Saving old S&W rimfire revolvers

[dtknowles]

I am on a mission to save old S&W revolvers. I am buying guns in non-working condition, missing parts and just parts in general and makes some working guns.

310680

These are model 1 1/2 32 rimfire S&W revolvers, some still incomplete but none was complete when I bought them. Three are fully complete and functioning shooters today.

Tim

[uscra112]

Much satisfaction to be found in that.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Worth the time just for seeing them work again.

Ammo for them is rough to find ?? I would think.

[uscra112]

Nope. Invest in a few reloadable .32 RF adaptors and you can shoot 'em for pennies. They do take a heeled-type bullet, so you will need a 299153 mould. A tiny amount of Bullseye, and a tin of "acorn blanks" and you're good. I've made a combination seater/crimper die for the Lyman tong tool, and I can reload 'em almost as fast as you can shoot 'em.

[rancher1913]

good on you. i picked up a broken pistol to fix up but it backfired on me, the needed parts cost more than than the pistol would be worth.

[uscra112]

good on you. i picked up a broken pistol to fix up but it backfired on me, the needed parts cost more than than the pistol would be worth.

That never stopped ME! :grin:

[pietro]

That never stopped ME! :grin:

True love.......... :2_high5:

[Scrounge]

good on you. i picked up a broken pistol to fix up but it backfired on me, the needed parts cost more than than the pistol would be worth.

If all else fails, there are these things called files. Personally, I'm building a machine shop in the back room. Benchtop machines, mostly. Moved another half a cubic yard of "stuff" out this past week, may have room to get to the mini-mill now. And the Atlas TH42 lathe. Possibly even the Lewis Shaper. I've got a couple of .32 RF Stevens boys rifles that need new breech blocks. One in .22LR needs an extractor fitted, too. Files, wet-or-dry sand paper, and a sheet of glass for lapping... There are lots of ways to do things, but remember that the guys who invented these things were often doing all the work with hand tools.

Bill

[Mk42gunner]

Accurate molds has a few different designs of heeled boolits meant for the .32 Long/ .32 Colt centerfires. They might be cheaper and will definitely be faster than looking around for long obsolete Ideal molds.

Robert

[uscra112]

Accurate molds has a few different designs of heeled boolits meant for the .32 Long/ .32 Colt centerfires. They might be cheaper and will definitely be faster than looking around for long obsolete Ideal molds.

Robert

Good to know. With Jack Harrison slow-walking his production due to health issues, I'd better look into casting my own.

[uscra112]

Accurate molds has a few different designs of heeled boolits meant for the .32 Long/ .32 Colt centerfires. They might be cheaper and will definitely be faster than looking around for long obsolete Ideal molds.

Robert

Good to know. With Jack Harrison slow-walking his production due to health issues, we'd better look into casting our own.

[dtknowles]

good on you. i picked up a broken pistol to fix up but it backfired on me, the needed parts cost more than than the pistol would be worth.

Yeah, some people think their parts are precious. I just wait until I can find what I need at a reasonable price. If I break even or even just don't lose a lot of money, that works for me. I am not selling them any time soon.

Tim

[dtknowles]

Worth the time just for seeing them work again.

Ammo for them is rough to find ?? I would think.

There is plenty of ammo but most people want $3 or $4 a round. I have about 800 rounds that I have bought for around $2 a round average. I think of it as an investment, I don't think they will be making anymore. I mostly shoot them with cartridge adapters anyway. Like USCRA112

[36g]

I appreciate your passion. I have a similar one for 1877 Colts.

Still trying to fill out the four frame sizes on the 1858 Remingtons...

[barnetmill]

Nope. Invest in a few reloadable .32 RF adaptors and you can shoot 'em for pennies. They do take a heeled-type bullet, so you will need a 299153 mould. A tiny amount of Bullseye, and a tin of "acorn blanks" and you're good. I've made a combination seater/crimper die for the Lyman tong tool, and I can reload 'em almost as fast as you can shoot 'em.

310741

[uscra112]

Of course you can also buy a kit to reprime the rims of the OEM ammo, but it's slow and fussy work.

https://22lrreloader.com/

[dtknowles]

Of course you can also buy a kit to reprime the rims of the OEM ammo, but it's slow and fussy work.

https://22lrreloader.com/

I can't seem to make it work. I have set it aside for a while so I don't get too frustrated.

Tim

[uscra112]

I'm stalled with my kit, too. Finally got a scraper tool made that seems to do a decent job of cleaning out the rims, but haven't accumulated enough spent cases to justify mixing up a batch of the compound. Never intended to use it for anything but .25 Stevens and .32 RF, and my other options are working so well that the 22lrreoader kit is dormant. I just mentioned it in case someone with more patience cares to carry the process to completion.

