J frame gunsmith for reliability and trigger job, please take a look at my options

Hello,

I am not a revolver guy, and am coming to this forum seeking wisdom from those with experience. I've spent the past 15 years maintaining and selling rifles, and while I carried a Beretta in Afghanistan, I have never fired a handgun in anger. Unfortunately, crime has spiked in my area, and I want to carry the smallest viable self defense firearm available to protect my wife and children.


I borrowed a friend's SW 432-UC and found it carried and shot remarkably well. I like the chambering and the sights. That said, it has now been back to the factory twice, once after light-striking in the middle of a competition. I need a firearm I can absolutely trust as a piece of safety equipment. I looked for a S&W 331 TI, but they are currently out of my price range at $1300 when they come up on the market.


I bought a 432-UC, and my plan is to have a capable gunsmith (with respect to armorers as an armorer myself, I need a gunsmith) look through all of the lockwork, install an extended firing pin, clean out any machining detritus, assess timing and headspace, and ensure reliable function. A trigger job is desired, but not as essential as a full assessment and any required work for reliability.


Gunsmithing on S&W revolvers appears to be an increasingly lost art. If anyone can review my list below and make recommendations, I'd greatly appreciate it:

---------------------------------------------

Nelson Ford (Phoeniz, AZ): $249 action job, have no quote for installing extended firing pin at this time, mostly excellent reviews but some consider him "eccentric" (?). He sounds good to me.


Mike Larocca (Massachussetts): More local to me in New England, but just retired

Derr Customs (Massachussetts): No quote yet, but they appear to focus on much finer gunsmithing than I'm looking for.

Frank Glenn (Phoenix, AZ): Legendary, but essentially retired and well-earned.

TK Customs (Illinois): ($395+$50 return shipping).
Extended Cylinder Release (Long or Short), Extended Firing Pin, Reduced Firing Pin Spring, Internal Lock Plug (Removes Internal Lock), Reduced Main Spring, 11LB Rebound Spring, Adjustable Strain Screw (Increase Or Decrease Trigger Pull), Crane Alignment, Endshake, Reducing & Polishing of all internal radiuses. Barrel Clock Assessment
Double Action Trigger Pull Tuned to your desired ammo. 6LB-9LB.


There are reviews for TK's cylinder machining that appears to be their bread and butter. Not many reviews for their action work.



Thank you for your recommendations and advice,

Fred

Fred - good luck in your search. Mike LaRocca would have been my first choice and my local gunsmith also just retired. I’m afraid I don’t have any other recommendations from personal experience but check out MagnaPort. They aren’t just porting.
This is a great forum with lots of knowledgeable friendly people willing to help. I’m sure others will be along with good recommendations.

Edit. I just looked they don’t appear to be offering action jobs currently ? Maybe call and check ?

Mag-na-port International--Porting Pricelist & Miscellaneous Services

I appreciate this recommendation, and will try giving MagnaPort a call. Thank you.

I highly recommend Nelson Ford. He has done two 442's for me and they are both 100% reliable and a joy to shoot. Both of them received an extended firing pin as part of the package.

Nelson is local to me and I've been a customer for over 20 years. I don't know if I would call him eccentric....he's just not confused at all about his opinions.

One day I was in Nelson's shop when another customer came in and asked what it would take to move his pistol up on the to-do list. Nelson thought for a moment and then pointed at a light fixture. "The bulb in that light is burned out. Take care of that." The customer pulled out a $5 bill and tried to hand it to Nelson. Nelson just stared at him and said "I didn't ask for money. I asked for a damn light bulb."

Give him a call on Tuesday (he's closed Monday...that's his range test day) and have a chat with him. The last I knew he had roughly a 30 day backlog of work.

Shotguncoach said:

I highly recommend Nelson Ford. He has done two 442's for me and they are both 100% reliable and a joy to shoot. Both of them received an extended firing pin as part of the package.

Nelson is local to me and I've been a customer for over 20 years. I don't know if I would call him eccentric....he's just not confused at all about his opinions.

One day I was in Nelson's shop when another customer came in and asked what it would take to move his pistol up on the to-do list. Nelson thought for a moment and then pointed at a light fixture. "The bulb in that light is burned out. Take care of that." The customer pulled out a $5 bill and tried to hand it to Nelson. Nelson just stared at him and said "I didn't ask for money. I asked for a damn light bulb."

Give him a call on Tuesday (he's closed Monday...that's his range test day) and have a chat with him. The last I knew he had roughly a 30 day backlog of work.

Click to expand...

