S & W Reblue

[dsf]

I have a 1917 Smith - hesitate to call it a clunker because mechanically it's excellent - but it was rechambered for 45 LC and the cylinder reblued. Really, more like "repurpled". The rest of the gun's finish is excellent and I'd like to know if anyone is aware of whether Smith will reblue the cylinder only. I'd like to be able to send in the cylinder alone.

Any blued finish they put on it will be better than what's on it now, so I'd accept their "it may not be exact" caveat.

 

[dsf]

I have a 1917 Smith - hesitate to call it a clunker because mechanically it's excellent - but it was rechambered for 45 LC and the cylinder reblued. Really, more like "repurpled". The rest of the gun's finish is excellent and I'd like to know if anyone is aware of whether Smith will reblue the cylinder only. I'd like to be able to send in the cylinder alone.

Any blued finish they put on it will be better than what's on it now, so I'd accept their "it may not be exact" caveat.

 

[Muley Gil]

Don't believe Smith works on anything that is older than 1957 or so.

Fords is mentioned on this Forum a lot, but I'm not personally familar with their work.

Does the cylinder serial number, which should be stamped on the rear, match and how is the headspace?

 

[mikepriwer]

The purple tint may, or may not, be a metallurgical issue with the cylinder
itself, and less the bluing process. Dave Chicoine, among others will reblue
the cylinder, but that may, or may not, deal with the purple tint problem.

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[Sebago Son]

The purpl-ish tint is more likely a function of salt strength in the Blueing Bath and the time/temperature used in the process.

I've seen guns come out of the bath sort of purple, then when put back into the bath at a slightly higher temp or in a fresh batch of salts they blue nicely.

Blueing only a cylinder is a common request. Most shops that blue (we don't anymore) will accomodate you.

 

[g17]

In my experience, a purple tint has to do with the hardness of the steel and the heat at which it was blued. Another factor sometimes is the part is allowed to sit on the bottom of the tank vs being suspended and takes on more direct heat even if the solution temp is correct. For hot bluing, a solution temp of 295*F is about perfect for obtaining a nice blue black finish on most American guns. In the past, when re-bluing German pistols (HK P-7's being the biggest offender) some of the parts would come out with a purple tint and would require additional heat (310-320*F) to get them blue. Keep in mind that most American gun parts at this or higher temp will begin to turn to undesirable colors such as purple or reddish tint. This can usually be corrected without repolishing or bead blasting all over. The piece is simply scrubbed with 4X steel wool and dawn detergent (just as all the other parts are following being rinsed) rinsed again and placed (suspended) back in the bluing for another 20 minutes at the correct temp.

 

[dsf]

The cylinder is a recent reblue - as opposed to being caused by the aging process - because someone didn't know what they were doing. I have a Dan Wesson, some old Rugers and Rem 40X so I'm pretty familiar with the look. This is just a lousy blue job. Even the polish job is lousy, looks like they finished with fine sandpaper & didn't buff at all.