Just when you thought it was safe to buy a new Model 36...

[Model 15-4ever]

Last year I purchased online a new S&W 10-14. The double action was very rough, so I returned to S&W unfired. Two months later S&W replaced the entire revolver. The replacement was perfect in every way, in fact equal or superior to the many older Model 10 HB I have owned and shot in the past decades. Shoots to the sights out to 50 yards, quite accurate. After several hundred rounds it's proven to be excellent in every way.

So I figured it was time to try a new Model 36-10, despite having a peck of older I & J frames. These are rather difficult to find, with S&W selling mostly aluminium and scandium frame guns. Ordered one online from a well-known reputable wholesaler, and picked it up today. From all appearances, packaging, and lack of firing evidence, it appears NIB.

Well it looks like past is prologue. The barrel end at the forcing cone looks like it was cut with crooked hacksaw, which thereafter started chewing up on the cylinder face.

Yes, it's going back to the factory.

* UPDATES in Posts #45 and #51.

** Final UPDATE: 4months and 61 posts later - Resolved!

 

[NY-1]

Well that looks downright horrendous. How something that cosmetically screwed leaves the factory boggles the mind.

I also still can't get over how bad the J-frame reshape to accommodate the frame-mounted firing pin and internal lock looks compared to the older models.

Just look at that angle near the hammer and compare the two!

 

[GeoJelly]

Sorry to say this here on SWF, but I am absolutely convinced that a person can no longer "order" a new S&W. The QC is just too flaky. I've picked up two J's later over-the-counter. Both are near perfect mechanically, although I did find a small dent/gouge just above the sideplate on the 637. I notice it every time I pick it up, but I bought it to carry and shoot anyway so machts nichts ...

 

[chief38]

IMHO I truly believe that today’s S&W has been a major contributor as to WHY prices of used S&W have retained their value and still command such high prices. If one could simply purchase a new revolver made properly then why would people seek out used guns with no warranty and possible issues? Since the used market is higher than ever I believe it is because to get properly made revolvers we must venture into the vintage market and many times pay more than a brand new gun. Pathetic, IMHO!!

 

[ZGrand]

I wonder if the quality will improve once the move to Tennessee is finalized.

 

[chief38]

Could be that Southern employees may have a better wok ethic, more "gun training", like their jobs better, etc. but I believe the main issue is in the CEO's office. Just my opinion, but quality resonates from the top - down.

 

[MSD2343]

I bought a new 27-9 and 36-10 over a decade ago. They were in perfect new condition when I received them and since then they’ve both put thousands of trouble free rounds down range. Perhaps I was just lucky or perhaps S&W’s quality wasn’t as bad then as it is now. As much as I’d like to buy more new Smith revolvers, I’m very reluctant to do so now having read all the horror stories. And I doubt the move to TN will do anything to improve quality — that’s a corporate culture that has to come from the top.

So what did I do to scratch the new revolver itch? A few months ago I purchased a new Colt Python with the 4.25” barrel. Sad to say, that revolver now sits at the Colt plant in East Hartford, CT with a cylinder that binds on the forcing cone.

It’s all such a crying shame.

 

[stang1911]

Quality is only as good as what the company is willing to scrap.

 

[swagmeister]

Good old quality control at S&W!! Pretty sad.

 

[stansdds]

Looky dat! I thinks one of ar gradjuites here from Bubba's Skool of Kitchin Table Gunsmithin done got a job at Smit & Wesson.

 

[mod57]

NY-1 said
I also still can't get over how bad the J-frame reshape to accommodate the frame-mounted firing pin and internal lock looks compared to the older models.

Only the N frame revolvers have the space to include those "improvements". I don't care for the lock simply because it looks bad. The classic shape of the J,K and L frames is ruined by it. The frame mounted firing pin I can live with.

 

[Model 15-4ever]

I called S&W Customer Service today. Even that has changed. Before an RMA would be issued, the rep wanted pics of the defects emailed to the S&W "QA" mailbox, so a supervisor could evaluate the defect first. After that evaluation, I will be contacted with a response.

Wasn't like this 20 years ago when I went through the factory armorer school.

 

[6string]

I wonder if the quality will improve once the move to Tennessee is finalized.

Could be that Southern employees may have a better wok ethic, more "gun training", like their jobs better, etc. .

Name one classic American firearm brand that has been improved by its move to the South.

 

[moosedog]

That is a shame. As the technology goes up, the quality goes down. I don't think it's supposed to work like that.

 

[sheppard]

While the new S&W headquarters will soon open in Tenn. The fact remains that revolver production will remain in Mass. and poor quality control will still be a problem. How your J frame could leave the factory with its condition is beyond me.

 

[chief38]

I was a businessman, manufacturer and owner of my own business for 30+ years. I was the most critical of anyone on my staff and they KNEW I would randomly inspect product as many times a day as I possibly could. I would not stand for inferior work! I'd rather throw something that cost me money in the garbage than to deliver it to a customer, have to make excuses and at the end of the day have it cost me even more by having to replace or re-do it. To me QC is job ONE! Anyone in manufacturing who doesn't understand that might want to think about another career.

My price structure was fair but I was by no means the cheapest guy in my industry. That didn't seem to matter as my customers always knew they got more than they could anywhere else and they would have no QC issues. I guess the small premium I charged was more than made up for by what we made. That is how I ran my business and that the ethic I expect when buying goods. In all but a few exceptions I am willing to pay a bit more for the best quality.

 

[AJ]

Keep us posted on your trials and tribulations of this! Hope it is not a fiasco!

 

[Inland7-45]

Frame profile

Well that looks downright horrendous. How something that cosmetically screwed leaves the factory boggles the mind.

I also still can't get over how bad the J-frame reshape to accommodate the frame-mounted firing pin and internal lock looks compared to the older models.

Just look at that angle near the hammer and compare the two!

The change to the frame profile is a buzz killer and deal breaker for me. My oldest S&W is an M&P Target from 1902. It has an old refinish that is showing it’s age. But it shoots great. My newest is a 4” HB model 64 from 1980. I bought this used in the early 90’s when more and more surplus police revolvers were hitting the market. Nice looking nice handling gun and a great shooter.

I have a model 36 2” SB from 1968. I also have a Cobra that was made a year earlier. Last year when I was looking to add another 2” .38 out local gun store had 2 model 36s. Blue
, round butt 2”. One from 1971 and one from 1976. Price was a little under $500 each. The store had a used 637 and couple of new 642s. I was leaning toward the 642 but decided to go with the model 36s.

I will take good care of the Cobra and the 36s. While S&W still had their share of quality issues in the 70s these older guns still have a look of quality and a feel that the new stuff just doesn’t have.

I am not knocking their new product line. But as far as revolvers go I will always be in the market for older S&Ws and Colts.

 

[max503]

A friend retired from Ruger. He said lately the focus was on production. He said he saw some pretty crappy stuff go out the door. I think it could be a sign of the new manufacturing environment.
Then again, my Model 34 from the 70's went back twice to S&W before it even worked reliably, let alone smoothly. Took thousands of rounds and a cylinder reaming for that.

 

[GypsmJim]

The business climate and the workforce has changed. Largely because of covid, but that's not the whole answer.

Companies can't get workers, and the ones they do hire are morons and/or couldn't care less. Lots of companies lost a lot of money in recent years and some are struggling to even stay in business.

Try to get customer service! It's non-existent. Not just a few companies but almost everywhere. Airlines, national manufacturers of consumer products, local stores. This week we even had issues with a bank and a doctor's office.

Look how people drive on the road today, or how clerks interact with you in a store.

I guess we are doomed. It doesn't look like it's going to get better any time soon.