S&W pinned barrel replacement ?

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David S.

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i am contemplating changing the barrel on my 629 to put a shorter barrel on it. but, it appears to have a blind hole pin holding it in place. how do i get that out without damaging the gun?
 
Are you talking about the pin going laterally across the top of the barrel at the front top of the frame? That is not a blind pin. You should be able to see both ends on either side of the barrel. The appropriate punch should easily move it. The punch for that is a cup tip punch available from Brownells. Using a flat tip punch will damage the pin.

Edit - Just screwing a barrel off and on is not the correct way to change a barrel. It may function or not depending on the specific tolerances of the parts, but almost certainly won't be optimum even if it does function. Don't know if you are aware of that or not. Barrel to cylinder gap and torqueing the barrel up to TDC are the most obvious issues, but there are others to consider. If the barrel face has to be cut back to correct barrel to cylinder gap, the forcing cone will need to be recut. If the barrel turns up too short, the shoulder will need to be turned to allow it to come up a little farther. Same if it turns up too far, only more will need to come off to allow nearly another full turn. The ejector rod might need to be trimmed in that case. How much end shake currently? If too much that needs to be corrected, too.
 
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Well, after reading the relies, i got out my eye loupe, and had a much closer look. it turns out you guys were correct, it is a thru pin. it must have been a little long, or driven a little deep, because it was blended almost perfectly flush. and yes, i do know about checking cylinder gap,and all the rest. a good friend (who passed a couple of years ago) taught me an awful lot about gun smithing. i have been doing repairs on my own guns for years. i would not call myself a gun smith, out of deep respect for their profession. and i know my own limits. i have had to visit the gunsmith several times when i felt uncomfortable, or needed a real professionals eye or hand. thank you for the quick replies. i really do miss my youthful eyes.
 
Sometimes you get lucky and the barrel unscrews with only hand pressure when the cross-pin is driven out, but I wouldn't count on it. So make sure you have the right tools for the job before starting, as a barrel change is a job that is easy to mess up and costly to correct if you do.

Jim.
 
Sometimes you get lucky and the barrel unscrews with only hand pressure when the cross-pin is driven out, but I wouldn't count on it. So make sure you have the right tools for the job before starting, as a barrel change is a job that is easy to mess up and costly to correct if you do.

As in barrel vise with form fit blocks and an action wrench that fully supports the frame around the area in front of the cylinder window. No hammer handles through the cylinder window allowed.
 
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