Refresh me if you would please on the idea of converting a square butt J or K frame into a round butt.

Does that even work and how is it done? Any photos?

Seems like I put a RB grip on a SB frame once and it looked like one of the gaps in the SB frame handle sould be exposed by the normal RB grip.

Thanks.

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Honoring the little pin

I think it has to do with when the frame was made.

I have a couple K-frames that are just like your's, and a few that would be no problem. On the later ones, the machining is a different configuration under the grips, and there's more metal under there.

I assume S&W did this to make production easier, being able to cut the amount of machining, and make a frame that could be used to make either SB or RB without a separate operation other than making it round.

The serial number placement moved as well. Some S/N's would be partially obliterated by a RB conversion. On my later ones, the S/N is in a different place that would be unaffected by the conversion. Again, I think S&W simply changed how they stamped the S/N to make it more efficient. It makes sense to just have a single standard operation for stamping a S/N, rather than one for SB and one for RB.

Regardless of reason, the bottom line is the RB conversion works fine on the right frames. It would be pretty problematic on some of them though. Sounds like you have one that would not lend itself to the RB conversion easily.

Put a RB grip on the frame and trace the grip outline on the frame. Remove the grip and ascertain that the serial number will not be defaced if the butt is rounded. After that, it is a matter of removing metal. Work slowly and check often. You may also need to replace the strain screw as the front of the grip needs metal to be removed as well.

It's easy to find a gunsmith that will do the conversion if it will work, and most charge less than $100. Try Cylinder & Slide or Frank Glenn.

As this is a K frame, if one had a spare Mod-19 barrel in the 2-1/2 configuration, could you put this on the now configured round butt 38? Interesting set up for this frankengun, in my opinion. Thanks for the input. McSwack.

I thought the M19 had a beefed up frame over the K 38's. Not sure if that barrel is an exact screw in then?

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Honoring the little pin

Is this mainly rounding off the two bottom corners of the square butt? Can I do it on s 1988 64-3 without screwing up my serial numbers?

Pacific Tool & Gauge in Oregon (541-826-5808) makes a steel guide to convert square to round butt. Cost is $33 and it is two templates of almost 1/4" steel that clamp on the butt for the outline. It's the professional way to make the change over. Fits K/L frame's.

Stu

What about the side-to-side profile of the removed area? Isn’t it difficult to get a nice “rounding” on the backstrap?

Look at your backstrap, it’s not flat from side to side.

The backstrap and forestrap curvature gets flat right at the corners of the round butt. So you would have to reproduce the curvature at the bottom of both straps, but no big deal. If you have the skill to round off the butt, you can do the curvature as well.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Once you round the butt the gun is no longer original anyway. So if the gun you want to round would expose a gap with the factory rd butt shape, just round it as much as you can and round the sq butt grips as well to match.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

When I finally get to rounding the butt on the gun I bought the guides for, it is going into Pachmyer rubber grips so it really doesn't matter to me what the side to side profile is. I shoot well with a specific Pachmyer grip and it only comes in round butt for the K frame.

Stu

Magnaport also does the conversion. It looks like this:

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