Two S&W Airweights - Barrel Swap

[Kernel]

If I had two J-frame Airweights with different length barrels, one a J-magnum frame, and one a standard frame, is there any reason why a competent gun smith, with all the right tools, couldn't switch barrels between them? Is it ever advisable to rebarrel an aluminium J-frame?

 

[rcmodel]

Depends on a lot of things.

If either one is a recent version with the sleeved barrel shroud, nobody but S&W has the tooling to take one off or put it back on.

If they are both older guns?
Barrel shoulders were fitted to the frame to index the front sight properly, and the back end set the barrel/cylinder gap to the individual frame & cylinder.
And then the forcing cone cut.

They won't just swap out.

Why do you want to anyway?
A J-Frame is pretty much a J-Frame!

rc

 

[Kernel]

rcmodel, thanks for your reply. Actually they'd both be j-magnum frames. One mid '90's, the other of 2010 vintage. No two-piece barrels. Why? I want one of the new 2-1/8" barrels on my 638-2 prelock which has a 1-7/8" barrel.

One, I like the idea of a longer barrel - not only for performance, small though it might be, but the way it looks. Two, I want a real pinned black front sight - which I could replace with a tritium sight if I wanted. Three, I could get the longer ejector rod - for more positive ejection.

I was thinking about buying a used Airweight with the barrel I wanted, doing the swap, then reselling the donor gun. Basically, getting the barrel for free. But I don't think I'd save anything in the long run, since I'd have to pay someone to do the work on two guns.

How about buying a new barrel and all the parts from Brownells, and sending them and the gun back to S&W for a rebarrel?

I want to go from this:

To this:

Or maybe even this (3"):

 

[rcmodel]

How about Not Buying the barrel from Brownell's, and just contacting S&W directly.

They supply the barrels to Brownell's, and they will be no cheaper there.

S&W has a parts bin full of barrels that won't take much trying to find one that fits.

Myself?
There is a certain charm to those old barrels that took a lot of skill to make with the front sight milled right out of the block of steel the rest of the barrel was made from!!

Think about it!
Before you mess up another classic old S&W.

rc

 

[Kernel]

The 638 I have isn't that old. I'm not sure how much charm it's accumulated in 18 years. I have seen a gazzillion 642's with that exact same barrel. That said, prelock j-magnum 638's aren't very common. I think it had about a three year production run. And even then they're weren't crankin'em out like hot cakes.

I do plan to call S&W and get a quote both ways. I can get stuff from Brownells at the dealer discount price. At times it's a significant savings. Like 30%. I suspect Smith would charge me retail for the parts. However, sourcing it all from S&W would have advantages as well. Then I could always go with some third party smith who'd probably be cheaper than S&W.

 

[JRadice45]

I would be very careful about who you have work on your airweight. The flat portion of the frame just above the crane is very thin and may crack when the barrel is unscrewed from the frame - or if the job is not done with the proper frame wrench the frame may "spring" and no longer be a usable part. Too much risk, not enough reward if you ask me.

 

[BBBBill]

Caution is good. However, I've never had a problem using the correct frame wrench and barrel blocks. Never seen an S&W screwed in tight enough that a properly designed/installed wrench allowed the frame to spring or crack after an application of penetrating oil is allowed to soak overnight.