FatJackDurham
Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2013
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 1
Hello, nice to meet you all. I am active on the leverguns forum and into BPCR and CAS shooting, but at an auction I picked up model 3 lemon squeezer for $20 because it was frozen solid and no one was bidding, and I was waiting on a 7mm roller and wanted to move things along.
I have tried to learn the right way to do amateur gunsmithing (please have a stiff drink and keep reading, you might need it) so that I can work on guns without destroying their total value, but I do still make mistake, some of which you will read here. For instance, I didn't know there were cupped punches, so I drifted the pins out of this revolver with flat punches, things like that.
As carefully as I could, and referring to Dave Chicoine's Antique Firearms Disassembly and Assembly, I worked the frozen up little gun apart over about six hours, after soaking it for two days in PB Blaster. I was later told I should have soaked it for two weeks instead.
The center nut for the action plate was prebuggered for me, and I did make it quite a bit worse by etching it out with a dremel to get a bite. And, as I said, I drifted the pins out flat punch, so I deformed their tips.
After the gun was apart, I soaked it in rust solvent, which also, sadly, removed the remaining blue on the release catch and trigger guard, so that is my first question, I guess, how could I have removed the worst corrosion without damaging the blue? Carding brush maybe?
After polishing the internal parts on wet or dry paper, I reassembled the gun and the action worked... twice. Ping Pong Pam! No, I am not channeling Joe Pesci, the leaf springs all broke. Also, the firing pin wouldn't retract.
I ordered the two springs I could from Numrich, and carefully stretched the firing pin spring so it would work a little, but the cylinder stop spring was unavailable. My gunsmith gave me a spare chunk of spring steel and told me the broad strokes of how to make a spring. Rather than try to duplicate the wide flat spring that was there, I chose instead to make a spring similar to a winchester extractor. Narrower and thicker, but more within my skill set.
Gun together, I scored the last box of 38 S&W from my local arms dealer and headed to the range. I negotiated with some other shooters to stand back and save my life if the gun blew up in my hand. Then, I carefully loaded a single round, flinched, and pulled the trigger.
The gun shoots high and left at 15 yards. In the picture, from a rest, if I aim at the bar code, I can hit the center of the target. Good enough for personal defense, and not bad for a hundred fifteen year old gun.
So, now that you know all the sins, go ahead and hammer me with my mistakes, but also, tell me what to do with the gun now.
1) I'd like to replace the worst center nut on the action plate, but numrich doesnt stock it. Is it compatible with any other S&W nuts? Can it be fabricated?
2) Blueing has been pretty much removed from the trigger guard, release catch and cylider release lever, nickel plating is harsh at best.
3) Most pins are flattened on one end, probably could be reground, but are there replacement pin sets?
4) Serial number is 107924, very close to the Model 4 start date, so I suspect the gun was made 1896 - 1898.
5) Bore and chambers are VERY GOOD! I'd say excellent for an antique gun. Despite the surface rust due to a leather holster probably, the owner kept the action and bore and chamber well oiled.
6) Bearing surfaces are VERY GOOD! Action is smooth, not as smooth as a new one of course, but very smooth. New mainspring and trigger spring make it a heavy pull, but by no means unmanageable.
I have been wanting a revolver for personal defense, and I had planned to dissolve the nickel plating and rust blue the whole gun. But, if, despite my damage, the gun can have some good collector value as it is, if I can replace the damaged nut, I'd be happy to get it in the hands of a collector that wants it, and seek a more modern Model 10 for my personal defense.
Any thoughts or comments?
Thanks
I have tried to learn the right way to do amateur gunsmithing (please have a stiff drink and keep reading, you might need it) so that I can work on guns without destroying their total value, but I do still make mistake, some of which you will read here. For instance, I didn't know there were cupped punches, so I drifted the pins out of this revolver with flat punches, things like that.
As carefully as I could, and referring to Dave Chicoine's Antique Firearms Disassembly and Assembly, I worked the frozen up little gun apart over about six hours, after soaking it for two days in PB Blaster. I was later told I should have soaked it for two weeks instead.
The center nut for the action plate was prebuggered for me, and I did make it quite a bit worse by etching it out with a dremel to get a bite. And, as I said, I drifted the pins out flat punch, so I deformed their tips.
After the gun was apart, I soaked it in rust solvent, which also, sadly, removed the remaining blue on the release catch and trigger guard, so that is my first question, I guess, how could I have removed the worst corrosion without damaging the blue? Carding brush maybe?
After polishing the internal parts on wet or dry paper, I reassembled the gun and the action worked... twice. Ping Pong Pam! No, I am not channeling Joe Pesci, the leaf springs all broke. Also, the firing pin wouldn't retract.
I ordered the two springs I could from Numrich, and carefully stretched the firing pin spring so it would work a little, but the cylinder stop spring was unavailable. My gunsmith gave me a spare chunk of spring steel and told me the broad strokes of how to make a spring. Rather than try to duplicate the wide flat spring that was there, I chose instead to make a spring similar to a winchester extractor. Narrower and thicker, but more within my skill set.
Gun together, I scored the last box of 38 S&W from my local arms dealer and headed to the range. I negotiated with some other shooters to stand back and save my life if the gun blew up in my hand. Then, I carefully loaded a single round, flinched, and pulled the trigger.
The gun shoots high and left at 15 yards. In the picture, from a rest, if I aim at the bar code, I can hit the center of the target. Good enough for personal defense, and not bad for a hundred fifteen year old gun.
So, now that you know all the sins, go ahead and hammer me with my mistakes, but also, tell me what to do with the gun now.
1) I'd like to replace the worst center nut on the action plate, but numrich doesnt stock it. Is it compatible with any other S&W nuts? Can it be fabricated?
2) Blueing has been pretty much removed from the trigger guard, release catch and cylider release lever, nickel plating is harsh at best.
3) Most pins are flattened on one end, probably could be reground, but are there replacement pin sets?
4) Serial number is 107924, very close to the Model 4 start date, so I suspect the gun was made 1896 - 1898.
5) Bore and chambers are VERY GOOD! I'd say excellent for an antique gun. Despite the surface rust due to a leather holster probably, the owner kept the action and bore and chamber well oiled.
6) Bearing surfaces are VERY GOOD! Action is smooth, not as smooth as a new one of course, but very smooth. New mainspring and trigger spring make it a heavy pull, but by no means unmanageable.
I have been wanting a revolver for personal defense, and I had planned to dissolve the nickel plating and rust blue the whole gun. But, if, despite my damage, the gun can have some good collector value as it is, if I can replace the damaged nut, I'd be happy to get it in the hands of a collector that wants it, and seek a more modern Model 10 for my personal defense.
Any thoughts or comments?
Thanks
