-----from N to K. This was accomplished by cutting a section from the butt, squeezing the front and rear straps together with a vise, and brazing the butt back together. It's worth noting the vise used to bring the grip straps together was neither smooth nor padded, and both grip straps looked as though they'd been attacked by a very angry drunken beaver. It was so bad as to bring tears to your eyes. My only involvement with this project was to STRONGLY advise my friend against buying the gun----and then loaning him the money to do just that---shows you how smart I am.

So, off goes this piece of junk to Florida---along with a very spiffy pair of Service grips I'd given him as a birthday present. Then it came back. It was more than difficult to accept the fact this was the same gun. It was as a brand new gun---only better. Fords Master Blue was vastly superior to the factory's bright blue at the time, owing to a much finer polish. You could spot the difference across a good size room. Everything about the gun was absolute perfection---including the once absolutely ruined grooved grip straps. The heretofore brazed butt had been cut open once again, and welded back together----and you could see no sign there'd ever been a problem. You could measure any and every thing about the gun, and find no difference from factory new anywhere.

Ralph Tremaine

Hawg Rider said:

I have read hundreds (if not thousands!) of posts from Forum members wanting to know the whereabouts of quality gunsmiths and other craftsmen to work on their vintage S&W revolvers. Has anyone on the Forum compiled a database (or spreadsheet) with that information? If not, what a great project and reference that would be for Forum members and others- perhaps with its own section in this Forum. I'm talking about expert gunsmiths that can diagnose and repair mechanical issues, and craftsmen that specialize in such things as bluing/refinishing (e.g. Ford's), stock repairs/refinishing (e.g. DWFAN and others), replacement stocks (Culina, Badger, Grashorn, BgMtn, Altamont, etc.), box and presentation case repairs and relining (e.g. jcelect), vintage and relacement parts and hardware, and other projects. The database could include submissions from Forum members that have had great success with particular artisans, from Forum members that are gunsmiths and craftsmen (we have many Forum members that perform outstanding work), and from other sources. Thoughts?

BTW: Any recommendations for vintage S&W revolver gunsmiths in the Southeast USA? I have used Ford's gunsmith in the past with limited success, but wondered about others. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Happy Holidays to all!

Click to expand...

Sounds like you are volunteering for the job!

Ralph: I was not dissing Ford's, only commenting that I had limited success with their gunsmith- not with their bluing or finishing processes which I understand are excellent. Their reputation was the main reason I sent my revolver to them. My W&K Model of 1926 (ca. 1927) was having an issue with the cylinder going into free spin and not locking up while shooting- obviously a dangerous condition. I contacted Ford's and sent them my revolver. All that was done was to disassemble and reassemble all internal parts- no parts were replaced. It was returned quickly, but the cylinder still will not luck up on occasion.