walker944
Member
What is involved with removing and replacing the barrel on a S&W 629? Any special equipment needed? I have no gunsmithing experience to speak of, but do have a reasonable amount of tinkering skills.
R&R of S&W 629 Barrel
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krs
Member
With good tinkering skills you'd be well advised to pay a gunsmith to do this for you.
On the face of it it's a simple screw-in swap if the new barrel is threaded to the size of the old, But the ejector rod cuts if any, the ejector rod keeper (for lack of a better word on the tip of my tongue), the barrel cone, the cylinder end gap, and the sight require specialized skills along with special tools. It's precision work and it is very easy to do incorrectly.
On the face of it it's a simple screw-in swap if the new barrel is threaded to the size of the old, But the ejector rod cuts if any, the ejector rod keeper (for lack of a better word on the tip of my tongue), the barrel cone, the cylinder end gap, and the sight require specialized skills along with special tools. It's precision work and it is very easy to do incorrectly.
walker944
Member
Thanks KRS. If that's your final answer, then I absolutely will not attempt this myself. That's entirely the purpose of asking...I had no idea whether it was unscrew and rescrew or what. Thanks for the sufficient detail.
krs
Member
If you want more detail, and instructive reading I'd recommend the book "The S&W Revolver - A Shop Manual" by Jerry Kuhnhausen. With that book you'll be well prepared to tackle the job if you're still game, and you'll be fully aware of the pitfalls you risk in the doing. You can find the Kuhnhausen manuals in Midway and Brownell's as well as other places, and it will be money well spent.
The first question is: what is wrong with the barrel? If it is something like throat erosion then setting back one thread maybe all it needs to be. You need a barrel vise and action wrench to break the barrel loose. You need a brownells revolver set back fixture, or a lathe to cut the shoulder back exactly one thread. You need a brownells barrel chamfering and plug gauge set to accurately cut the face off the barrel to the correct length to achieve proper barrel / cylinder gap and to cut the new forcing cone. Shortening the ejector rod and ejector rod shroud could probably be done with some files. Probably $700 to $1000 worth of tools to get the job done if you don't already have a pretty well equipped shop.
walker944
Member
Nothing wrong with the barrel. I was thinking of swapping to a different length. Any idea how much time it would take a competent smith, or what the job might cost? Any practicing gunsmiths here that could give their input?
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
By the time you buy a new barrel and pay someone to fit it, you would be money ahead to sell or trade the one you have for the one you want.
A used barrel has already been fitted to another frame and may or may not fit yours without setting it back a thread and cutting the ejector rod.
Altered S&W's hardly ever bring the money they would if unaltered.
rc
A used barrel has already been fitted to another frame and may or may not fit yours without setting it back a thread and cutting the ejector rod.
Altered S&W's hardly ever bring the money they would if unaltered.
rc
loadedround
Member
I think I can shed some light on this barrel exchange. Several years ago, I had inherited a pristine S&W 629 with a 6'' full lug barrel and did not like the balance. Always wanted a good short barreled 44 mag, so I went to Brownells and purchased a new 4'' half lug barrel for around 50-60.00. I brought the pistol and new barrel to my gunsmith and he replaced barrels and retimed the Smith for 60.00. I now have the revolver that I wanted and can switch back to the original barrel at any time( gunsmith intalled). 
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