As a East Valley local, I may give him some business myself for my 642. Do you have his business company name / contact info?

Regards

It seems like the vast majority of the issues I hear about with the new UC's center around the .32 cal version. Maybe there just aren't as many of the 38's in use, I don't know. Can't think of any viable reason for the 32's to have more issues than the 38's. As I said, maybe it's just more popular so I hear about it more.

From your list Ford, Glenn and TK Customs -- and only them -- all fit the bill and you should go with whoever has the quickest turnaround at the right price.

If you want more names to look into: Marc at Gemini Customs; Alex Hamilton at Ten Ring Precision and Dave Laubert at Defensive Creations Gunsmithing -- but really, you're in good hands with the first three.

Diagonal Road Gunshop, Andy Horvath. Excellent work, but there is a wait.

Kevin

1sailor said:

It seems like the vast majority of the issues I hear about with the new UC's center around the .32 cal version. Maybe there just aren't as many of the 38's in use, I don't know. Can't think of any viable reason for the 32's to have more issues than the 38's. As I said, maybe it's just more popular so I hear about it more.

Click to expand...

I suspect that the .32s are more likely to be purchased by enthusiasts who are more likely to be on gun forums.

Sample size of 2, but I've got a (very early) 642 and my father's got a 632. Both of us had bad front night sights; the tritium vial in mine didn't glow at all, and my father's is very faint. S&W replaced the yoke in mine when I sent it in, and my father is about to send his back because his yoke needs replacement.

Why a .32 ?

WaldoGuns said:

......I bought a 432-UC, and my plan is to have a capable gunsmith (with respect to armorers as an armorer myself, I need a gunsmith) look through all of the lockwork, install an extended firing pin, clean out any machining detritus, assess timing and headspace, and ensure reliable function. A trigger job is desired, but not as essential as a full assessment and any required work for reliability.

TK Customs (Illinois): ($395+$50 return shipping).
Extended Cylinder Release (Long or Short) *NOT a good idea on a CCW/pocket gun. The stock cylinder release works fine and won't catch on clothing, Extended Firing Pin, Reduced Firing Pin Spring, Internal Lock Plug (Removes Internal Lock)*Your gun doesn't have an internal lock, Reduced Main Spring, 11LB Rebound Spring, Adjustable Strain Screw (Increase Or Decrease Trigger Pull)*Your gun doesn't have a strain screw, Crane Alignment *Why would a new gun need a crane alignment? If it does send it back to S&W, Endshake, Reducing & Polishing of all internal radiuses *See comments below. Barrel Clock Assessment
Double Action Trigger Pull Tuned to your desired ammo. 6LB-9LB.

There are reviews for TK's cylinder machining that appears to be their bread and butter. Not many reviews for their action work.
*Your 432-UC already has chamfered charge holes and beveled cylinder edges (most J's don't).

Thank you for your recommendations and advice,

Fred

Click to expand...

Fred,

Please see my comments in your TKCustoms work/parts list above.
Also, the TK spring kit includes the extended firing pin and costs $25. With about $15 in small tools (a small white india stone, small spring-compressor fork and a paperclip) you (or any gunsmith) can do a J-frame trigger job in about 1/2 hour. I did my M&P 340 (another Centenial-style J frame) and it is smoother than the 640 J-frame that I paid S&W to do a trigger job on. S&W currently charges about $81 for the J-frame PC trigger job.

I don't know if any of that helps you but the prices you quoted in your original post seem very high to me and I'm no cheap-skate. I also don't know why the 432-UC has so many reported problems. I have 4 different J-frame models and they all have the same internals (other than MIM vs Steel parts).

You are correct about revolver gunsmithing becoming a lost art, and the number of competent people around to work on them well the list gets shorter all the time.
Another option would be finks which is located at gunsite in Paulden AZ. My interactions with them ( and a friend who had them do work on two of his revolvers) competent and good customer service.
It is disappointing that a gun which is supposed to be the flagship of the J frame line cannot leave the factory running right

413Maxwedge said:

Fred,

Please see my comments in your TKCustoms work/parts list above.
Also, the TK spring kit includes the extended firing pin and costs $25. With about $15 in small tools (a small white india stone, small spring-compressor fork and a paperclip) you (or any gunsmith) can do a J-frame trigger job in about 1/2 hour. I did my M&P 340 (another Centenial-style J frame) and it is smoother than the 640 J-frame that I paid S&W to do a trigger job on. S&W currently charges about $81 for the J-frame PC trigger job.


