What would cause such catastrophic failure?

That’s a whole lot. Frame and internals survived but that’s about it. Purely guessing but I would say that it was a misalignment issue that was causing damage therefore the cylinder and barrel were replaced. I assume the lug referred to is the frame lug which could have been loose or too tight for the New cylinder to fully move, or perhaps if it were a recessed cylinder it would actually impact, or had it once been recessed it would be a lot of slop. Grips are a mystery, perhaps replaced as an apology for selling a bad gun to begin with?

Would need more details to say for sure but I would rule out ANY sort of catastrophic failure. If the cylinder and/or barrel were damaged from some sort of catastrophic failure, the frame would've blown the top strap.

Just sounds like a refurb to me.
"Hey, give me a new barrel and cylinder but don't you dare touch that sweet trigger".

Howdy

It may depend on when it was sent back.

I have a 455 Hand Ejector 2nd Model that was sent back to the factory at some point to be converted into a 44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model.

It was converted to 44 Special with a new barrel and cylinder. This was a fairly common at the time. The 455 revolvers had been sent to England during WWI. Some eventually showed back up on our shores and were converted to 44 Special because it was a more easily available cartridge than 44 Special.

I frequently see accounts here of repair tickets way more extensive than could reasonably be related to the original complaint. I think manufacturers must fire up the Parts Cannon as an appeasement.

"Replaced half the gun" sounds better than, "replaced and refit cylinder bolt".

No pics?

CraigC said:

Would need more details to say for sure but I would rule out ANY sort of catastrophic failure. If the cylinder and/or barrel were damaged from some sort of catastrophic failure, the frame would've blown the top strap.

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I agree with this. A catastrophic failure of the cylinder would probably ruin the frame.

I noticed that the moving parts, inside the frame, that reach and touch the cylinder, were not replaced. The crane was not listed as being replaced, which would matter, if a DA revolver. I would expect these to be affected, by a catastrophic failure of the cylinder.

Perhaps this was a work order for converting the revolver to fire a different cartridge?

How can we comment on something when we don't know what the 'catastrophic failure' was?

Perhaps, this work was to restore a frankengun, or one otherwise botched by an attempt at gunsmithing, to factory specifications?

Seems like a catastrophic failure would blow the top strap. You'd need a whole new gun. I'm thinking perhaps an overhaul or refurbishment ?

orpington said:

I have no idea what the failure was. I just know that this work was done in 1929 after being sent back to Smith & Wesson by a Tennessee constable.

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Then all of this is pointless.

A SWHS letter would say what the original configuration was and a caliber change would be obvious.

I sure hope some more information is forthcoming. As for me, I've read through this thread and have no Idea what is going on. Apparently there's a revolver involved, and a Smith &Wesson. Beyond that, I'm in the dark.

Bob Wright

Howdy

First off, any Triple Lock is worth investigating further.

It sounds like you have already answered my first question, it sounds like you have gotten it lettered. These days there are actually 2 separate requests for letters.

What used to be called a Factory Letter is these days called a Letter of Authenticity. I suspect that is what you have. These letters typically give a bit of history about the model of firearm, then tell specifics about yours such as the features it had when it shipped and where it shipped. Sometimes a Factory Letter will give more information, I have sometimes gotten a bit more than outlined above.

Now there is also Historical Letter. A different group takes the information from your Letter of Authenticity and searches digital files for any information pertaining to your revolver. They state up front that it is only for revolvers that shipped between 1920 and 1966. So yours may not be included. But perhaps there is information about the work done in 1929.

Here is a link to the site which lists both types of letters. It appears to me that if they don't find anything when you ask for the Historical Letter, you will not be charged anything.

http://www.swhistoricalfoundation.com/info.html


You could also post your question on the S&W Forum. There are some very knowledgeable folks there who may be able to shed some light on your questions.

