S&W hand ejector .38 questions

[Calvin.B]

I've recently acquired an S&W hand ejector in 38 special, and I have a few questions that I'm having a hard time getting answers to. In order these are:
1. What year am I looking at here?
2. How much cylinder slop is too much?/where would I get a new cylinder stop?
3. Should I attempt to get it re-blued?
It's a 5 screw, 5in barrel, serial in 453xxx range, and code under crane is 96010

 

[JP@AK]

S&W hand ejector in 38 special
serial in 453xxx range

What year am I looking at here?

It is a .38 Military & Police model from about 1924-25.

How much cylinder slop is too much?/where would I get a new cylinder stop?

I'll leave that one to the gunsmith experts around here.

Should I attempt to get it re-blued?

Your choice. I would not.

code under crane is 96010

Forget it. It means nothing now. It was only used during the assembly process.

Also: the stocks are an aftermarket addition.

 

[alwslate]

Re-bluing would cost you a lot of money and likely make the gun worth less than it is now.

 

[Chuck Edwards]

Re-bluing would cost you a lot of money and likely make the gun worth less than it is now.

While this is true, it may not be relevant.

First step, obviously, is to clean the rust off and see how it looks then. I'd decide whether or not to re-blue based on:

1) Did it belong to a family member or does it have some historical significance? If yes, I'd leave it alone.

2) Is it some random M&P you picked up (relatively) cheap because it was rusty? If yes and it's in good mechanical condition, I'd consider getting it re-blued.

Another possibility is touching it up with some form of cold blue.

If it looks like the wear was the result of honest use, I'd leave it alone. I'd have to see the revolver sans rust to make that decision.

 

[steelslaver]

Those grips are not correct for that gun

Rotational slop. They all have some but to really gauge it you need a range rod. A rod that barely slips down the bore. On each chamber, gently hold the cylinder turned one way and drop the rod down, then turn it the other way and drop the rod. Does the rod hang up on face of cylinder or drop in?

Front to rear slop. Get feeler gauges. Press cylinder to rear. Find the largest gauge that slides between front face of cylinder and barrel. Write that down. Press cylinder forward and find which gauge slip in like that. Subtract measurement 2 from measurement 1. .001 is ideal. .004 is absolute max

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass! I think you've gotten most of your questions answered by some really knowledgeable folks. Here's my $0.02

2. How much cylinder slop is too much?/where would I get a new cylinder stop?

I presume you are referring to radial movement (left to right) of the cylinder when it is in lockup. I would consider more than a couple of thousandths to be undesirable. It can get that way from wear on the cylinder stop and/or plastic deformation of the cylinder stop notches. Plastic deformation can be alleviated by peening the stop notches to move metal back into the notch and, thus, tighten up the fit to the stop. You can get a replacement cylinder stop at Cylinder Stop, Used Factory Original.

WRT refinishing the gun - there is no "restoration" to collector status. Once the original finish is gone, it has 0 collector value and is just a pretty shooter. I have done this for a number of revolvers that were in deplorable condition. The only one I didn't lose money on was a WWII Victory that I Parkerized myself for less than $100. A reblue will cost in the neighborhood of $300-700 depending on where you get it done and how much polishing you are willing to pay for. Considering that you can buy a high condition, collectible M&P for around $600, refinishing doesn't make economic sense.

 

[Hawg Rider]

Welcome to the Forum! As you now know, you have acquired a S&W .38 M&P revolver from the mid-1920s. It's finish is a little rough, but most of the rust can easily be removed with a little TLC. First try some firearm CLP (Cleaner, Lubricant, Protectant) and see what happens. You can also try some gentle polishing with Flitz Polish, or even soak it in an acetone/automatic transmission fluid bath (remove the wood stocks first, of course). There were literally millions of M&Ps manufactured over many decades, so they are not rare or particularly valuable. IMO, if yours is mechanically OK, it's probably worth $350-$400. Here's a picture of my 6" .32-20 M&P from the same time period with the correct stocks. Mine has some finish issues, too...but I don't intend to do anything about it.

 

[DWalt]

As others have said, professionally refinishing it is not an exercise in graduate-level thinking. You might consider hand cleaning and polishing the metal as best you can and applying some good cold blue.

 

[raljr1]

I did a cold blue on an old 22 rifle my brother had. I headed the metal with a heat gun before applying the bluing. I did three or 4 coats like that and it looked pretty good. If this gun has no sentimental value this might be a decent option.

Robert