Rescued .32 Hand Ejector- finished!

[Tinker Pearce]

I first encountered this gun at Pinto's Guns in Renton, WA. Virtually no finish left, timing issues, massive cylinder end-play, badly pitted bore... What the hell, it was cheap, I coveted an I-Frame and it wasn't as if I could make it worse... I attacked the bore with cleaners and bronze wool- not pitted to speak of after all! The timing issue was sorted by cleaning out a century worth of gunk. I shimmed the cylinder and set the barrel back to a nice .006" gap and had a shooter...

Fast forward to this autumn- custom target-style grip inspired by pre-war S&W units and a rust-blue finish and it's done. Yeah, it will never be worth anything-- but it's a great little shooter, and all set for it's next century of use.

 

[Babysitr]

Love it!...sounds like fun to me, saved from the junk heap. Good job

 

[Hondo44]

Not too shabby Tinker!!

The Target stocks replication was a great touch. What kind of wood?

One might think that's the original finish as nice of a job as you did!

The only giveaways are the shiny hammer (in-lieu of the CCH), the flat polishing of the trigger return spring retaining pin just in front of the top of stock, and the satin finish instead of the original bright shiny blue.

It may not be as valuable as an original collectible gun, but it's worth more than when you got it!

 

[Bakebfr480]

I like it!

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Fantastic work and end result.

Inspiring!

Its "worth" cannot be counted in dollars.

 

[Green Frog]

Value of a gun (or anything else) is not always limited to what the purist collector assigns. Often it is based on utility and pride of ownership, and this little I-frame has those in abundance! You have a piece many of us would be happy to own and best of all you have made it your own with the work and well executed improvements you have applied. In keeping with the season, a little bell is ringing and an angel just got his wings.

Froggie

 

[sigp220.45]

Wow, what a nice save! Congrats!

 

[Tinker Pearce]

Not too shabby Tinker!!

The Target stocks replication was a great touch. What kind of wood?

Thanks! the grips are Bocote wood.

 

[Krogen]

Great job! I like to hear of derelicts brought back from the brink. Your revolver project reminds me of my Dad's ways. He could (and would) fix most anything rather than throw it away.

 

[Watchdog]

Any day someone can save an old Smith from neglect and the junk pile is a good day!

Congratulations on a very nice job.

 

[Muley Gil]

Great job! I like to hear of derelicts brought back from the brink. Your revolver project reminds me of my Dad's ways. He could (and would) fix most anything rather than throw it away.

Sounds like the Salvation Army of Smith & Wesson.

 

[Green Frog]

On further examination, I'm even more impressed than before. Some time in the future, this gun will be held up by some enthusiast who will proudly say, "Yes, I've been able to trace this back to the work of Tinker Pearce. You can tell he was quite the craftsman... even has rust bluing and hand made Bocote grips. It's the pride of my collection."

I did have a question or two for you. First, did you make your own shims? When I had one of my old RPs tightened up, the S&W armorer in OH who did the work said he couldn't find the proper shims on the market, so he "stretched" the tube to have the same effect. Fortunately, I was still left with an acceptable B/C gap so no barrel setback was necessary. Second, did you rust blue it with barrel in place, or did you take it back out for that step? I worry about the rust bluing salts migrating into the threads and if I ever do have to remove the barrel it becomes impossible. Also, did you seal the bore like the old time rifle builders used to do? With hot bath bluing, this doesn't seem necessary, but it seems like rust bluing would be rough on even a pistol bore (after you went to all the effort to clean it!)

Yep, all in all, the more I look at it, the better I like your rescue. As we old boys of the Southern type are likely to say, "ya done good!"

Froggie

 

[OldChief]

Yes, great job, you have a beautiful little revolver there!

 

[Tinker Pearce]

On further examination, I'm even more impressed than before. Some time in the future, this gun will be held up by some enthusiast who will proudly say, "Yes, I've been able to trace this back to the work of Tinker Pearce. You can tell he was quite the craftsman... even has rust bluing and hand made Bocote grips. It's the pride of my collection."

I did have a question or two for you. First, did you make your own shims? When I had one of my old RPs tightened up, the S&W armorer in OH who did the work said he couldn't find the proper shims on the market, so he "stretched" the tube to have the same effect. Fortunately, I was still left with an acceptable B/C gap so no barrel setback was necessary. Second, did you rust blue it with barrel in place, or did you take it back out for that step? I worry about the rust bluing salts migrating into the threads and if I ever do have to remove the barrel it becomes impossible. Also, did you seal the bore like the old time rifle builders used to do? With hot bath bluing, this doesn't seem necessary, but it seems like rust bluing would be rough on even a pistol bore (after you went to all the effort to clean it!)

Yep, all in all, the more I look at it, the better I like your rescue. As we old boys of the Southern type are likely to say, "ya done good!"

Froggie

Thank you for the kind words!

Trying to take these in order- yes, I made my own shim. When I set back the barrel I hand-filed the forcing cone to get the gap I wanted- I only had to remove a few thousandths. When I rust-blued I did not remove the barrel; it did not seem necessary as you apply the solution with a damp swab; there really isn't extra to migrate anywhere. This is the same reason I didn't plug the bore or chambers. A tiny bit of rust developed around the very rim of the openings, but only on the first application. After the first boiling that stopped.

I use an express rust-blueing product- Mark Lee's Express Blue #1. This not only produces a very good finish but the process is very controlled and only takes an hour or so. Of course as with any finishing process preparation is everything.

 

[Jebus35745]

Nice job, looks like a fun project. Now you have to shoot it. How many times did you apply the rust blue? Larry

 

[Tinker Pearce]

Nice job, looks like a fun project. Now you have to shoot it. How many times did you apply the rust blue? Larry

Nine applications

 

[Hondo44]

A good soak in a solution of water with baking soda does a great job of neutralizing any bluing salts in crevices like barrel to frame joints. You don't even have to worry about rinsing it all out. Just blow dry the gun and lubricate.

Sometimes we even hear about new stainless guns that grow a light rust coating, either coming from crevices between parts or on flat surfaces. Clean off and it comes right back. It's from acidic cleaners used at the factory and not entirely removed/neuralized. The baking soda bath works wonders on these too.

 

[BC38]

A good soak in a solution of water with baking soda does a great job of neutralizing any bluing salts in crevices like barrel to frame joints. You don't even have to worry about rinsing it all out. Just blow dry the gun and lubricate.

Sometimes we even hear about new stainless guns that grow a light rust coating, either coming from crevices between parts or on flat surfaces. Clean off and it comes right back. It's from acidic cleaners used at the factory and not entirely removed/neuralized. The baking soda bath works wonders on these too.

Good recommendation.
Baking soda - a.k.a. Sodium Bicarbonate - is great stuff.
The "Universal Neutralizer" it will neutralize acidity or alkalinity.
Works pretty good as a leavening agent in baked goods and as an antacid too (just ask Archie Bunker).
Nice work on that old 32HE, Tinker.

 

[hkcavalier]

Very nice!

I like Pinto's...at least 2 guns in my safe came from there.

They had a huge estate buy or consignment of S&W revolvers earlier this year, unfortunately I was out of the state! I would have made the drive to at check out the haul.

 

[steelslaver]

Nice job. While it may well fall short of collector prices it is worth more now than when you started. It isn't all about value either. You now have a great looking fun gun to shoot.