HomeSmith Trainwreck: Short and Stout

[Shotguncoach]

This morning I made a few passes at the worst parts of the frame and sideplate with the chalked #4 file and a brown scotchbrite wheel. This improved things but also made it clear that I was going to have to remove a substantial amount of metal in order for it to be "clean". Not wanting to spend another 4 hours filing, I decided for the moment to fix the small stuff and blue over the larger pits. I'll eventually come back and work on this one again....

I poured another cup of coffee and set up my back porch bluing equipment: a long 2x3 stick with a bunch of screws in it to hang things from and a pot of distilled water on the side burner of my grill. The rest of the day was spent rusting and boiling while I did laundry and worked in the garden, with each rust cycle getting a bit longer. The final rust cycle was 6 hours and I managed to sneak in a range trip during that one.

A visitor showed up during the 3rd rust cycle and observed for a few hours curled up in a shady spot on the porch.

 

[Shotguncoach]

After the range trip, a dinner of shrimp and grits, and the final boil, everything looked properly skanky and ready for carding.

 

[Shotguncoach]

Working with the carding wheel has become one of my favorite things to do....it's really pretty magical. The outcome of all this is by no means "new" but it is much improved. Like all the other trainwrecks, this one will now go into the range rotation for a few months until it proves itself to be reliable and accurate enough to carry.

I expect it to bubble up to the top again later in the summer for more/better finish work.

 

[Shotguncoach]

Range trip today.....everything went well. 48 ounces of hammer tension seems to be the sweet spot for the bobbed DAO hammer. Every type of primer I had available went off without any issues, including Winchester and Fiocchi small pistol magnums.

I didn't grab any pictures but head shots on a standard silhouette target at 10 yards are easy, as was banging on an 8" gong at 25 yards. My usual magnum load of 13.5 grains of 2400 and a 158 grain XTP is a bit spicy in a gun this small. They sure do move the gong around well though.

 

[Protocall_Design]

Kudos for a job well done! You now have another nice revolver to enjoy for years to come.

 

[roycohutta]

13-8 ?

Wasn't the last production change at 13-5 when they were discontinued in 1999?

Thanks, Roy