This link should take you directly to the section relating to Hand Ejectors made between 1896 and 1961.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/?s=8968fd1810cbe3e2c42919ff9ddd0480

Lastly, I would be a bit reluctant to characterize the repairs done because something catastrophic happened to your Triple Lock. It could be a simple explanation of a lot of wear, or something similar.

If the cylinder blew up, the frame would most likely have been damaged.

From my standpoint, any Triple Lock is worth investigating further.

You are correct that when they first shipped in 1908 the Triple Lock was priced at $21. When the 44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model (without the third lock and without the large underbarrel lug) was introduced in 1915 because those features had been eliminated the price was reduced to $19. In those days, $2 was a significant amount of money. I just checked with an inflation calculator and it comes to $50.77 in 2020 dollars.

orpington said:

I have my suspicions, but let's see what others think. Subject in question was a revolver shipped back to manufacturer for repairs nearly 14 years after original ship date.

I will eliminate the obvious cause: Elmer Keith was unlikely to have fired one of his duplex loads in this one, but anything is possible!

Some "repairs" may just have been refurbishment. Replaced stocks, for example, may or may not have been necessary.

In any event, in the historical record, the following was replaced: Extractor, lug, stocks, cylinder, and barrel.

Not much else left to replace after all that...

Click to expand...

Where in the world are y'all getting your information? I read this post and cannot find anything about a Smith & Wesson, nor a Triple Lock.

Mind readers here abouts?

Bob Wright

Post #8 Bob


"The gun in question is a Triple Lock, shipped 1915, refurbished 1929. All markings are such that it is impossible to detect refurbishment--e.g., barrel markings and multiple serial numbers appear original. I'm guessing Smith & Wesson still had NOS parts on hand then. Not sure if the replacement stocks would have been pre War N frame with medallions or something else. They were not on it by the time I found it. Originally chambered in .44 Special and still is. Original cost of this firearm was $21 I think. Cost to refurbish in 1929 was $11.16."

Orpington,

So you are asking about a revolver that you can't post a pic of. A revolver that you don't own. A revolver that you are only speculating about. You've read something about it and have asked why would it have needed these changes?

"The gun in question is a Triple Lock, shipped 1915, refurbished 1929. All markings are such that it is impossible to detect refurbishment--e.g., barrel markings and multiple serial numbers appear original. I'm guessing Smith & Wesson still had NOS parts on hand then. Not sure if the replacement stocks would have been pre War N frame with medallions or something else. They were not on it by the time I found it. Originally chambered in .44 Special and still is. Original cost of this firearm was $21 I think. Cost to refurbish in 1929 was $11.16."

I assume you've spoken with your friend about it. I also assume that they told you all that they could.

"I do not own the revolver in question but have been familiar with it for over 20 years. The factory letter for it probably dates to the late 1990's. Letters relative to the refurbishment fail to indicate why a refurbishment was necessary. I could have posed this question on the Smith & Wesson Forum but elected to post to this one instead because I thought I would get a better response. The question was more about the cause of failure in a revolver that just happens to be a Smith & Wesson Triple Lock and I sought opinions from those familiar with revolvers that weren't necessarily made by Smith & Wesson."

You'll get a worse response.

So pretty much, you are asking folks to speculate on what could have happened to a revolver to cause this. To guess about it.
OK, here goes:

One day a fella who owned the New Century got good and drunk. He shouted out, "Folks! look at this fancy gun handling!" He tossed his gun in the air and went to catch it but missed. This put a gouge in the cylinder it also cracked the left grip panel. He picked it up and went to shooting. First round was a squib and stuck in the barrel. He fired two more rounds and this bulged the barrel. He cried like a baby. Next day he sent it in to S&W for repairs. When it came back he sold the gun. He swore off booze forever, joined the Salvation Army and spent the rest of his life ringing a bell for charity and sobriety.

Since we're guessing that's my guess.

^^^now that's funny!

An overloaded round that bulged the chamber and cracked the forcing cone causing the person to drop the gun and crack the grip. But it's just a guess and is as valid as any other speculative guess.

Convince the owner of the gun to try to pursue it as folks suggested above.