Dancing

[Drydock]

Well, ordered 2 Old Silver Dance revolvers off the Old South site,  one to chop, one to engrave.  Both are now in my hands.

Good:  Well finished, perfectly timed, not too many burrs.  A few minutes with a few stones cleaned them up.  Both shot about 2" above point of aim,  200 grain conical over 25 grains 3f.  Windage dead on.  I suspect a round ball would be close to on.  Really nice wood with good figure on the grips, and indeed they are 1851 standard, no flare at the bottom.  Recovered bullets show full engraving, chambers and barrel appear very close.  Both break down without tools. Cylinder gaps are under .005, arbor bottomed as it should be.

Bad: One has a HAIR trigger.  I had hoped this was a bur, but cleaning it up changed nothing.  This will need to be addressed.  The other is quite nice. 

Weird: Why do these have 7 1/2" barrels?  Serial numbers are 42 apart, yet one is laser engraved, the other crudely hand stamped. (The hand stamped match's the last 4 of my SSN) Every screw on both was finger tight.  No gorillas at Pietta, but shouldn't they at least be snug?  One of them had the trigger and bolt screws swapped.  Pay attention Luigi!

Verdict.  The CNC work is fantastic.  But the wine still flows freely at lunchtime in Val Trompia.

[Professor Marvel]

OOOOOhhh Drydock!

fotos, tintypes, images, please!
Do you have an engraver in mind?
watcha gonna do with the excess barrel bits?
you know, you can make a dandy little vestposcket derringer with those cutoffs...

yhs
prof marvel

[Drydock]

Well, Jim Downing has agreed to do the engraving in October, he's just a couple of hours away from me here in MO.  He tells me he's never done a Dance, very interested.  I'm trying to get ahold of someone recommended in Texas to cut one of the barrels. 

Excess barrel bits may be sent to Coffinmaker, as doners for his so often barrel deprived guns, or perhaps to be used as sacrifices to the hacksaw wielding elves that seemingly plague his existence.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That's a fine looking revolver. It'll be fun to see it engraved.

How deep is the laser engraving? Is it something that can be easily defarbed? (Farbed off? No, that's too rude sounding.)

Do we need an official Dance thread? There must be 4 or 5 of us with them.

[Drydock]

The only laser engraving on this particular gun is the serial number.  Barrel and proof marks are conventional stamps.  Both are stamped "2019" on the barrel underside, with box "CU" proof dates.  Defarbing these would not be hard I would think.

[Coffinmaker]

  Oh Yessssssssssss 

A great blank canvas for an engraver.  My pair of Pietta Dance & Brothers guns were lavishly factory laser engraved (Tin Types on another thread).  I think you'd have to sand/grind/polish half the gun away to remove the engraving.  It looks good enough I wouldn't even consider it.  Nope.  No way.

My Pair did have an altercation with my alter ego though.  That crazed "Hacksaw MacGurk" fought 'em while new and lopped of the front 4 inches of barrel.  They are now Uber Fine SNUBBIES.  Oh FUN!!

HIDE AND WATCH

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Thanks, if the only laser engraving is the serial number, the rest shouldn't be an issue.

[Drydock]

OK then.  Barrel in the mail today to "The Gun Shop"  Sapulpa OK, "Snake Oil George" the gunsmith.  Highly recommended, and he answers his phone!  Hard to find a real smith anymore, and not just someone who screws parts onto ARs.  918-321-5128 shop, 918-729-0430 cell.  No email, no website.  Should have it back in 3 weeks or so.  No money until it's finished.

[Cap'n Redneck]

Serial numbers xxx50 & xxx51 are now in a "fosterhome" in Kentucky.
Come next summer I hope they will be going home to "Dad", where they will remain un-cut and un-engraved.

Having missed out on not one, but two "Texas Dragoons" (early Uberti "Tucker & Sherrard" replicas) at gun auctions in the last two years, I jumped at the opportunity of procuring a couple of bonafide Texas pistols for my Ranger Cap'n impression from Old South Firearms.

I think the idea of an official Dance thread is a splendid one, may I perhaps even suggest a "Handguns of the Confederacy"-forum...?

Now, if "Luigi" would get off his hands and make me a couple of "Navy sized" Volcanic repeating pistols (with short-stroke kits installed) in .44 Russian......THEN I'd be a happy camper...! 

[Drydock]

Good on ya!

(Between these and a Trapdoor in the Barracks, I feel like I found a litter of kittens good homes . . .)