Pistolsmithing: Revolver Machinations
Gunsmithing Tips
A 6" S&W Model 19, which has been shortened to 4.5", and the reprofiled muzzle end.
Short But Sweet
A short-barreled revolver can be just the right thing. But some revolvers are not necessarily made to the length a shooter might consider sweet for his needs. Cutting a barrel can seem easy — just hack off a few inches. Not so fast. There is a lot going on at the business end of that barrel. There is the crown, which must be perfectly concentric to the bore, the recessed chamfer or bevel to prevent crown damage and the front sight block.
To do the proper job, the barrel must be removed from the frame, this requires full disassembly of the firearm, which will allow the frame to be held in an “action block.” The block allows the barrel to be twisted out from the frame without “stretching” the frame. Letting the frame get twisted out of shape can be fatal to a revolver. I use a Brownells’ action block and wrench to remove the barrel. Most barrels are set in pretty tight or pinned in place.
Cutting off the end of the barrel is the easiest part; it can be done with a hack saw, or in my shop, I use a horizontal band saw. Once the barrel is cut, it must be reprofiled and crowned. That work is done on a lathe, holding an irregularly shaped barrel in the lathe and getting it to spin true takes a bit of time and lots of testing.
Once all that is done, the next phase is a front sight. There are a few choices here. For my project, the client wants an interchangeable front sight similar to the factory S&W DX setup he had. For this, I’ll be using a sight block sold by Hamilton Bowen at Bowen Classic Arms. This base requires milling a precision slot on the top of the barrel and a screw hole drilled and tapped. The base allows for quick interchanging of the front blade from fiber optic to steel to a gold dot or other choices.
Dave Laubert’s custom-made sight replacement for an S&W revolver
to keep the traditional look after barrel shortening. The sight base was
made to fit the revolver’s flat top, which was tapered.
Keeping It Classic
Dave Laubert at Defensive Creations in Ohio went another route as I was working on my project. Dave was making a custom front sight block to mimic the original fixed sight on an S&W revolver for his client. Making a complex sight out of a block of steel like this takes about two-and-a-half hours of machine time and a number of different cutters to get all the angles and radii right. Once the sight block is sculpted, it needs to be regulated for height, serrated, and then silver soldered in place. Dave used low-temperature (400º) silver solder to secure the sight on top of the barrel. The barrel can then be blued to match the frame.
The sight repair prior to serrations and cleanup
using the Brownells Sight Repair kit.
Filling The Void
Many revolver sights like S&Ws come with a plastic front sight insert in red or orange. The insert is molded into the front sight at the factory. Over time, they crack or break. This leaves a large void on the front sight. To fill it, I use a Brownells two-part product that is a powder with a liquid activator. I make a dam out of a cut-up aluminum soda can. Two small strips about 1/4″ wide will be clamped on the side of the sight to mold the liquid paste once mixed and poured into the void. The product comes in a few color choices. Once it dried overnight, I remove the clamp and dams. The new material needs to be filed flush with the existing sight. Next, I use a checkering file to add serrations to the new orange blade.
Unfortunately, this product is no longer available from Brownells, so I have been experimenting with a new method. I tie fishing flies on days off. One product I use in fly tying is a UV light-activated epoxy that comes in a variety of colors. I have been using it for a while in “dot” sights like GLOCK and almost every other manufacturer. It cures in seconds with a UV flashlight and is resistant to all the cleaners I have tried. The epoxy is rock hard, but for a revolver sight it required a number of layers to fill the 0.100″ deep slot of the S&W dovetail. The UV resin is called Solarez and can be bought at a number of online retailers. Some kits come with a small UV flashlight. I find the colors are actually brighter if a white underlayer is used first. I think this technology has a lot of uses in gunsmithing; just think of all those small painted dots used in sights that fall out.
For more info: Brownells.com, BowenClassicArms.com, Solarez.com, DefensiveCreations.com and Smith-Wesson.com
