4" Conversion " in process"
The following is a photo essay of a 4" conversion being done in my
shop. This is a large page with a lot of photos. So while you are
reading this please be patient while it loads. I tried to get photos
all along the way but missed a few. And in the interest of brevity
these are the major ,important steps. So we will start with the
obvious. I hope you enjoy it. Pricing for this conversion can be
found on the packages page or the S&W page.
Remove barrel from frame. Always use the proper frame wrench to prevent springing
the frame.
Working on three....Two 5" and one 6" inch
Remove some excess material . These Smith Stainless barrels are really tough. Pretty
hard on the saw blade.
Set up in 4 jaw lathe chuck with bore indicated to within a couple .0001"
Cleaning up the face of the barrel and setting the overall length to just under 4"
Cutting the crown angle. Notice that the area around the bore has been set back a bit.
This raised portion will be the new crown.
Cutting the muzzle radius with the radius tool set up on the lathe . A radiused crown is
not needed but it is pretty.
Out of the lathe and into the mill. Picking up zero's. The centerline was picked up off the
bore (not shown) and here we are picking up the "X" zero. Notice that the muzzle has
been cleaned up. Void of machining marks
Next we will mill off what was left of the sight ramp and mill the slot for the new base.
In the next three photos we will center drill , drill, and tap the hole for the base retaining
screw. I start the tap while in the mill but finish it by hand. Turning a small tap into
material this hard is scary at best. High performance taps and good lubricant are
essential.
One down two to go
Almost done. Bases installed, barrels refinished. Notice that the barrel extensions have
been chamfered and polished
Barrels back on the frames and sights installed...All that is left to do now is sighting in

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