Is the Jerry Kuhnhausen Revolver Shop Manual a good source?

[Nemo288]

I have read both the 3rd and 5th thru completely a couple of times.
Gave me the confidence to pop the side for the first time.
The visual aids are really great to have in front of you on the bench while working on a gun.
The additional part added at the end of edition 5 is quite the rant on MIM.
I found it entertaining on it's own.
Well worth the price.
Necessary if you want to smith on a Smith.

Factory shop manuals are always nice to have for working on any technology but are not always available.
Kuhnhausen is pretty much IT for S&W revolvers.

 

[ameridaddy]

The big difference in the 5th Edition Kuhnhausen S&W revolver book is the quality if the illustrations, drawings and photographs. ....

The books is both a great learning and teaching tool.

Thanks for that info. The only complaint I had about my version was the poor quality pics and drawings. Some of them were almost down to newspaper pic quality. Otherwise, an excellent book.
There's no mention of an edition number in my copy, but the last copyright was 1990.

 

[Nemo288]

Midway
The S&W Revolver: A Shop Manual 5th Edition by Jerry Kuhnhausen
Brownells
HERITAGE GUN BOOKS S&W REVOLVER SHOP MANUAL- 5TH EDITION | Brownells
Gun Books also offers the companion DVD (which does not cover MIM parts)
Heritage Gun Books - S&W Revolver Repair and Maintenance Manual

I prefer to give my money to any of those outfits rather than Amazon.
Gun Books is probably closest to the source.

 

[rockquarry]

I've had a couple of the Kuhnhausen books for years. I'm certainly not even close to being an amateur gunsmith or tinkerer. I'd never attempt gun work beyond routine cleaning, but I'm quite impressed with the Kuhnhausen books. Hard to imagine anything better.

 

[MG-70]

The big difference in the 5th Edition Kuhnhausen S&W revolver book is the quality if the illustrations, drawings and photographs. The book includes an expanded section on parts, more troubleshooting info, and a slew of better quality schematics. The rear of the book is dedicated to examination and repair of the MIM, two piece barrel, and frame mounted firing pin models. (models mostly coming after 1997)

The books is both a great learning and teaching tool.

Thank you for the added info. What you've described definitely makes a big difference in a shop manual!

 

[tom2]

TO drag up this old thread, I would like to add, I have several of his shop manuals in the paperback format. From many years ago. My problem with the paperback ones, is that they start falling apart after awhile. The binding glue or something? Pages falling out, etc. My 1911 manual fell to pieces and my Smith manual is getting frail. My carbine one is still pretty minty. And it costs alot to consider replacements.

 

[Loewe35]

Dies ist ein Schnappschuss einer Seite, die ich zufällig geöffnet habe, um ein Beispiel für die Kuhnhausen-Diagramme zu sehen. Das Buch ist sein Geld absolut wert! (MODS: Falls dies gegen Urheberrechte verstößt, bitte löschen.)

Guten Tag,
Eine Frage können Sie mir bitte die Seite fotografieren, wo Mann Schlagbolzen und die Hülsen ausbauen können.
Vielen Dank

 

[Patrick L]

TO drag up this old thread, I would like to add, I have several of his shop manuals in the paperback format. From many years ago. My problem with the paperback ones, is that they start falling apart after awhile. The binding glue or something? Pages falling out, etc. My 1911 manual fell to pieces and my Smith manual is getting frail. My carbine one is still pretty minty. And it costs alot to consider replacements.

Possibly a small 3 ring binder might be your answer, or a print shop/copy center may be able to spiral bind them for you. I'm not sure how much that would cost versus just buying a new one. The 3 ring binder option you could do DIY.

 

[Minshooter]

The binding did seem to be an issue with their earlier books.
My 1988 S&W Revolver Manual is mostly a loose leaf binder now.
Hadn't really noticed the poorer photo quality until just now comparing with later publications.
Their later M1(Garand)/M14, 98 Mauser, and 870/1100 Remington Shotguns books seem to be holding together better.