S&W Model 10 barrel question

Mikef262 · Aug 27, 2021

First, let me start by apologizing if I placed this in the wrong sub forum

Second, I purchased one of the complete receiver, minus barrel, from JG sales. (Link below for reference)

Smith & Wesson 10 Revolver, 38 Special, No Barrel, Blued, GSS, CAI Marked, Used, S&W.

I then purchased a 4 inch barrel and ejector rod from Apex gun parts. (Again, link below for reference)

Original Smith & Wesson Model 10 K-Frame Barrel, 4" length, ramp front sight, ejector rod locking bolt, notched in thread for pin to frame, blued steel, .38 Special

I am not the most knowledgeable in the differences in models. My main question is, will this barrel fit this receiver? I noticed it says the barrel is pinned? I'm not sure on how to tell if the receiver accepts a pinned barrel. I appreciate the help.

Thanks,
Mike

bondjamesbond · Aug 27, 2021

The pin doesn’t hold the barrel, so it should work, these are both J G specials

alwslate · Aug 27, 2021

The add says the frames are mostly 10-7s and 10-9s and were not made for pinned barrels. But I would think they surely could be drilled for a pin by any good machinist.

Mikef262 · Aug 27, 2021

bondjamesbond said:
The pin doesn’t hold the barrel, so it should work, these are both J G specials

That is the best news I have heard, I noticed the lack of a pin on the receiver in the last few minutes and got very worried. What is the pin for? So it is just a simple process of screwing the barrel in then changing out the ejector rod?

Those look very nice! I am very excited for this, I've had my eye on it for awhile but always assumed the barrels were a lot more expensive than they really are.

bondjamesbond · Aug 27, 2021

It’s not quite just screwing the barrel in, it’s real easy to bend the frame, a barrel wrench and frame blocks is the best way, one of mine has a mod 12 barrel and the cylinder was a different length

Muley Gil · Aug 27, 2021

alwslate said:
The add says the frames are mostly 10-7s and 10-9s and were not made for pinned barrels. But I would think they surely could be drilled for a pin by any good machinist.

It isn't necessary. A barrel for a pinned frame has a groove across the top of the threads. This barrel can be used with both types of frames.

teletech · Aug 27, 2021

You can use a pinned barrel in a non-pin frame. Use a little loctite during final assembly and it will stay in there fine.
It might be the case that the amount of barrel stub protruding into the frame window changed at some point and it was always the case that the barrel should be fitted to the frame and cylinder, so expect to possibly need:
A barrel vise- to hold the barrel without marking it up
K-frame frame-wrench- to avoid bending or cracking the frame (surprisingly easy to do)
Lathe- to cut the shoulder or end of the forcing cone to give the correct barrel to frame gap.
Forcing come reamer- to widen the forcing cone to spec after cutting the barrel stub.

You might get lucky and get a barrel that just fits, both the stub length and shoulder length, but it's not like today where every part is made to fit every other part. They tried to make them the same and then hand-fit to make up the differences.
Can you fit a barrel by wrapping it in layers of leather and making a one-use wrench by pouring low-melting point alloy into a box (say a 50-round plastic .22 box), yes, yes you can, but it's easy to screw up if you don't know what you are doing.

eclayton · Aug 27, 2021

That barrel will work just fine in your J&G frame. I have put together four Model 10s on J&G frames using barrels identical to yours. The barrel needs to be properly torqued and indexed regardless of the pin notch. Ignore the notch. You would only need it if you had a frame drilled for that pin and you wanted it to look correct with the pin installed. The barrel is held in place by torque.

kaaskop49 · Aug 28, 2021

Don't be reluctant to have a gunsmith do the work for you.

A Model 10 is worth the extra pains.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Mikef262 · Aug 28, 2021

kaaskop49 said:
Don't be reluctant to have a gunsmith do the work for you. A Model 10 is worth the extra pains.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

In some cases I've paid for a gun smith to handle work but most of my projects are just small ones my father and I work on together. We have tackled AR15 builds, an enfield jungle carbine restoration, an restoration of one of those Chinese M14's, a CZ 32ACP and a few others.

My father does laser engraving and we actually just got done making a home made jig to hold the frame in the vise, using a google images picture of one, some basic height measurements from another model 10 he has and the help of a laser etching a perfect outline. Obviously the desired result is a functioning firearm, but if in the end it doesn't work out, so be it. We will have had fun along the way.

S&W Model 10 barrel question

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