Anyone know of a good revolver smith in Arizona? Updated post #10, looking for info from our resident armorers!

[madmikeb]

I recently ran into a nice 4 screw M53 at a good price. The good price was due to the fact that there was no jet cylinder just a lr cylinder. Thanks to one of our awesome forum members I now have a jet cylinder. I was hoping lady luck would smile on me and it would drop in, but no such luck.
Any of you Arizona forum members know of a good smith here in Arizona that could fit a cylinder? Preferably southern, but I would travel if need be. I would like to avoid shipping it out if I can.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

 

[Gun Relics]

I recently ran into a nice 4 screw M53 at a good price. The good price was due to the fact that there was no jet cylinder just a lr cylinder. Thanks to one of our awesome forum members I now have a jet cylinder. I was hoping lady luck would smile on me and it would drop in, but no such luck.
Any of you Arizona forum members know of a good smith here in Arizona that could fit a cylinder? Preferably southern, but I would travel if need be. I would like to avoid shipping it out if I can.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

This gentleman in Phoenix just did a barrel changeout for a good price for one of the forum members. He also did some very satisfactory work for a FFL friend in Tucson. He was fast and reasonable.

Frank Glenn-Glenn Custom Complete Gunsmithing Service Glendale AZ

Frank Glenn master gunsmith Glenn Custom complete gunsmithing service

www.glenncustom.com

Here's the thread:

Thread 'It's finally back to a Model 27 !!'

Jun 10, 2025

Picked this model 27-2 a few years back and the original owner had a .. Highway Patrolman barrel on it ? So after watching websites for a while I secured a 4 inch model 27 barrel, sent it out to Frank Glenn and he swapped out the barrels for me (about a 2 week process) and its back with the correct barrel now, its the little things in life I guess.

• Gunsquirrel
• Replies: 8
• Forum: S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980

• 

I'm a little surprised they didn't just swap out, but I don't know much about the Model 53. I assume you just got the cylinder without the extractor? I bet somebody here can walk you through the swapout.

 

[Gun Relics]

I recently ran into a nice 4 screw M53 at a good price. The good price was due to the fact that there was no jet cylinder just a lr cylinder. Thanks to one of our awesome forum members I now have a jet cylinder. I was hoping lady luck would smile on me and it would drop in, but no such luck.
Any of you Arizona forum members know of a good smith here in Arizona that could fit a cylinder? Preferably southern, but I would travel if need be. I would like to avoid shipping it out if I can.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

I have two model 53's and I would like to find the correct 22 cylinder assembly for one.

 

[madmikeb]

I actually figured that it would be easier to find a jet cylinder then a LR cylinder and it was. I also have an 8-3/8 53 that I've had for 40 years, I gave up trying to find a LR cylinder for that years ago and just bought an 8-3/8" 617.

And, thank you for the Frank Glenn info.

 

[eb07]

Nelson Ford or Frank Glenn. Both in North Phoenix right up the road from each other.

I prefer Nelson but can't go wrong with Frank Glenn. I use frank for my 1911s. Nelson for revolvers.

The Gunsmith, Inc.

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www.thegunsmith.com

And he has some great YouTube videos

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[madmikeb]

I'm a little surprised they didn't just swap out, but I don't know much about the Model 53. I assume you just got the cylinder without the extractor? I bet somebody here can walk you through the swapout.

I actually got the whole cylinder assembly, yoke and all. Problem is the cylinder is too long and won't fit in the window of the frame. I tried it with both yokes and without a yoke and it just doesn't fit. It's not off by much, I'm thinking that some of the the front of the cylinder may have to be machined off.

I'm sure that Protocall Design or Steelslaver would know, but this is beyond my skill level!

 

[26betsam]

Nelson Ford. I've used him and was absolutely thrilled with his work.
Highly recommend.

 

[John in Yuma]

Another vote for Nelson Ford. You can see him on his YouTube channel, "The Gunsmith".

 

[BillBond]

If you chose Nelson, make sure you call before you go.

 

[madmikeb]

I investigated this more thoroughly today. The original LR cylinder measures 1.675 as does the jet cylinder. If I measure from the face of the cylinder to the back of the ratchet I get 1.729 on the LR cylinder and 1.731 on the jet cylinder. If I install the jet cylinder with the yoke that came with it I can get it closed b/c is good but the cylinder is tight and won't cycle, I don't want to force it. If I install the cylinder without a yoke, the action cycles, timing seems good but the cylinder rubs on the barrel of course there is no b/c gap.

My question is, is this a matter of taking a couple thousands from the face of the ratchet or is this an oversimplification? If this indeed accepted procedure what would you use to take the metal off?

Thank you for your time and advice!

 

[madmikeb]

A little more info. I did some more measuring tonight. B/C gap on the LR cylinder is .003, headspace is .013. After a good cleaning today when I put the jet cylinder in on the yoke that came with it, it closed right up, a little snug but it did close and I could cycle the action. My thinnest gauge was .003 and it wouldn't quite go so I/m guessing it measures .002. Headspace was .013.

It seemed to time a little before full cock but not too much before. 3 of the chambers when I cocked it were a little stiff. I don't have a range rod so I can't check alignment. I still wonder about taking 1 or 2 thousands off the face of the ratchet.

I contacted Frank Glenn but he wasn't interested in the job, I haven't tried Nelson Ford yet. If it's something I can do it would save me a couple trips to Phoenix.

 

[madmikeb]

Any of the gunsmiths or machinists here willing to weigh in on this?

 

[Protocall_Design]

Was there any endshake on either cylinder?

 

[madmikeb]

No, no endshake on either one.

 

[Valmet]

+1 for Frank Glenn. He’s done revolver and 1911 work for me.

 

[Protocall_Design]

In that case, I would take the ratchet out of the cylinder and face off the ring around the center pin on the longer one .002 on a lathe, so they're both the same. Make sure the ratchets are .003 to .005 below that. The ratchets are not supposed to touch. Then shorten the back face of the barrel .003 to get .006 cylinder gap.

 

[madmikeb]

Thank you for the reply, I think this goes beyond my capabilities and tools! I figured it probably wasn't as easy as I was hoping, and I didn't want to try anything without leaning on the knowledge pool here. I guess I'll get hold of Nelson Ford and see if he's interested in tackling this.

 

[madmikeb]

+1 for Frank Glenn. He’s done revolver and 1911 work for me.

I contacted him and he wasn't interested in doing the job. Nelson Ford has a following here so I'm going to try him next.