New Life for a Basket-Case I-Frame .32
Aug 17, 2017 23:15:52 GMT -5
ezekiel38, gunzo, and 8 more like this
Post by tinkerpearce on Aug 17, 2017 23:15:52 GMT -5
Last year I spotted a rather ugly I-Frame in the case at Pintos for $125. I was told it had timing issues, a lot of end-shake and there was some pitting in the bore. I looked it over and it was as I had been told, but for $125? Why not?
This was the good side...
First things first I detail-stripped the gun and cleaned a century of gunk out of the mechanism, which actually solved the timing problem. I cleaned the bore with powder solvent and bronze-wool and most of the 'pitting' vanished; it was just unusually stubborn dirt. There are still traces of pitting but it's pretty light and doesn't really concern me.
Next I shimmed the cylinder which took out the endplay but then the barrel-gap looked like you could park a motorcycle in it. OK then, nothing for it. I made a frame-wrench out of oak and clamped it down good and removed the barrel. I know the correct method would be to turn down the shoulder of the barrel but I only recently got a metal-lathe and wasn't very confident. A friend said they used to fit barrels by grinding the frame at S&W, and I have great confidence in my grinding skills so I tried it. Worked a treat- I wound up with a .0035 cylinder-gap.
I attacked what was left of the finish with abrasives wrapped around blocks and rods. I polished it carefully with the side-plate in place (it rounds the edges of the side-plate if you polish it separately.) I finished it with Van's Instant Blue. My solution was getting pretty long in the tooth but it produced a vintage look I rather like. The stock handle is pretty tiny and my hands aren't so I got a chunk of 6065 aircraft aluminum and made a T-grip style adapter. It works, but I am considering making an oversize target grip for it since it's basically a range toy.
I loaded up some 96gr. LRNFPs on top of 3.3 Grains of Unique and the gun loves 'em. The DA trigger isn't exceptional for an old Smith, which means by modern standards it's still pretty good. I like the way it turned out and I learned a lot working on it. $125 well spent.
Rapid-fire at ten yards. The sights are miserable; I'm considering getting a Wondersight for it.
This was the good side...
First things first I detail-stripped the gun and cleaned a century of gunk out of the mechanism, which actually solved the timing problem. I cleaned the bore with powder solvent and bronze-wool and most of the 'pitting' vanished; it was just unusually stubborn dirt. There are still traces of pitting but it's pretty light and doesn't really concern me.
Next I shimmed the cylinder which took out the endplay but then the barrel-gap looked like you could park a motorcycle in it. OK then, nothing for it. I made a frame-wrench out of oak and clamped it down good and removed the barrel. I know the correct method would be to turn down the shoulder of the barrel but I only recently got a metal-lathe and wasn't very confident. A friend said they used to fit barrels by grinding the frame at S&W, and I have great confidence in my grinding skills so I tried it. Worked a treat- I wound up with a .0035 cylinder-gap.
I attacked what was left of the finish with abrasives wrapped around blocks and rods. I polished it carefully with the side-plate in place (it rounds the edges of the side-plate if you polish it separately.) I finished it with Van's Instant Blue. My solution was getting pretty long in the tooth but it produced a vintage look I rather like. The stock handle is pretty tiny and my hands aren't so I got a chunk of 6065 aircraft aluminum and made a T-grip style adapter. It works, but I am considering making an oversize target grip for it since it's basically a range toy.
I loaded up some 96gr. LRNFPs on top of 3.3 Grains of Unique and the gun loves 'em. The DA trigger isn't exceptional for an old Smith, which means by modern standards it's still pretty good. I like the way it turned out and I learned a lot working on it. $125 well spent.
Rapid-fire at ten yards. The sights are miserable; I'm considering getting a Wondersight for it.
