1917 Barrel Conversion Project

[Hondo44]

Got this WW I 1917 Army pretty cheap; all original except it had a cut down .455 Mk II barrel (bore dimensions all wrong for 45 ACP.)
Here it is converted to a barrel w/shroud the way the factory should have made them pre war, (at least after the military production), the same as the 44 Military and 38/44 HD.

Factory pre war style 4" non-ribbed, tapered, and shrouded barrel. Stainless Mtn. Gun target barrel has had rib removed, fully rounded, and blued. I should have finished the barrel with a finer grit to better match the original WW I blue. Next time I have stainless blued I'll know to match the polish better. Mushroom knob replaced with proper vintage shrouded extractor rod with 'barrel' style knob.

Made a half penny front sight blade replacement (pinned into base). However the front blade is a full 1/10" wide and the rear sight notch has been opened up to target sight notch width of .124":

Should have been a simple barrel change and wished I could have found a Classic or Thunder Ranch 1917 Model barrel. But all I could acquire is a SS tapered barrel for a 45 Colt Mtn Gun:

Notice late model shrouds have the shroud bulge on the right side that extends all the way to the front. So that was another contour I had to add to match the pre war (and earlier post war) contour shown here on a pre Model 26:

I milled off the rib and milled down the integral front sight base to match the pre war integral fixed sight base:

Here is the rough milled barrel mounted on the gun:

Sometimes it takes a little work to get exactly what one likes. The only time I'm glad to find a cheap non-original model.

 

[Iggy]

Looookingggg Gooood!!!

 

[damienph]

It looks great but how are you going to get that stainless barrel match the frame?

 

[deyomatic]

It looks great but how are you going to get that stainless barrel match the frame?

The first photo is the finished product. The rest are the steps he took along the way.

 

[Hondo44]

It looks great but how are you going to get that stainless barrel match the frame?

Thank you.

The 1917 military finish is a shiny blue, not satin, but not as shiny as the commercial pre war finish. So I figured a 400 grit polish would be close to right. But it's more of a satin. What I should have done is polished it to about a 1000 grit before bluing it. So I may pull the barrel, re-polish and re-blue. It was only $40 to blue and ship back to me plus a little postage
to send off.

But as I use it, clean it and oil it, the match seems to be improving. So I'll see. It's just a working gun and a shooter. And it shoots very well, especially for me with the 'old man' size sights.

 

[damienph]

The first photo is the finished product. The rest are the steps he took along the way.

I guess I missed that somehow. That first pic looks great!

 

[damienph]

Thank you.

The 1917 military finish is a shiny blue, not satin, but not as shiny as the commercial pre war finish. So I figured a 400 grit polish would be close to right. But it's more of a satin. What I should have done is polished it to about a 1000 grit before bluing it. So I may pull the barrel, re-polish and re-blue. It was only $40 to blue and ship back to me plus a little postage
to send off.

But as I use it, clean it and oil it, the match seems to be improving. So I'll see. It's just a working gun and a shooter. And it shoots very well, especially for me with the 'old man' size sights.

That is one fine looking revolver you have. I really like the looks of the shrouded Ejector rod. I have a 1937 Brazilian, not as good looking as yours but a good shooter.

 

[lebomm]

Helluva job, Hondo ! That is one fine-lookin' .45 !

Larry

 

[Hondo44]

Thank you all for the kind comments. I'll probably never do another w/o starting with the correct barrel, but it was a challenge that I had to create because I "thunk" it up, and a labor of love.

 

[Green Frog]

Hondo44, you never cease to amaze and inspire! I would have never dreamed of going through the effort to mill off a target rib just to get back to a round barrel with ER shroud. When you decide you want something, you're a bulldog with a bone... not to be argued with! Congrats on another great project.

Your buddy the Frog

 

[Muley Gil]

Very, very nice. 'Bout the only thing I would change would be to add some Kurac smooth Magnas. I have a set on my commercial 1917. They have a "Coke" profile and fit my hand extremely well.

 

[Tom K]

I did not know that stainless could be blued - looks really nice! I've only ever seen stainless "blackened". Who does this work? And why don't companies offer it as a finish option?

 

[BUFF]

Great work!

I'd like to hear the story behind the short Model 1950, and I bet I'm not the only one.

 

[epj]

That's really slick. Wish I had that level of skill with a mill!

 

[Dave T]

I can't decide if I'm jealous or envious...OK, probably both (smile). I would love to find a gun like that as I'm a real fan of 45 ACP revolvers.

Congratulations on putting together a great, great shooter!

Dave

 

[Lee's Landing Billy]

"Mortified" to perfection. Now it's YOURS.

 

[Hondo44]

Great work!

I'd like to hear the story behind the short Model 1950, and I bet I'm not the only one.

Thx Buff.

The 45 ACP 1950 Target, Pre Mod 26 shipped July 1953 was another project from before I did all of my own work. So I can't take credit for it except to describe to my gunsmith exactly what I wanted.

It started life as a 6 1/2" with standard early 1950s satin blue. Although when I rescued it, there was very little original finish and a bit of light rust; carried a lot but shot a little. I rarely re-finish but this one was sad. Although the non-relief target stocks are original, they were not used, rubber grips were on the gun and the owner still had the targets!

We had an excellent smithy here locally some time ago, long since retired who was trained at the S&W factory. He replicated the satin blue perfectly.

While he had it I asked for the barrel to be shortened to 4 1/4". I liked the length and I didn't want anyone to think I was faking a factory original 4" barrel. Because I don't think anyone could tell it was cut except for the length.

The front sight with integral Patridge blade was removed. I took it home and replicated the quick draw ramp shape and height at home to match a factory short barrel pre model gun he owned. And serrated it with a 40 LPI checkering file, same as factory, then returned it to him for installation.

The rib over the muzzle and mortise were milled out, the base inset with two flush polished pins and correct distance to muzzle and muzzle crown. Being the local police armorer when they carried Model 10s and 15s, my smithy was factory trained and very talented to boot, the factory originality was replicated perfectly.

It shoots, I believe even better than the long barrel. Maybe because of less barrel whip and reportedly the reason the 1955 Target with heavy barrel replaced the long taperd tubes of the 1950 models and were thought to shoot more accurately.

I added the smooth combat trigger sometime later.

 

[Hondo44]

Very, very nice. 'Bout the only thing I would change would be to add some Kurac smooth Magnas. I have a set on my commercial 1917. They have a "Coke" profile and fit my hand extremely well.

Thx, those would be nice. I usually stick with factory parts if they work. So I'll find some pre war high shoulder Magnas which fit me well and feel oh so much better than the "two non-diamond pieces of lumber" on it now.