I've had occasion to talk to him. He's quite brusque and basically told me he's swamped and not to bother him again. I had good experience with Longs Gunsmith in Bewdley, but I don't think he's up to snuff on antique arms.
"Happy to take a look" isn't a very confidence inspiring response IMHO. Perhaps be more direct? Something like, "I've worked on these in the past and can fix or reassemble them".
That's a very common problem. The sear and/or the corresponding notch on the hammer is worn. Both the heat treat and steel quality of that era left a lot to be desired by modern standards. As I understand it, the only real solution is a dab of weld on the worn parts and then reshaping back to original specs.
I've been doing some research, and it seems to be THE common problem. It's a beauty of a gun otherwise. Near minty finish and bore.
Without a description of the issue it _is_ a look. Parts are hard to find if anything needs replacing.. Also very often with antiques it's a "safe to shoot" inspection.
On a Smith wesson new model 3 the single action version. If you file down sear or the hammer notch deeper then you can change the timing depending on how much you take off or how deep u go on hammer.
