Well, I finally did it...I found a cheapo Smith and decided to get out the hacksaw and hammer....and this is what happens....

- Bobbed hammer

- Remove side plate and all the guts

- Bead blast exterior

- Polish trigger

- fight for an hour to find missing hand spring that was never missing....

Took my dad to the range while he was in town and think that I have a new friend in this old 681.....you would never know that it was an agency marked gun, but no more....did some voodoo and away with their awful agency stamp....I know the agency, this gun might have been fired once when it was new, and was probably not removed from the holster during it's tenure...it was awful...the stainless was all spotty, there was funk under the goodyears, and years of gook under the side plate....Now, she is a great matte finish, the action is smooooooth and sweeeeet, and it is surprisingly accurate for a fixed sight gun....I cannot let it displace my 657's at the top, but it is pretty sweet....have posted a Pre-10 Military and Police to trade towards the next project....heck, I didn't screw this one up too badly, maybe the next one will be really outstanding.....who knows?


....yes, yes, yes....here are the pics...

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that looks like a MEAN carry gun, the only thing I would add is a gold bead front sight!

Nice job. Seeing other people's projects turn out right gives me the courage to start one of my own some day soon. I have both N-frame and I-frame projects in mind, but haven't yet found the right candidates for plastic surgery.

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David Wilson

I regularly carry a Colt (heaven forbid) Commander, so the weight is not an issue, so as a carry gun....hmmmm....maybe....gold bead huh? The front sight was plastered (you could not see the ridges) with red fingernail polish) Needless to say the bead blast process took all that nasty stuff away....I was thinking about removing the barrel, slabbing the sides, cutting it to a sweet 3", but what to do with the sights were worrisome....but a gold dot? Could I just mill a groove, drill a hole and then pin it in? if it is that easy, I may have to borrow or buy a mill real quick....but, on the other hand it shoots, balance-wise, just like my grandfathers 1955 highway patrolman (only the trigger is not quite a 'glassy' as the HP)....may have to remedy that soon.

What about a round butt conversion? I could get some K/L grips, scribe a line and grind away ,but then I would have to re-blast the frame...hmmm more possibilities....dang!

David,

I saw this one, all beat up, rust spots, holster funk, and an awful agency name stamped in the side...it was ugly and cheap. I figured that no matter how badly I goofed, I could always recover what I put into it. Find something cheap, with a good name...a Smith or C@@t, and it will always bring more money than those other lesser brands....there are loads of 64's right now for about $2-300 and they are stainless, so you can iron out most finish problems without paying someone.

The hardest part, when you are like me, and hate to look up the directions, is remembering the order in which everything came out....and watch the little springs/parts/screws they are easy to loose and that $0.79 spring that I lost out of my trusty sig cost $7 to ship and put me out of service for a week.

Another bit of advice....have another similar Smith to refer to when things inside don't act like you think that they should.....you know...That sounds just like the advice that I give to people who want to do their own brake jobs (one side at a time, so that you can look at the other side to make sure that you got it right)....best luck.

Nice pics, You used a tripod.
Also did you loose the rebound spring on the SIG??
Great lookin Revolver, Loose the Pachmayrs..
Hey I've got a New set of Uncle Mikes Square Butts in the package..

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MightShowYouHisSmith&Wesson

Nope the Sig spring that escaped was the mag catch little monster....is it long and narrow, but stout...it flew away like it had wings...found it a few days after the replacement arrived. (I looked for two days and called my local 'smith to find another, but no luck...

Square butt? I was thinking about cutting it down to round butt....those pachs feel pretty good right now, I had a set just like those on a 66-1 that I had back in the early 90's...although I have big hands, so maybe just leave it alone, or maybe buy some fancy stones and start try to get that glassy feel in the action?

Nice job!!! I've been contemplating something similar. Was it DA only when you got it?

