Awhile back I bought a police surplus M10-8 from a seller in SGN for $100.
Heavy barrel, square butt, LOTS of holster wear but mechanically near-perfect.
At the time I was the bluing guy at Ahlman's Guns in MN, so for fun and the challenge of it I decided to do some major work to this old cop gun.

I got it in my head that I wanted a nice, handy, concealable gun for carry, so, an inch of the barrel had to go.


Then the real work began. It took me several hours to grind down the frame to match a factory round butt profile.

I also wanted to lighten the piece, and with inspiration from those slabsided Ruger Mark II's, I milled flats on the barrel and then polished to a HIGH gloss.



Once that was done I had to figure out the front sight, so, I cut a dovetail into the barrel and then made a sight from a chunk of scrap.
(THAT, was a pain.)


Then I de-snagged the hammer and brought it up to a high gloss as well; I left the SA sear, so one can start the hammer back with the trigger and then thumb it back to full cock, if so desired.


To tie together the glossy slabsided barrel with the hammer and polished trigger I put a glossy stripe around the cylinder, I think I saw that done on another custom gun at some point.


After all the cutting and grinding I masked-off the areas I wanted shiny (the slabside, the cylinder stripe) sandblasted the whole thing and ran it through the bluing process.

It no longer looks as perfect as the day I assembled it, as I've carried it a LOT, but I still think it looks nice and I'm proud of my effort every time I hold or shoot it.


What do you think?

I like it.
Chopped barrels, dehorned hammers, etc are not only cool but also functional IMO.

Nice work! I like the slab sided barrel and 2 tone treatment...

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"Shall not be infringed"

That looks great!

Thanks guys! Feels good to know my creation is admired.

Truth be told, I was originally going to have the hammer and trigger a glossy blue, to match the barrel slabs and the cylinder stripe, however when I got them (hammer/trigger) out of the bluing baths it didn't look like they took the bluing very well, they looked, splotchy.

All I can guess is that the high gloss in addition to the harder (?) metal of the hammer and trigger just didn't like the salts. So, I just took those to the buffing wheel again and made them 'white'.
I've never noticed any corrosion on them, even though they are technically bare and unprotected now.

I never weighed the gun before nor after, but I imagine that it went on about a 2-3 ounce diet (chopping and slabbing barrel, rounding the butt, dehorning the hammer).
It sure is a handy and quick pointing little shooter, now!

It's gorgeous. How much do you charge?

Way to live up to your user name there Kframe! Great job!

Well done.

Practical and attractive.

Thanks!

I know you're kidding around, but I have been asked this seriously in the past. My basic answer is "too much".
I don't know exactly how many hours I had into this, but I worked on it pretty hard for a week or so, in between my official duties at the shop.

Oh man, I forgot to mention in the original post about the shaping and crowning of the new muzzle, that had to be done, too.

My wild-a**ed guess about cost, if one was going to bring a M10 to a smith and get this all done, would be several hundred dollars, basically unjustifiable, even if the gun was initially free.

At Ahlman's, these days, a sandblasting and blue job on a handgun runs $185.
Cutting a barrel and recrowning is $95, not including making and mounting the new sight.
Converting SB to RB, $100.
Trigger job, yes I did that too, and I know how to do it right, $75.
Slabbing the barrel would be POR, and probably another $150-200 or so (guessing).

So that is already $605-655, not including the front sight work nor the chamber chamfering nor the hammer bobbing and hammer/trigger polishing nor the cylinder stripe (although that last bit would be cheap).

Custom work adds up quick, but doing it myself it was all just personal labor, I didn't pay for a thing. Plus, I did pester one of the real smiths about how to use the mill to slab the barrel and I'm glad he's a friend because I had a zillion questions and he took time out of several of his days helping me set up machines (but I did do all the work myself).

Was definitely a fun and challenging project.
The barrel slabbing probably took the most time as I had to make MANY shallow passes with the mill to get to the depth I wanted on both sides.

Man, I love working metal!

That is just downright impressive work! On par with or exceeding the work of some customization outfits.

Very nice.

A superb job. The front sight is first quality.

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S&WCA 1729

THAT is my kind of revolver!! Excellent work, but even better were the ideas you had to create these modifications. Your execution of your ideas is great. Congratulations on a fine piece!

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So long ... Ken

That's outstanding work. If I was walking by that at a shop or a show I would stop and take a long, admiring look.

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Scoundrel & Ne'er-Do-Well

The slabsided barrel is a creative way to avoid the "roll marks not centered" blues.

A 3" K frame in general is quite close to revolver perfection.

