New to Me Smith 64

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Sovblocgunfan

Sovblocgunfan

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Hi, starting a thread about a Model 64 I picked up from the FFL yesterday. First pic is how I bought it. Second pic is ready for a deep cleaning. When it arrived it wasn’t assembled properly, and the trigger and hammer were locked up.

Gun looks heavily used, but is in pretty good shape under the carbon and other gunk.

This is my first shooter revolver, and I thought it would be a great way to learn them. I like tinkering with my Auto 5’s, and I have a Kuhnhausen book on the way, so I should be pretty well able to put this one back into service.

92253F77-D3D8-4326-98FF-54FB0978686B.jpeg FBB8EBEB-65A8-4B85-9A9D-EC63FC8A772B.jpeg
 
It is now much cleaner than before. Not perfect, but reasonable. I also put it back together and discovered that the cylinder doesn’t cycle with every trigger pull. Maybe one in 8 pulls, it seems like the hand wants to take a break. I can also replicate the problem at will by lying the gun on its side and pulling the trigger.
 
Sovblocgunfan said:
it seems like the hand wants to take a break.
Click to expand...

Try pulling the trigger with the muzzle down and with the muzzle up. If muzzle-down fixes the problem (while the cylinder never rotates when the gun is muzzle up), I suspect the spring that engages the hand (inside the trigger) isn't engaged, so the hand is just flapping back and forth.

Matter of fact, maybe I'm missing it, but I don't even see the spring in your pile of parts. Maybe it's still in the body of the trigger? If the top pic is how you bought it, it's possible the spring ended up in someone's shag carpet when they pulled the hand from the trigger :confused:
 
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MrBorland said:
Try pulling the trigger with the muzzle down and with the muzzle up. If muzzle-down fixes the problem (while the cylinder never rotates when the gun is muzzle up), I suspect the spring that engages the hand (inside the trigger) isn't engaged, so the hand is just flapping back and forth.

Matter of fact, maybe I'm missing it, but I don't even see the spring in your pile of parts. Maybe it's still in the body of the trigger? If the top pic is how you bought it, it's possible the spring ended up in someone's shag carpet when they pulled the hand from the trigger :confused:
Click to expand...

The hand won’t stay in its little window consistently unless the gun is pointed straight and upright, or down. And i think you and i are aligned.

The spring is there, and I believe you are right! I discovered this THR post that suggests exactly how to deal with it.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/s-w-reassembly-problem-hand-torsion-spring.35891/

The spring is already in the trigger assembly. I just missed that i was supposed to make it engage with the hand.
 
MrBorland said:
Until you get the Kuhnhausen manuel, here's a nice overview; it's in the Reference Library of Revolver Wisdom, stickied at the top of the page

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ect-repairs-and-reassembly-discussion.397027/
Click to expand...

Thank ya! I will be using it. I opened the gun again and fixed my problem. The hand behaves every time now. I still need to check for timing and cylinder alignment, and do a couple of other checks, but I suspect this ol’ boy is ready for the range. Also, will be doing a bead blast job on it to address the cosmetic issues, and maybe do a little trigger pull enhancement once I digest some more Kuhnhausen.

Not bad for $190 delivered and transferred.
 
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I got “handyman discount” i guess.

Been wanting a revolver for awhile, and most of the ones in my budget had issues. I figured this one was the lowest risk. Looks like all it needed was a good cleaning and correct assembly. Range time will reveal the rest.

I did have to make a little pin for the cylinder release bolt, as it was missing. Cost me 5 minutes and a cheap drill bit.

Here it is put together and functional, with some grips I bought for it (thanks to cabelas gift card).

EE5C3273-4B73-4BAA-9316-A4AED780798D.jpeg
 
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Sovblocgunfan said:
I got “handyman discount” i guess.

Been wanting a revolver for awhile, and most of the ones in my budget had issues. I figured this one was the lowest risk. Looks like all it needed was a good cleaning and correct assembly. Range time will reveal the rest.

I did have to make a little pin for the cylinder release bolt, as it was missing. Cost me 5 minutes and a cheap drill bit.

Here it is put together and functional, with some grips I bought for it (thanks to cabelas gift card).

View attachment 823018
Click to expand...
You got a heckuva deal on a great wheel gun!

My first handgun was an LEO trade in M681 (which I would still have if the kids hadnt needed to eat and stuff back in '08)- then I had a few Colts and Rugers, all of which were nice, but the Smiths are still my favorites.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
You got a heckuva deal on a great wheel gun!

My first handgun was an LEO trade in M681 (which I would still have if the kids hadnt needed to eat and stuff back in '08)- then I had a few Colts and Rugers, all of which were nice, but the Smiths are still my favorites.
Click to expand...

Dang kids! I have other handguns, and do have another revolver (won’t shoot that one). I do hope this one is one that the family can shoot, and I look forward to assigning it to house duty, truck duty, camp duty, or whatever else I want to do with it.

I do want a little better holster for it. I found a bianchi accumold in a pawnshop bargain bin for $9, just to have something to stick the gun in, but I can’t use it for anything serious.
 