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Andy

Andy,

I cut off the hammer spur, but it is not/was not DAO...I may put ridges in the exposed part of the trigger should I decide that I wanted to shoot single action, but then again, I might just go get a gun with adjustable sights if I need to be that accurate....this is a SD/hog gun and extreme precision is not needed and I can shoot just about as well DA as SA (in a hurry).

Find yourself one and try....If I can do it....anyone here can...

I just got 'told' that I ruined this beautiful specimen by bobbing the hammer and bead blasting it...did it really kill any chance of resale? Did it increase or decrease the value? What do you guys think that it is worth in its present condition?

lemme know....I promise not be insulted by whatever your opinion may be (even if it is wrong )

a true purist would look down their nose, but a lot of people carry guns, and you are building a fine carry gun in my view. Chances are if I saw it in a shop I would buy it. Like you said you started with a beater, the value can only come up unless you spray paint it pink!

Beater made "BETTER", Id' say your S&W Revolver is GTG !!!

IMHO: I am not sure of how bad the etching or marking were originally, but I have always liked a lighter/finer matte finish, could just be the lighting in the pic, with a higher #/grit blasting media. I dont think it would be to hard to sell "as is" or if you wanted back to a polished SS look. If someone wanted the spurred hammer thats an easy replacement.

I personally like the bobbed hammer w/ the fixed sights. You worked it over to be a carry piece, & it looks the part = Nice Work !!!

Do you have any before pics?

That was 'very fine' glass media...a local Smith has a home shop for his custom rifles, and was kind enough to lend me his blaster for this small project. I brought him some smoke dried venison and chile petine sausage to offset his time letting min the gate/watching me work.

....pink huh? My wife would steal it instantly if it was pink...she loved the 28-2 that I traded to a member here, and that 681 is a sweet size just below that old 28...almost the same weight IIRC.

Thanks for the compliments, yes, it is a very fine grit. I have the capacity/tools here to polish it out to mirror status...I did that to a 640-1 that I sold a couple of years ago....

I wish that had taken the 'before photos', but alas, I did not...it looked pretty sad, and the lettering was somewhere between laser etched and the machine pin-prick style that we are seeing in serial numbers now...It was not deep at all...in fact that was why I even attempted to remove it. Had it been the deep hand die stamped, or machine stamped letters, I would have left them. I might have left it alone long enough to perfect my TIG welding technique for stainless and then welded over them and ground it back flat....maybe next bogus agency gun will get that treatment....will save the first attempt for a junk frame (anyone have one to donate?)...

....and that gives rise to the question...has anyone welded over the factory stampings on their barrel and then re-finished it? I am thinking of making some 6" barrels into 3" and the remarking them (or leaving them blank)....any ideas?

You took an old neglected tool, cleaned it up and customized it to your specific needs. In my book that isn't ruined, it's rejuvenated. I know the "purists" out there don't like to hear this but these firearms are tools to use. Some of the firearms I see posted on this forum are true works of art and should be treasured and preserved. But the vast majority out there are like yours, looking for a good home where somebody will enjoy it. I'm not sure you changed the value a whole bunch one way or another. For every S&W guy out there who would turn his nose up at the modifications, there's one like me who sees a functional firearm that would be useful to own.

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Andy

I don't see why it would lose value seeing as how you made it a better gun. You seem to be pleased with the gun, and that is all that really matters.

SaFireman,
If you are happy with it, no Value lost. The 681 is an awsome shooter,
If you think you will end up trading it or selling it, I would recommend sourceing a replacement hammer for that time and Install it then,
(But don't kill yourself looking for one)

Your 681 Looks Good!!! Enjoy

Thanks for the kind words gentlemen.....this thread is a bit dated....here is the update:

A few months ago (maybe almost a year now...) I got the hankerin' for another project, so this one found a new home with a member here.

He has not posted anything about it, so he will remain a lurker. It did go to a good home just as I had finished her up... (no new hammer needed). I did have a replacement just in case (now in the parts bin).

Now I am looking for a fixed sight N frame to tinker with....maybe a Heavy Duty? anyone have one for the cause?

Thanks again for the encouragement

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On the Oak Savannah