I recently had a M-16 Serial BEH,xxxx from about 1989. It was like new original blue and condition but had poor factory workmanship. The sideplate had a bit of excessive buffing showing and also had a tiny burr at the top of the sideplate. I have seen that sideplate burr on lots of other NIB guns from that time of Smith mfg. Anyone else seen this sort of thing on Smiths from this era?

I have two 16-4's from the same time period and both are excellent fit and finish.

Nope, the 8 16-4's I own all look excellent. These are the triplets!!

That burr is pretty good evidence that somebody, probably not S&W didn't know how to remove the sideplate.

Well that is good news. But let me refrase the question then. We know S&W fit an finish went a least somewhat downhill from the glorious prewar days up until say the period 1990/2000. From 5 screw to 4 screw to 3 screw is a progession downhill. Has anyone ever seen sloppy fit and finish on a Smith from any year?

Iggy is right. S&W knows how to remove a sideplate without messing it up. That is a rookie mistake.

Bubba had that gun before you.

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Dave

5-4-3 isn't a downhill progression. Things change. You can find less than perfect guns from every era of S&W manufacturing. Some might say the '70s were not a good decade for S&W, but others can show you excellent guns from the same period.

I had a 70's vintage M19 where you could see buffing marks under the nickle. Does that mean they all suck? Not at all. Not only that, most people wouldn't even notice. Cars are meant to drive, guns are meant to shoot. The fact that they can look pretty doing it is just a bonus.

I have never seen a buggered up side plate that came that way from the factory. Not that it couldn't happen, but it is a real rookie mistake. Much more likely that happened after it left the factory.

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Dave

Well, I can vouch for K-32 workmanship from the 50's, 70's, and 80's, can somebody fill in the gaps? (Hey, Peyton started it when he brought out the Triplets )

Attached Images

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Tell you what,I'll say yes. Hate to see someone disappointed.
f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

It is hard to make 10,000 of anything that are all perfect and all exactly alike, isn't it?

I have seen S&Ws with the small "burr" at the top of the sideplate/frame that I think the OP is referring to, and I am quite sure they came from S&W that way. In fact, I have owned a couple and probably still have them. There is just no logical reason to think the dealer tore into a perfectly good, new gun. In my case, I know the dealer well and he was lazy enough that he rarely even bothered to wipe his guns off after he showed them. He wasn't the type to spend any of his time tinkering with a new gun, I assure you.

I also agree with the notion that good, bad, and ugly S&Ws have been made in all "generations" - at least while I have been buying them.

my 16-4 looks spiffy !

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Thanks, Especially M29 who has seen what I have seen on Smiths! The burr is I am talking about is tiny, tiny, tiny! Barely visible! Not big and nasty like where bubba tried to get a screwdriver blade in there! The burr I am talking about could NOT be made with the sideplate ON the gun.
By the way, I am NOT trying to bash Smith! I have an extensive collection and the quality is suberb on most all Smiths I see! I spent a career in metal manufacture and am well aware that nothing is perfect. By the way, Anyone have a S&W King Super Target for sale?