Thanks for that. As it sits, it’s a beater that looks bad, but generally checks out as a good shooter. I may send to them, but would like to see what I can do with it first.

I plan to go shoot on Thursday or Friday. Gonna be fun!
 
Robar out of Phoenix is also good for gunsmith & their NP3 finish is suppose to be good. Also Cylinder & Slide, or Sand Burr Gunsmithing are recommended by others with real credentials beyond internet warriors. Disclaimer I have no personal experience nor do
I work for any gunsmith. I’m just a guy that has a dream of getting a few old beat up S&W revolvers worked over by the masters before they pass. Tuning a S&W revolver is a dying art simply due to low demand & sales numbers of revolvers. Call me old school but I love shooting an old S&W with no Lawyer Lock on the side.

https://robarguns.com/custom-firearm-finishes/

http://www.sandburrgunranch.com/gunsmithy.php

http://www.cylinder-slide.com/

Still the most economical is still going to be the S&W Performance Center. Others will chime in on the topic.
 
Sovblocgunfan said:
I do want a little better holster for it. I found a bianchi accumold in a pawnshop bargain bin for $9, just to have something to stick the gun in, but I can’t use it for anything serious.
Click to expand...

Im a big fan of the bianchi "black widdow". Every one of my K or L frames have ridden in it at one point or another. They make a similar full coverage one that's reversible for cross draw of you want something even more flexible.

Black widdow seen here amongst a pile-o-M19's
index.php


And in action with a 6" 686...
index.php
 
I want! But I much prefer an open top, or a strap that goes between the butt and the trigger guard. The top break won’t do much for my ol’ DAO.

Do they have that as an option?
 
Sovblocgunfan said:
I want! But I much prefer an open top, or a strap that goes between the butt and the trigger guard. The top break won’t do much for my ol’ DAO.

Do they have that as an option?
Click to expand...

Here's a stock photo of the other one I recommend. The Model 7 Shadow II:
7_m.jpg
cyfxP9


Unfortunately, another thumb break style.

Im sure someone makes one without, although the Black widdow style may have insufficient retention. That style needs a thumb break I feel.
 
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Well done on the 64! Having the Kuhnhausen will come in handy. I've used his S&W book and 1911 book quite a bit. His section on MIM parts, beginning on page 186, is amusing to read. He was definitely not a fan.
 
Well, I think I’m going to the range at lunch today. Won’t have a lot of time, but will have enough time for a few cylinders just to see if the gun puts ‘em where I point ‘em. Report to follow.

Thanks for the holster recommendations. I’ll consider them. I’m also wondering if Mr. Hume has something to offer with the trigger guard thumb break (I like his stuff).

Mr. Kuhnhausen should be here today or tomorrow!

Here’s a pic I made for a different thread. Kinda cop-lookin, but shoulda put in an old multi-tool instead of the knife.
C468687E-EF66-4DBD-8B67-69593B1CC30E.jpeg
 
So I did get to the range to try out my new revolver. I went through 50 rounds without issue, on a standard B-27 target. Gun shot everything, no light strikes, ejection worked well, no brass got hung up in the cylinders. Here is my first cylinder of brass. All primer strikes looked like this:

0EB3D175-FA62-4EEB-9589-76CAE8A78C6B.jpeg

Here is my first try at three yards. I think the little flier here belongs to a 15-yard try off the right...:

12259AD3-469A-4A3F-9DA0-AECBF069FB79.jpeg

7 yards. There are 16 holes here, but should be 18. I jerked the trigger twice and put them off in the white:

0C8D2479-551E-44B9-820E-69DF19C57ABF.jpeg

My best 15-yard try here.

B041D29C-9C2B-4182-9B66-6CD528A2AB63.jpeg

Nervous about posting these, but this is my first revolver, it’s DAO, and it’s a new to me gun, so hoping y’all will be kind.

I think I got a pretty good shooter here. It’s a fun gun to shoot!!
 
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Nice gun. I own one that is pretty much just like it, including the factory DAO hammer. In my opinion, the only thing these guns really need is some paint on the front sight. I find that the plain stainless front sight disappears against the background under many lighting conditions. Of course, some of that may have to do with my eyesight, which is not great. I use Testor's enamel model paint on the sights, but nail polish works OK too.

I am happy to hear you did not have any misfires, and with a factory stock mainspring and strain screw, I would not expect any. But I do want to mention that you cannot use the primer indent on fired rounds to judge the power of the hammer strike. When a round ignites, the brass presses back against the firing pin and breach face with thousands of PSI of pressure. So the primer strike on fired rounds almost always appears quite good. If you ever get a misfire, you will probably find a much smaller mark on it. But that mark actually shows the impact of the hammer strike.
 
Thanks! Yes, what you wrote re: primer strikes does make sense to me-i dealt with light strikes in an Auto 5 once and saw the same thing you describe. Another of the reasons I took that photo was to show that they were also all centered in the primer.

You are right about the front sight. Given the lighting at the range it was very difficult for me to pick up and focus on it. I will definitely want to touch it up with some paint.
 
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