Master Blaster
Member
Ah the good old days before MIM, and sideplate locks, when there were real craftsman and real Quality control. Or maybe not so good.
My latest aquisition was a 629 no dash pinned and recessed. In recent years used Smith revolvers have become increasingly desirable, becuase there is a perception that S&W was perfect way back when. Well owning many older Smiths I can tell you that this is simply not true.
I discovered my 629 at a local shop along with half a box of ammo from 1980, the original owner probably fired 10 rounds from this gun before it sat in a drawer for 28 years. The gun was perfect, no wear at all, perfect topstrap, not a spec of the errosion that usually starts to happen after 50 rounds or so.
So last saturday I took the gun out to the range.
So I am shooting and the accuracy is excellent, but I notice that the trigger pull is hard on a couple cylinders. Now this gun has a tight barrel cylinder gap which I noticed in the shop.
A tight gap is a good thing usually. IN this case the cylinder is rubbing on the back of the barrel.
The gun has end shake bad enough that the cylinder is touching the barrel. This is how the gun left the factory in 1980, the yoke barrel is a hair too short. There is absolutely no signs that this gun has any wear from firing, and the yoke is a perfect fit to the frame with no play at all. I can push the cylinder back enough that the BC gap appears normal, significant rearward movement.
I have ordered .002 cylinder endshake bearings and it may take two of them to fix it.
So you see Smiths weren't perfect even in the good old days.
My latest aquisition was a 629 no dash pinned and recessed. In recent years used Smith revolvers have become increasingly desirable, becuase there is a perception that S&W was perfect way back when. Well owning many older Smiths I can tell you that this is simply not true.
I discovered my 629 at a local shop along with half a box of ammo from 1980, the original owner probably fired 10 rounds from this gun before it sat in a drawer for 28 years. The gun was perfect, no wear at all, perfect topstrap, not a spec of the errosion that usually starts to happen after 50 rounds or so.
So last saturday I took the gun out to the range.
So I am shooting and the accuracy is excellent, but I notice that the trigger pull is hard on a couple cylinders. Now this gun has a tight barrel cylinder gap which I noticed in the shop.
A tight gap is a good thing usually. IN this case the cylinder is rubbing on the back of the barrel.
The gun has end shake bad enough that the cylinder is touching the barrel. This is how the gun left the factory in 1980, the yoke barrel is a hair too short. There is absolutely no signs that this gun has any wear from firing, and the yoke is a perfect fit to the frame with no play at all. I can push the cylinder back enough that the BC gap appears normal, significant rearward movement.
I have ordered .002 cylinder endshake bearings and it may take two of them to fix it.
So you see Smiths weren't perfect even in the good old days.