French 1892 Revolver help

tactical870

tactical870

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Just picked up a project French 1892 in 8mm from a fellow CGN'r. Anyone know of a gunsmith who is reasonable and able to repair a bent crane? I am also toying with the idea of rechambering the gun while it is out. Although 8mm revolver brass and bullets are very reasonable to buy, this gun was designed for smokless and it would be nice if it could be converted to fire factory loaded modern ammo... Not sure if there's enough wall there to go 38spl or not.... Or if it's even advisable... Thanks
 
I wouldn't convert to a larger round only smaller, look at the lip of the forcing cone theres not much there. 32 H&r magnum is the closest step down. The 8mm round is not hard to reload for though I would just keep it as is.
 
keep me up to date on the project tactical870 sounds intresting, email picts if you can of the crane.
 
I'm kind of in the same boat... I recently picked up an 1892 copy (Guillaume Scholberg production judging by the only marking "GS" inside the frame). These were supposedly sold in Uruguay and I can't find any info on them. It's a weird design overall and the quality is definitely below that of my original French 1892... but definitely not the worst I've seen as far as gun copies are concerned.

The gun has no serial number and no markings whatsoever, except for the GS inside the gun (on the metal grip support, under the cover plate). The weird part is that the fit and finish on the gun look almost as if they were hand made, but at the same time appear original (unmodified)... the cylinder has slots filed in it by hand to accommodate the small pin protruding from the top of the trigger in order to stop the cylinder from spinning, but is original and not bubba'd (this mechanism doesn't work very well though, as it doesn't make proper contact with the cylinder slots). The cylinder itself has much thinner walls than those of an original French 1892. The gun also has a really worn bore (almost a "smooth" bore) and the cylinder/barrel spacing is very large (plus there seems to be a piece missing in between).

So, I too would be interested in having this re-barreled one day. I was thinking that maybe 9mm Luger would be appropriate (with proper modifications to the gun, lighter loads, cast 9mm bullets and the use of custom cut moon clips). Just brainstorming for now, because it is a distant project.... if ever.

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I was looking at almost the same situation myself a while back. ;) I had almost convinced myself to attempt the repair but i am inbetween moves and don't have access to a decent shop at the present time.

Here's some stuff that I found.

The accepted method of adjusting a bent or misaligned crane is to hit it with a hammer. Really. Here is a Brownell's document that describes the process on Ruger and S&W DA revolvers. http://www.brownells.com/userdocs/learn/Inst-230%20Yoke%20Crane%20Align%20Tool.pdf . The alignement tool that Brownells discusses will probably not work on the 1892, but my understanding of the tool is that it is used to protect the hinge mechanism, not to do the actual adjustment, which is done witha plastic hammer.

Since no tool is available for an M1892 the crane might have to be removed from the revolver to protect the hinge from stress. I think the process would be:
1. remove cylinder (maybe it could be left in place?)
2. remove crane
3. Place crane in a padded vice and "adjust" it by tapping it with a plastic hammer to reposition ( very slight bending) the crane to correct the cylinder positioning.
4. reassemble and check cylinder positioning.
5. repeat until alignment is correct.

Disassembling and reassembling the M1892 crane and cylinder is not hard but it takes a couple minutes. So - a couple minutes taking it apart and placing it in the vice, 2 seconds giving it a tap, and 2 more minutes putting it back together again to check it. and repeat until it's right. The hardest part will be deciding where the appropriate place is to do the hammering. Replacement crane is available here, http://www.e-gunparts.com/products_new.asp?CatID=9381 in case your crane gets screwed up in the process - which it shouldn't. I don't think it's a big job for a 'smith with experience on DA revolvers. I have seen Wortners mentioned as doing revolver work, but i have no experience with them. Should be a straight forward job for any gunsmith experienced with DA revolvers.
 
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I figger working on the old Antique guns is like that old song Kenney Rogers sings.... the Gambler :D

You got to know when to hold them
Know when to FOLD them
Know when to WALK Away.
And know when to RUN !!!!!!! LOL

If you alter to a Caliber make dam sure its not something thats so close to a No Caliber that a No Cartridge could be fired in the Gun.
 
The price of loading and availability of parts is so reasonable I think I'd be farther ahead to load for it. As far as the repair goes I think it's a little beyond what I'd want to attempt myself.... I spoke to a gunsmith friend of mine a couple days ago and he says it shouldn't be an issue. Hopefully it's an easy fix. Thanks....
 
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