I have an opportunity to purchase a model 10-5 for about $200. This is a blue-steel, 4" barrel with original wood grips. The finish is lightly pitted over about 90% of the gun, the grips are chipped, worn, and have a small section missing. There is a very small amount of end shake and lateral play on lock up. The bore is good, without pitting-

I would buy this as a "project" gun- plans would be to shorten the barrel, bob the hammer, and round the grip frame at the corners.

The main issue of concern is what appears to be a small crack, maybe 1/4 inch in length- location is at the bottom front of the frame on the left side, just about centered halfway up on the cylindrical opening where the cylinder crane shaft enters the frame of the gun. This runs from the crane opening backwards towards the trigger. I wish I had a picture- sorry

1. Is there a way to know how soon this crack will expand with shooting mostly standard-loaded rounds? (Very limited plus-p for defensive use)

2. Pleas don't laugh, this is a serious thought; the crack is very small and I am thinking about something like JB Weld used to touch up the crack, to prevent further expansion of it.

I appreciate your help!

$200 bucks? With a cracked frame? Forgetaboutit!

-My $0.03, YMMV

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

+1 to that. You are in essence buying a parts kit for one of the most abundant revolvers in history. Half that asking price would be about right, since even if you do get the frame welded, it will still be a revolver that has had a cracked frame... I wouldn't dream of pursuing that strategy. Just my free input and worth every bit you paid for it!

Froggie

Don't waste your time or money. You can find a used M10 with no crack for that or just a little more. May not be the best looking M10 but it will shoot without worrying about a crack.
JB weld will not stop that, IMHO.
We're not laughing, we're being serious.

Sounds like $50 would be a fair price. Maybe. Even then, it's throwing good money after bad when you can get a clean version of the same gun in great shape for $250...

Cracked frame, surface pitting, beat-up grips equals parts bin junk gun worth $50. Buying a gun with a bad frame is like buying a house with a bad footer/foundation- a money pit on which you will never get your investment in repairs back.

Please follow all previous posters advice PASS on this one and be patient as you can find model 10 shooters in very nice condition for $250 and pristine for $350 or less.

save your money and get one that is crack free....Just say NO to Crack!

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On the Oak Savannah

Certainly you can find a better project gun than that to pour money and time into! I once had a gunsmith friend that was a little peeved at people wanting him to fix junk guns. He said when a refrigerator wears out people throw them out. He said people will never throw out a busted down, wore out gun!

Isn't that what gunsmiths do? Fix busted down worn out guns?

Wingmaster

He was refering to some really almost hopeless cases that none here would pore money into. Speaking of that I was there one day when someone brought in a old m&p s&w. The barrel was stopped up with stuck bullets the full length! I think bill got 7 or 8 stuck bullets out of the barrel!

RUN....I bought this pre-Victory for $195.... Keep looking. They are out there with alot less issues.

Is this a serious post? The gun without the cracked frame is worth $100 tops. (Pitted over 90%? Make that $50.) As is the gun has virtually no value save for a couple of small parts that might be salvaged.

If I saw this wreck offered at $200 I would not be able to refrain from laughing out loud.

Yes, it was a serious post. I am not a gunsmith, but I have been able to take and follow directions fairly well, I have what I believe to be fairly sound mechanical/technical abilities, and have for a while wanted to find a "beater" gun to work with as a first-time, "do it myself" project- with limited investment on the front end, I wouldn't be losing too much if I didn't get it perfect, and would hopefully learn some things in the process, and so forth.

I appreciate everyones comments- I guess my flawed thinking was comparing this price tag to handgun prices generally, and buying what would be a "project" gun for less than $200 seemed reasonable to me.

I will keep looking-

Thank you all again for the great comments!

Good idea. As others have already mentioned, you can find something much better for slightly more money. I picked up this 90% finish Model 10 last May for $249...

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"Shall not be infringed"

Glad you said "No To Crack!"

[QUOTE=SAFireman;135835308....Just say NO to Crack![/QUOTE]

Funny as hell but good advise. Look elsewhere.

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happiness is a warm gun

It's great that ya want to better yer DIY skills , and learn how guns work , but a revolver with a cracked frame ain't a good starting point. In fact , no gunsmith in his right mind would even consider welding a cracked S&W frame. Certain alloys do not take welding , if ya even knew exactly what alloy it was made from , not to mention the distortion/misalignment that would certainly come from the heat.

Projects can be a lot of fun and give you a great sense of self accomplishment. Kind of like whittling. When you're done you don't have anything of value, but you did accomplish something.

Just yesterday we were talking about not seeing the supply of old M&Ps (y'all can call them M10s if you want.) Even old, beat up Victory models used to show up at gun shows and flea markets. All priced really cheap to us, in the $150 range and they looked like they could be fired. I just wonder what happened to all of them.

I live in a backwater state (wouldn't have it any other way) where every household had a gun or more (usually a bunch more.) About 10 years ago we went to a street fair over in Flemingsburg. Its kind of a tradition in this state and they call it Court Days, like a county fair. In that one day I counted over a dozen Victories. Lying on tables along side a side street. But probably 200 shotguns. Now none are to be seen.

I don't think they got thrown out (as stated above, no one throws a gun out.) And I also feel pretty good with my conclusion the young punks and gangbangers aren't carrying them. They have great pride and will only buy a HiPoint or Jennings, none of this retro stuff with revolvers.

The OPs idea of a project gun seems interesting. It used to be a tradition where Dad would buy an old military surplus rifle cheap, then ruin/sporterize it to take hunting. My dad and I did just such a series of projects back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Many of us reading here were Skeeter Skelton fans. Those projects were his favorites. Say something bad about Elmer, Skeeter, or the Duke and you've got a fight on your hands. Tread lightly.

The Victories we used to see, and more lately the M&Ps and a smattering of M10s were also fodder for these ideas. More recently I saw a Spanish copy of an S&W, along with a Llama revolver yesterday which might lend itself to such work. The problem seems to be the low end of the price range has vanished. In the past I've disputed the values others here place on guns. I think I agree that any cracked gun is nearly untouchable.

I do have one I bought from DanT a while back. Its a 19-4 with pretty darn nice chrome. Dan had it up for sale as a pen holder, mounted on a wood block. Oh, someone used a torch to slice it so it wouldn't be used ever again, then scavenged all the parts! But I only paid Dan $20.

I even wonder if all the gun buybacks aren't a factor in these guns vanishing. Sure were a lot of them in the past.

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Dick Burg