[LAGS]

Years ago when at a gun show.
A lady had six old revolvers that were in poor shape and missing a lot of parts.
The lady said they came out of her friends Bar Restaurant off the walls.
She said they were disabled for display only.
She asked what I was going to do with them.
I told her ,Shoot Them.
She said , You can't.
We took them to five gunsmiths and they said you can't find the parts you need.
I told her, That's OK.
I will make the parts they need and get them shooting.
I got 5 of the six shooting again.
They needed things like a hammer.
Or a trigger and lots of springs.
On a couple I had to reline the barrels from .32 down to .22 LR.
To tell the truth.
All the work didn't bring the to the point where I could sell them and make money.
But the practice for that kind of work, I was able to learn lots of stuff and bank away the skill.

[uscra112]

A real gunsmith can (and will) make what he cannot buy. Like the old German gunsmiths who were required to make an entire rifle from scratch as their final exam after years of apprenticeship.

[LAGS]

I do not consider myself a Gunsmith.
I am a Firearms Recycler

[uscra112]

Befits a man to be modest.

[toot]

There is plenty of ammo but most people want $3 or $4 a round. I have about 800 rounds that I have bought for around $2 a round average. I think of it as an investment, I don't think they will be making anymore. I mostly shoot them with cartridge adapters anyway. Like USCRA112

sorta like 41 CAL. rim fire.

[toot]

310741

where do you buy the 32 CAL, RIM FIRE adapters? and can they be reloaded with out using healed heads?

[dtknowles]

where do you buy the 32 CAL, RIM FIRE adapters? and can they be reloaded with out using healed heads?

I got some from www.hc-collection.com. They were very nice, better than the ones I made. I make mine from 32 acp and 32 S&W long brass.

I don't know what a healed head is but I use these with #3 ramset nail set blanks. If I could find #2's I would use them. #3's are hotter than factory ammo. Kind of like a 32 rf long magnum. Other shooters use acorn blanks and a small powder charge. Has its advantages.

Tim

[dtknowles]

sorta like 41 CAL. rim fire.

I got another 41 rf round today along with 8 ea. 38 rf long rounds from a GB auction, along with 200+ rounds of various stuff, some very cool and some mundane. All and all, I am pretty happy with the haul. Average price was $0.75 per round. What do you think a 142 year old Bennet primed 45-70 round is worth? I got one of those in the deal.

311122

newest 41, 38 long, the 45-70 and a Spencer blank

[Cris T]

It looks like I'm gonna have to start swaging some 32 rimfire boolits. This is my recent foray into 38 rimfire: Yes this is me.

https://youtu.be/SSR00FQZraM

[uscra112]

where do you buy the 32 CAL, RIM FIRE adapters? and can they be reloaded with out using healed heads?
Jack Harrison
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/972311445
He also has the correct heeled bullets. And a little tutorial in the listing.
He's told me that he's slowing down due to health issues, so don't wait.

No, you can't reload .32 rimfire or .32 Colt centerfire with anything but the correct heel-type bullets.

I do not recommend using nailgun loads, as they expand too much to make punching them out easy. This shortens the life of the adaptor. I use "acorn blanks" and a pinch (1.0 to 1.5 grains) of Bullseye.
More expensive than nailgun loads but worth it.
Acorn blanks are sold by https://www.airgundepot.com/6mm-crimped-blanks-100-qty.html
or
https://www.gundogsupply.com/walther-22-cal-6mm-acorn-blank.html

[Rusty Goose]

I was searching for parts today and ran across this site.

https://everygunpart.com/handgun-kits/smith-wesson-4th-model-32-revolver-mltskh-huao-00.html

They have several "parts kits" S&W .32's (pricey).
It looks as though they sell the parts of guns with destroyed frames. They seem pretty proud of their bits, but if you need it...

Sorry if you were already aware of this site.

[toot]

I got some from www.hc-collection.com. They were very nice, better than the ones I made. I make mine from 32 acp and 32 S&W long brass.

I don't know what a healed head is but I use these with #3 ramset nail set blanks. If I could find #2's I would use them. #3's are hotter than factory ammo. Kind of like a 32 rf long magnum. Other shooters use acorn blanks and a small powder charge. Has its advantages.

Tim

healed bullet heads are the same as 22 CAL lead heads. the bullet head base sets inside of the case mouth, and the foreword end of it catches the riffling. hope this helps ?.

[dtknowles]

healed bullet heads are the same as 22 CAL lead heads. the bullet head base sets inside of the case mouth, and the foreword end of it catches the riffling. hope this helps ?.

Laugh, we are talking different languages. Bullets are not heads, the head is the closed end of the cartridge case. I am familiar with healed bullets. It was mentioned that they are required. I would suggest instead they are preferred. Hollow based bullets can be used instead. I make and use them use healed bullets. Bullets are just one component is a cartridge. Cartridge cases are often called "brass" or case, they have a head and a mouth and some have rims, extractor grooves, shoulders, primer pockets, etc.

I have heard bullets being called heads but it did not ring a bell with me in your message. I don't like calling bullets heads, it causes confusion because a bullet is a bullet, it is the projectile and can be confused with the head of the cartridge.