700 bucks for a custom model 10, probably not, but a 13 or a 65 maybe. And I own a 13 and 65 so I guess I could spread the cost out over the 10 years that I've owned them and say I don't have a cost in the gun. I'd pay it and provide the gun.

Very nice work. I like the milled barrel flats. That really makes it look different for sure

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Shiny, lets be bad guys!

I'm always amazed at the cool stuff you can do to an M10. A custom 3" is at the top of the list.
Bob

That revolver came out awesome, nice work.

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Sure you did

Nice Job! I'd be proud to have/carry that piece, you should be doubly so, having done the work.

I have often wondered why people didn't slab the barrels when cutting them down. If you end up with the roll marks looking like they're sliding of the end of the muzzle, it just makes sense to get rid of them.

Excellent, excellent work!

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

A man after my own heart! To me, there is NOTHING finer than a 3" K-frame. I'm a sucker for any gun with a three-inch tube, but K-frames have always been my favorites, and unlike you, I have no real gunsmithing skills, I'm just an amateur hobbyist with primitive tools and a passion for the Ultimate Carry Gun.

I've owned a bunch of 4" K-frames, came across a used M-64 cheap, and snagged it, but it had the most godawful ugly import stamp on the end of the barrel, it HAD to go. Rather than pay someone to cut and crown the barrel and mount a different front sight, I decided to simply buy a 3" barrel and have it installed. The gun was already DAO, a security trade-in, but since I only shoot DA, it wasn't an issue. Buying the barrel and having it installed ran me about $260, well worth it in my book. I did a trigger job on it, one of my better ones, and the result is very satisfying to its owner.



It makes a perfect mate for my well-used 65-2, which I had to do some work on because the front sight was all dinged up. Reshaping it slightly gave me a much better sight picture, and I only shoot warm 38's in it, so now I had a similar gun that I didn't worry about abusing.



I'm firmly convinced that the M-64 will stand up to a steady diet of 38+P loads, and that's all I shoot in it. I had a skinny-barreled M-10 Dash 5 several years ago I used as a Pin Gun, it saw about 70,000 rounds of hot 38 ammo in five years and never once complained. There wasn't much finish left on it, but it was beautiful in my eyes!

Your skills and ideas have served you well with that gun, and I bet you shoot it well. Thanks for showing us that little beauty!

Wow, that is the one of the best looking Model 10's I've seen!

For not calling yourself a machinist you did good.

Excellent, professional job creating a top notch carry piece. You can be proud of that one.

Thanks, PapaJohn! (BTW, I love your pizza! )

Your revolvers look pretty snazzy, very nice!
I'd LOVE to have a 3" M65 someday, I do keep half an eye open for a beat up police trade-in, even a 4" SB, so I could repeat the M10-8 treatment on it. But, they're not nearly as common a find as they were even 5 years ago.

There's just something about 3" K-frames, and K-frames in general, that just fit my hand like a glove and they seem to balance very well and, for me, point instinctively.

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-Kris

Wow, that is a reeeally nicely done model 10. I like it a lot.

One thing though, you might want to consider checkering the top of that hammer so if you ever want to lower it from full cock you don't risk a negligent discharge from your thumb slipping off that lovely polish.

Thanks!
That's a good idea, SS!
I may try that on one of the spare hammer/trigger sets I have laying in the parts box.

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-Kris

Very nice! Could you describe how you rounded the butt? I`ve been considering that for my Model 10, but have been too chicken to try it.
Thanks,
beerbelly

To convert from SB to RB, I first made a template out of 1/8” mild steel scrap.
I used a RB K-frame to make the template, in this first picture you can see the insides of the template panels.
The weld globs help keep the template located, there is also a hole in each near the bottom that locates on the grip frame roll pin. The template bolt ends up forward of the mainspring, rather than behind like on stock grips.



Closeup of weld globs:


Template on a SB M15:



Once the template was secured to the grip frame I first used a hacksaw to chop off a rough triangle from the rear of the gripframe (to avoid excessive grinding) and then I used a bench grinder to get within about 1/32” of the template.
From that point on I used hand files, then sandpaper, then buffing wheels.

As you can see below, the contour of the front strap and the template don't line up at all at the top, where your middle finger curls around the grip, but there is no grinding up there so it doesn't matter.
The lower part took a little bit of eyeballing and back and forth, but to get the final contour right I put on a set of RB Magna grips, scribed a line and worked up to it. That took a bit of patience.



Honestly, making the template probably took the longest. The bench grinding went pretty quick and then I took my sweet time with the finish filing/sanding to avoid any toolmarks.

