Dan Wesson Help

[Mark Terry]

I acquired a DW .357 with a 4" barrel last week. It was offered as a "truck gun" at a low price.

The story is that it belonged to a gentleman who purchased it (in the 1970s) new as a gun to keep in his truck and was discovered in his truck after he'd passed away. Apparently, it was discovered some time after the gentleman had passed.

At some point, the gun was exposed to moisture and a significant amount of rust had found a home on the gun. The heir decided that steel wool would be a reasonable solution.

I got the thing home, did a rudimentary inspection and cleaning and shot it.

The first cylinder full got the sights adjusted, the second cut one ragged hole at 25 yards.

I have to keep it now. I need a barrel wrench /tool and any instructions I can get for detailed disassembly. If anyone has either or both, I'd appreciate a PM or email.

A couple of sessions with 600 grit seem to indicate it will never be free of pitting and either a 'homeboy' bluing or parkerizing job is in order. I'd forgotten how sweet the DWs are. I have an 8" 44 Mag that I don't shoot enough (the barrel wrench / tool for it won't work on the .357).

While we're on the subject, can anyone enlighten me on the difference between the Monson guns and the subsequent DWs? I HAD to go browse GunBroker and I see some strange looking DWs including some that seem to have the barrel shroud nut external (?) and pieces on the shrouds that apparently index on the lower portion of the frames. Both of mine are Monson guns.

Pictures may be forthcoming but I wouldn't want to run the risk of nauseating the members with pictures in the current state....

[taffin]

THE ORIGINAL DW .357s HAD THE BARREL/SHROUD NUT EXPOSED.

[Mark Terry]

Thanks, John.

I found a link that was helpful:
www.notpurfect.com/main/dwrev.htm

I heard or read that the Palmer guns were thought to be less well made and having no experience was wondering if others had some experience. The guns I'd seen pictures of with the exposed barrel nut and longer / deeper shrouds where they met the frame are all apparently early Monson guns.

[Charger Fan]

Sounds like you probably have a Model 15-2. That is, by assuming that you've got the more modern shroud design & not the internal nut "Porkchop" style shroud.
Here's a picture comparison on shroud styles... >>>LINK

For the money, the absolute best barrel wrench I've found is made by this guy, in his machine shop. >>>LINK

Here is a disassembly guide for ya. >>>LINK
And here's a good thread on how to slick up the action, but more importantly, shows good internal shots in case you lose your way. >>>LINK

On the subject of the differences in Monson, Palmer & Norwich...Monson & Norwich are generally considered the best. Although personally, I haven't noticed that much of a problem with the Palmer guns, but that's just me.
Monson was the original plant, from 1970 thru about 1990.
When they opened the Palmer plant in (1992, I believe), they brought over all the tooling from the Monson facility...only by now, a lot of that tooling was wearing out. As a result, there were some QC problems & the reputation of the DW brand suffered.
When Bob Serva bought the company in 1996 & opened the Norwich plant, he also brought in a bunch of state of the art tooling, CNC machines, etc. The Norwich guns are probably the best of them all, from the QC standpoint...although I have yet to own a Norwich gun, so I'm just assuming in that regard.

Now get that baby all prettied up & show it off in the DW picture thread!

[Mark Terry]

Thanks, very much, Charger Fan.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

[needsmostuff]

I haven't taken one apart for a while but I do remember the abstruse ,never to be disclosed secret, known only to the DW faithfull.
First remove the grip, then you remove the sideplate hexhead screws and sideplate. The longest sideplate screw (top I think) is then screwed into the bottom of the grip stub to capture the main or hammer spring and pull it down. Then all the guts can be removed.
Strange/Weird/Pretty cool huh.
Seems like when you remove the sideplate the hand can fall out easy so try to remove it slowly and get a look at it first.
Strange DW kink. Loose sideplate screws can make the cylinder not time correctly.
After you get the hammer spring captured it's not rocket science but there is some weird coil springs so pay attention and have fun.

[Mark Terry]

Thanks for the secret tip. I hope to have time this weekend to work on it a little.

I did manage to find a barrel removal wrench/ tool. It was very expensive but it came with another model 15 and 4 barrels.

[Mark Terry]

Okay guys. It's becoming obvious that not all of the pitting will be removed but it's progress.

I've run into a little problem. These part numbers are from the DWA manual drawing. Part 16 is the "rear sight retaining pin". Part 23 is the "Latch retaining screw" except on mine it's a pin very similar to Part 16. These are 1/16" mild steel pins.

Part 16 was removed without fanfare but 23 was stuck big time and was eventually drilled out.

My question is where to find a replacement for 23. Brownell's has roll pins (like 080-519-375) but not simple mild steel pins (that I can find). These may be what I need but I'm thinking these are hardened steel pins.

If the weather is decent, we'll blue tomorrow (and our weather is still mcuh better than those recent pictures posted).

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[wickerbill]

Have you tried Lowe's or Home Depot?
Bill

[Mark Terry]

Dec 19, 2009 22:22:37 GMT -5 wickerbill said:

Have you tried Lowe's or Home Depot?
Bill

Obviously not. I should have thought of that. Sometimes I overthink or over complicate these things.

Thanks

[Mark Terry]

After a weekend of work, disassembling, cleaning, more cleaning, sanding, polishing, blueing, and reassembly, I have pictures. In my haste I didn't take "before" pictures and those that follow are the ones the seller sent. They didn't do it justice.

Before:



After: (aplogies for the photography)




It's new brother (at the top with spare parts, came with the barrel wrench)


Now can somebody explain the difference between a model 14 and 15?? These shrouds are different, at least as far as the front sights:


It still needs more cleaning and polishing after the blueing but it'll be a good shooter, I think. I'll post more pictures later when I have some sunlight to work with.

By the way Bill, roll pins were as close as the local hardware. Thanks for the help.

[the priest]

Mark, There are four .357 models. Two earlier pork chop models were first and two in the updated style came later. The 11 and 12 came first. The 14 and 15 came later. the lower number in each group, 11 and 14, were the fixed sighted variations.

[the priest]

btw, your barrel removal tool will eventually break as the plastic will give way. you may want to have one made or buy an upgrade to have a working original. DW eventually went to a more solid door knob looking wrench that solved the problem. have fun. looks like you found a nice shooter.

[Charger Fan]

Dec 21, 2009 21:01:57 GMT -5 Mark Terry said:

Now can somebody explain the difference between a model 14 and 15?? These shrouds are different, at least as far as the front sights:

When the Model 15-2 originally came along in 1976, they had pinned front sights. By late '77 or early '78, they came out with the cool interchangeable front sight system. Other than the different front sights & hardware, the barrels & shrouds should be identical.
Oh, I almost forgot...the later 15-2's came in 3 shroud configurations...standard, vented & vent heavy. "Vents" are little slots cut in the top rib horizontally, sorta like a Colt Python. I can't tell in your pics, if you've got vents in the PP set.

The Model 14 is a fixed sight service model. They have a matte blued finish & shorter, non-interchangeable front sights.
The Model 15 is an adjustable sight target model. Those have a deep gloss blued finish...some were available in nickel.
Sometime around January 1983, they introduced a stainless version in each model to the lineup.

You've got some good looking DW's there, looks like you did a nice job on the bluing too!

*EDIT* Looks like I'm a slooow typer tonight, The Priest beat me to the punch. ;D