Tim

[uscra112]

How do you heal a bullet? Medicated lube? :groner:

Don't get any on the heel of the bullet.:veryconfu

[Rockindaddy]

Have a local guy that shoots 32 rim fires in his old single shot rifles and S&W revolver. He resizes the empties and mixes up his own home brew priming mix. The priming mix looks like toothpaste' He pre measures the small gob and somehow inserts it into a fired rim fire case that has been cleaned. The primed case gets spun at 3400 rpms. The spun case gets to dry overnight. The primed case with the dried priming mix gets loaded normally. He casts and sizes his own boolits. Have yet to see the process but was showing me the ammo. He collects single shot rim fire guns was showing me the loaded cartridges. The only thing he said you have do is to make sure the previously fired case is inserted so the firing pin does not strike the previously struck dent in the rim. He said they try to keep the firing pin hits close together so the shells can be reloaded. Being an old reloader for many years and even plucking Berdan primers out of old foreign black powder brass cases with an RCBS Berdan decapper to be able to reload them and shoot em again; I was dumfounded looking at these reloaded rim fire 32's !!!!!!

[elmacgyver0]

I am no gunsmith, but I did make a .50 caliber rifle, well not the barrel, it shoots the 50 BMG cartridge.
I guess I had better come clean, I didn't make the picatinny rail, I bought that, and I didn't make the scope either.
Everything else I fabricated.
It may not be the prettiest, but it does work.

[dtknowles]

How do you heal a bullet? Medicated lube? :groner:

Don't get any on the heel of the bullet.:veryconfu

That is excellent.

I see now that you understood what he was asking and not only the head thing but the healed vs. heeled thing.

My hat is off to you.

Tim

[dtknowles]

Have a local guy that shoots 32 rim fires in his old single shot rifles and S&W revolver. He resizes the empties and mixes up his own home brew priming mix. The priming mix looks like toothpaste' He pre measures the small gob and somehow inserts it into a fired rim fire case that has been cleaned. The primed case gets spun at 3400 rpms. The spun case gets to dry overnight. The primed case with the dried priming mix gets loaded normally. He casts and sizes his own boolits. Have yet to see the process but was showing me the ammo. He collects single shot rim fire guns was showing me the loaded cartridges. The only thing he said you have do is to make sure the previously fired case is inserted so the firing pin does not strike the previously struck dent in the rim. He said they try to keep the firing pin hits close together so the shells can be reloaded. Being an old reloader for many years and even plucking Berdan primers out of old foreign black powder brass cases with an RCBS Berdan decapper to be able to reload them and shoot em again; I was dumfounded looking at these reloaded rim fire 32's !!!!!!

I have tried to do that, I need to invest more effort until I can make it work since it can be done. I have only had a couple that went bang. I have a couple dozen empties just begging for priming.

I know my compound goes bang as I have reloaded both Berdan and Boxer primers with almost 100% success.

I hydraulicly decap my Berdan brass so that I don't damage the primer cups.

Tim

[Cris T]

Commercial rim fire bullets are both heeled and hollow based. The hollow base facilitates the heel (smaller diameter that fits into the cartridge case) to expand onto the rifling;
As in these pictures of 22 Long Rifle show. They were heeled when loaded into the cartridge but expanded to the rifling because of the hollow base:
311187

[uscra112]

I think the trick to successful repriming is to make a scraper that will clean out the fired rims. Mine is a tooth tediously ground on the end of an old mini-hacksaw blade, which was tempered enough that I could bend it 90 degrees, and then set about the grinding. Spoiled first try, but got the second try right. I'll post a pic if I can get my little camera to do a decent closeup. The tooth is mighty small.

As I posted earlier, this is as far as I got. Not enough spent cases to justify mixing up a batch.

[Cris T]

I think the trick to successful repriming is to make a scraper that will clean out the fired rims. Mine is a tooth tediously ground on the end of an old mini-hacksaw blade, which was tempered enough that I could bend it 90 degrees, and then set about the grinding. Spoiled first try, but got the second try right. I'll post a pic if I can get my little camera to do a decent closeup. The tooth is mighty small.

As I posted earlier, this is as far as I got. Not enough spent cases to justify mixing up a batch.

I made a little tiny tool that looks like a very long stemmed car valve. The protruding end has slits or serrations on it I made it to fit into the rim. A twist or two cleans them out pretty well.

[uscra112]

I made a little tiny tool that looks like a very long stemmed car valve. The protruding end has slits or serrations on it I made it to fit into the rim. A twist or two cleans them out pretty well.

Like a little saw with a long arbor. Good.

[dtknowles]

I am pretty sure I am getting the rim cleaned out well but I will redouble my efforts, I have a dental pick and a T-pin bent on the end that I use. I will use my borescope to check the cases next time I try.

[dtknowles]

Not a authentic Smith and Wesson but a British Copy of a Model 2 Old Army. I got it for what I consider a good price. It did not need repair and some of the engraving is still visible.

311229

Tim