Cheers!

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-Kris

Much more beautiful piece of history than when it came from the factory!! Absolutely gorgeous! Great workmanship! Enjoy!

That Model 10 is beautiful! Great work! Beautiful and practical. I wish the Performance Center offered a service like that.

One more picture.



I don't know for sure about this, but when I was doing the work one of the guys at the shop said there was a law requiring every gun to have a permanent mark designating caliber, and since I slabbed the barrel the factory roll-mark was gone.
So, I stamped the underside, just to cover my bases.

I really appreciate all the kind comments here about this transformation, I'm no machinist but have always believed that with a little guidance from more knowledgeable folks, AND the proper tools, I can do just about anything I set my mind to doing.

So, it's nice to hear that you all, who probably wouldn't pull any punches if you saw hack work, admire my craftsmanship.

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-Kris

Kris, I never even thought of using a template when I round-butted my Model 15, I just installed a set of RB grips and scribed around them!



Then it was off to the grinder......



I got it close with the grinder, then got out the files to finish it up. I wasn't worried much about the cosmetics because the gun was already pretty rough. When it was done I reshaped a set of grips for it, and it's my favorite "no pampering" gun.



It's nowhere as pretty as yours, but it was never intended to be. I might have it reblued someday, but for now it wears its scars and blemishes without shame. It was born a dash-three, and a lot of those guns were rode hard and dirty.

INSANE work!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's an absolute amazing job! I'd own 2 if they all looked like that!

Nice to see a CRAFTSMAN at work. Just put in an order for 2 Model 10 from Buds. Can't wait to look at them and read this 20 more times! Thanks Ray

A man after my own heart!

What's better than a k-frame revolver?
TWO k-frame revolvers!

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-Kris

Thanks, John!
Yours looks pretty nice, as well. Love the grips on that M15!
Not a shabby M64 (or is that a 65?) either!

The template was difficult to get right, but I figured if I ever RB an SB again it'd be nice to have the template.
I'm certain I'll use it again someday.
Of course, I say that about all the scraps of metal, wood and wire that I've squirreled away over the years, lol.
Maybe I should audition for that Hoarders show.

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-Kris

Fantastic work! I really like the polished stripe around the cylinder. I've seen it before but don't know how its done. Would you mind sharing?

Thank you!

It's just an old painter's trick, really.
I polished the cylinder, in that area, to a high mirror finish on the buffing wheel with black compound, then I masked off the part I wanted to remain shiny with a narrow band of electrical tape*.
About 30 seconds under the sandblasting hood and bam, shiny stripe around matte cylinder.
Finally, through the bluing tanks with the rest of the parts.



*electrical tape sticks very well to white metal, plus, its rubbery composition resists being eaten off by the jet of sand more than regular masking tape or Scotch tape (I experimented with this).

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-Kris

Looks fantastic! I wish I had skills like yours. That gun is a real conversation piece and even better that you can tell admirers that you did the work yourself. Well done!

I have another thread on here somewhere about a 10-8 I got from Buds that I had reblued. Gun looks fantastic and I'm proud to own it now.

Thanks, kbm!
Yes, a lot of my appreciation of my 10-8 is due to the satisfaction from doing it myself (albeit, with help).

M10-8's are great sixguns, and the surplus ones are wonderful in that there really is zero collector value (excepting those with interesting departmental stampings or provenance) and therefore gives the owner free license to modify to their heart's content without any guilt or fear of ruining a historical piece.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend; about 60F and sunny here in MN at 0935 Sunday.

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-Kris

Wonderful post! I really enjoy the DIY stuff on sixguns. I LOVE the Model 10s!!! I have two of them and am working on a third. My 10-5 (2-inch) and 10-6 (4-inch HB) are wonderful shooters. The 10-5 went to Amerigun in Michigan for a custom front sight. The 10-6 is at S&W getting a facelift ($265 for a polish blue and cylinder chamfer). Whence she comes back, she will have a front sight like my Model 13-1 that went to Amerigun.

I polish the rebound slide's surfaces (sides only) and de-burr the corresponding inside part of the frame for my action jobs. I re-use the same factory springs. The part I have done is sending the triggers off to Mag-Na-Port for their Combat Trigger modification (radiusing the trigger's sides). That's usually enough for a 8-10 lbs SMOOOOTH pull.

I really like the 3-inch slab side barrel and utilitarian matte blue. The front sight (and muzzle chamfer) are good common-sense modifications too!

Thanks so much for sharing!

MODEL 13-1





MODEL 10-5