I don't know if any of that helps you but the prices you quoted in your original post seem very high to me and I'm no cheap-skate. I also don't know why the 432-UC has so many reported problems. I have 4 different J-frame models and they all have the same internals (other than MIM vs Steel parts).

Click to expand...

Maxwedge, I appreciate your thoughtful reply. I did notice that most of these services are either unnecessary or do not apply to my revolver-- this was the only action work package listed on their website. I had intended to call them to ask about modifying the service (I would really only like a detailed strip and service for reliability, maybe some light polishing/stoning, and an extended firing pin). After reading the responses here, I am leaning towards Nelson Ford's shop.


My chief concern is that I am so unfamiliar with revolvers, I am capable of replacing simple parts, but not of noticing potential issues that may worsen over time. I am gun-shy after the sudden failure of my borrowed 432-UC and its two trips to the factory. I am capable of inspecting and servicing various models of rifle to the point where I would trust my life to them, but not of doing this with a revolver. My greatest concern (and I think many veterans share this recurring nightmare) is of attempting to fire my revolver to protect my family and it failing to function.


These prices do seem quite high, but I'm just not happy with a gun that I can't trust-- and these UC models are a bit concerning to me. I justify it in that a 432-UC with a gunsmith's work is still more affordable than a 331 TI, which appear to have been subjected to a higher standard of quality control when they were manufactured in the late 1990s.

Call Clark Custom Guns | Established 1950 | Princeton Louisiana.
Ask to speak to Clay.
I’ve had multiple S&W revolvers worked
On and modified.
More to be sent next spring.
Excellent work and service.
Gentleman, all I spoke to.

Clark Custom Guns ( Louisiana)

Clark Custom Guns | Established 1950 | Princeton Louisiana

They do awesome S&W revolver work ... a trigger job that will put a smile on my face every time ... they have been in business since just after WWII ... these boy's know their way around a revolver .
Gary

TK Custom, ( Tom Kibbler) has been a well known and respected Illinois gunsmith for over 40 years. Has fantastic trigger jobs. Ask him about a "Duty Tune".

WaldoGuns said:

My chief concern is that I am so unfamiliar with revolvers, I am capable of replacing simple parts, but not of noticing potential issues that may worsen over time.

Click to expand...

For the overwhelming majority of gun owners, a J-frame will in no way be shot enough for wear issues to pop up, IMO. I would wager a large milkshake that 99% of gun owners shoot a cylinder, maybe two at the most when the J-frame goes to the range. Certainly, there will be exceptions to this but this is what I've seen at ranges in 30+ years of going to ranges.

I have no experience with your model nor the .32 caliber revolver in general. I agree with the other poster, why a .32?

The titanium revolvers have a mixed bag of reliability reports. I've read of frame issues, internal parts issues, etc with these. This seemed to be all on the .357mag models though. Of course, I can't verify these complaints as I've never owned a Scandium model myself.

What *I* would do (and in fact have done), is stick with the .357mag/.38spl models with the aluminum or steel frames. These models have all been found to be tried & true, wonderfully reliable. I have a good mix of both aluminum & steel frame models myself. So I have a nice set of options for carrying. Some may get an ankle holster use, some may get a small fanny pack use (bike riding, being on the lake) & some may get an interior pocket use in a leather vest. A carry gun is like shoes: one model/style doesn't fit ALL conditions.

Were I in your shoes, I'd get a 442/642 no-lock model. I'd get some .38spl wadcutter ammo & shoot several hundred rds through it over a weekend or three. This will ensure the gun's reliability, get you used to the trigger & confirm its accuracy.

Then, I would get a box or three of some good Hornady self-defense ammo. There's multiple options from them, pick the one you like best. Then run a box or two of that in the gun. The recoil will be higher & the point-of-impact will be different as well. Good grips on the gun are a must as well. OEM grips aren't satisfactory for a majority of J-frame owners, IMO. Can't practice with an uncomfortable gun, IMO.

Keep your original gun as I think your light strike issue(s) might be ammo related, rather than the gun.

Good luck to you!

My .o2

Listed in order by my preference, the last two are tied. In my opinion I try to stick with the old school smiths that specialized in revolvers.

The Home of Quality Custom Firearms, Tactical Training and The Tactical Marksman's Match...

Revolver Accuracy And Action Work | Ten Ring Precision

Frank Glenn-Glenn Custom Complete Gunsmithing Service Glendale AZ

The Gunsmith, Inc.: Price List

https://defensivecreations.com/revolvers-defensive-creations-gunsmith/

https://finksguns.com/