Latest Smithin' project............

[fred cook]

Some time ago, I bought an early Colt Army Special revolver chambered for the 32-20 round. The gun was in pretty good overall condition....... except that someone had filed the front sight almost completely off! Because of the ruined front sight, I wound up getting the piece for the minimum bid which was pretty low. Aside from being a Colt, the main reason that I wanted it was for the deluxe wood grips it was wearing. But, more on them later. Anyway, after thinking about the needed repair to the front sight, I finally decided to tackle the job myself. The first step was to finish filing the sight stub down to the base and then cutting a groove in the soon to be sight base.



The next step was to cut out a piece of steel to form into the sight itself. I first filed a
"keel" on the bottom to fit in the base slot and then cut and filed the piece into the shape of a sight.



The next step was to solder the new piece onto the base using some low silver content solder.



The sight was left tall intentionally so that a trip to the range would tell me how much to file off the top to bring the piece on target. It turned out that I needed to file off about 3/16". So, a trip back to the shop to do the filing, (hopefully) final shaping and some cold bluing is where it sits now.



One more trip to the range to verify the sight height and make any last minute small adjustments and the old Colt (circa 1913) will be back in business!

The grips. The grips that were on this Colt are a set of the deluxe checkered wood grips with the Colt emblems that both face forward. Colt only made this style of grip from about 1910 thru about 1920. And, since they were "optional" were pretty rare. Apparently most buyers in that day simply ordered or bought the guns with the standard black "gutta percha" grips, not being willing to pay an extra $2.50 for the nicer ones. These grips are also found as standard on the Officers Model Target Colt revolvers from that time.

[targa911S]

Damn son, yer gonna have a new profession soon...good job!

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by targa911S

Damn son, yer gonna have a new profession soon...good job!

I'll take that as high praise coming from a real g'smith! Funny thing, you never
know where your hobbies might take you!

[targa911S]

That is how it happened for me.. keep up the good work. Call or email me if I can be of any help.

[fred cook]

Since the replaced front sight pretty much spoils the collector value of this Colt, I have decided that it is going to be one of the pieces that gets to go to the range on a regular basis. Also, since I now have a milling machine, it would be easy to add an adjustable rear sight on this puppy. I have come to appreciate, even enjoy shooting this chambering in a revolver. Using a 100 grain bullet at about 1200 fps, it has almost as much muzzle energy as a 38 special with a good bit less felt recoil. Being a revolver, it is easy to keep up with the brass and 32-20 dies are pretty easy to find. I also have a Colt Police Positive (smaller frame gun) in this chambering so it will add to the shooting fun. And, who knows, someday I might even get a Winchester or a Colt Lightning Magazine Rifle in this round!

[Drdogface]

I'm not a Smitty but know a little. Aren't the front sights just silver soldered into a groove in the top of the bbl? Could you not have just heated that broken piece and removed it entirely...then put a new sight in the groove? You did do nice work..I'm just curious ..

Colt Lightning . Now you're talkin'.

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by Drdogface

I'm not a Smitty but know a little. Aren't the front sights just silver soldered into a groove in the top of the bbl? Could you not have just heated that broken piece and removed it entirely...then put a new sight in the groove? You did do nice work..I'm just curious ..

Colt Lightning . Now you're talkin'.

I think you are correct about the original sight being soldered into a curved slot in the barrel. I considered that, but decided that it would be easier to cut the slot and make a new front sight with a flat lower edge than trying to replicate the curve on the Colt sight. Besides, I don't like shooting with the Colt half moon front sight and had decided to make it a more "modern" shape to help my eyes focus easier! Since I was going to use a different shape front sight anyway, making it sit in/on the base of the original sight did not seem to matter much. If I ever decide to make it "stock", I will buy another barrel with a good original sight and fit it to the frame.

Yep, I've been lusting after a Colt Pump rifle for some time now! Would prefer a medium frame model in 32-20, 38-40 or 44-40 but would consider others if something became available for a good price!

[fred cook]

I mentioned this in another post, but here is my latest shop toy. It is a 2 hp vertical mill with a table that will move about 10" in the Y axis and about 20" in the X axis. The quill can be used either in the micrometer mode or as a normal drill press. Quite the toy and I will be learning how to use it for a while yet!

[Drdogface]

Originally Posted by fred cook

I mentioned this in another post, but here is my latest shop toy. It is a 2 hp vertical mill with a table that will move about 10" in the Y axis and about 20" in the X axis. The quill can be used either in the micrometer mode or as a normal drill press. Quite the toy and I will be learning how to use it for a while yet!

Nice..Grizzley ? I've lusted in their catalog a bit and bought one of their knock off Baldor buffers....

[on2wheels52]

Is your Colt a New Army? Mine is a few miles away so am unable to compare.
And your shop is disgustlingly clean (compared to mine)
Jim

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by Drdogface

Nice..Grizzley ? I've lusted in their catalog a bit and bought one of their knock off Baldor buffers....

Actually, this one originally came from Harbor Freight. I bought it from the original owner in Florida (close enough to go get rather than ship!). It was made in China, but other than a bit more backlash in the movement screws than I would like, it seems to be fairly well made. It weighs in at about 600 lbs so I had to build a special heavy duty stand for it to sit on.

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by on2wheels52

Is your Colt a New Army? Mine is a few miles away so am unable to compare.
And your shop is disgustlingly clean (compared to mine)
Jim

My Colt is an Army Special. The New Army had two locking slots in the cylinder for each chamber vs one for the later Army Special. The New Army/Navy guns were made from about 1892 (replacing the 1889 models) until 1907. The Army Special model came out in 1908. It was renamed the Official Police model in 1928. The first Officers Model Target revolvers w/adjustable sights and factory trigger jobs were introduced in 1904. In about 1906 or so, the shape of the frame was updated to look like the frame on the soon to be released Army Special. The later New Army/Navy guns were available from the factory in 38 Colt, 38 Special and in 41 Colt chamberings. A very few were built in the 32-20 chambering. When the Army Specials came out, they were chambered for the 32-20, 38 Special/38 Colt and the 41 Colt.