Stembridge Conversions

[Indiana Bond]

From going through the posts regarding cutting down the barrels to 4 inch, it seems that most of our members have opted to do the "Bapty" conversion by adding on a new ramped sight. I'm curious why this choice was made. It would seem that it would be easier to simply remove the original sight and resolder it to the new shortend barrel as was done on the "Stembridge" instead of having to make an entire new sight. So why have most of you opted to do the "Bapty" version?

Also, I just purchased a S&W 1917 Brazilian issue and I'm considering doing a "Stembridge" conversion. Has any one done a "Stembridge" conversion using the original sights? If so, how about posting some pics of your "Stembridge" revolvers?

All pics and comments are welcome!

[misfit]

I am seriously considering doing the Stembridge conversion on mine I just think it looks better but hay what do I know

[RaiderZee]

I think I already gave you my opinion on another thread, but one more thing: your 1917 already has accurate grips for the Bapty. You'd need to change out to non-medallion grips for the Stembridge ;-)

RaiderZee

[misfit]

Yep I got the grips and the new barrel should be on its way.

[misfit]

I was talking with my gunsmith about this conversion and he told me that he did a 2" barrel on one back in the 50's and re chamber it to hold 45 long colt's. He did this for a NYC detective. Now that’s some serous fire power

[Indiana Bond]

Stembridge: fired at Lao Che's minions, thrown out of car window by lounge singer; later surrendered to Belloq, then thrown in suitcase

I thought it was the Bapty that was used in TOD in the opening sequence and not the Stembridge? That's what the Main site says. I'll have to take a look at the DVD again.


Misfit,

What did your gunsmith estimate the cost of the conversion will be? Is he planning to reuse the existing front sight? Who are you getting your grips and barrel from?

[misfit]

I found the grips on gunbroker he is going to re solder the old site back on and cut it a bit and who know how much he is going to charge me some times it 50$ other times its 200$ he is old and funny like that

[Indiana Bond]

Misfit,

Are you still planning to use these grips and are they the ones you got on gunbroker?



You do realize that those are totally the wrong grips for either the Bapty or Stembridge.

Also are you planning to leave an "unblued" band like found on the Stembridge or are you going to reblue? Where did you get your replacement barrel?

My Gunsmith told me that they normally charge $80 for a cut, recrown, and sight resolder. But it does depend on the gun and exactly what needs to be done.

It looks like you're a bit ahead of me with getting this done so I would love to see how your's comes out when it's finished! Have you seen any other Stembridges done by other members here on this forum?

[RaiderZee]

Actually, the main gun page says that "one" of the 2nd Model HEs was used in the car chase. Though, as the Stembridge was a non-firing prop, it stands to reason that it was in fact the Bapty. Good catch! Any screen caps better than the ones on the gun page?

Yet another reason to go for the Bapty look!

RZ

[misfit]

A friend of mine found the barrel for me and yes I was going to leave the front unfinished. I was going to have the grips made from the same guy who made the ones in the photo above. (if these photos are not ok to post please let me know and I will get rid of them)



By steven36


By steven36


By steven36

[misfit]

Just found these grips


By steven36

[Indiana Bond]

RZ

Yes, there are two different revolvers in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The previously mentioned “Bapty” fired the blanks. The other, most notably seen when Indiana Jones cavalierly tosses it into his suitcase in his home, is a non-shooting revolver that the production team rented from Stembridge Gun Rentals of Glendale, CA.

The quote above from the main page says that the Stembridge was "a non-shooting revolver". That could mean 2 things. Either it wasn't able to actually fire or, of the 2 revolvers used, it wasn't fired. In other words. it may have been functional but it simply wasn't fired in any of the scenes, thus "non-shooting".

The reason I bring this up is that I just went through the car chase in TOD frame by frame and it seems to me that the revolver may be the Stembridge. I say this because, although a bit out of focus, it looks like the front sight has the "half moon" shape. It does not show a long "ramp" profile. Also it seems that you can see the unfinished "barrel band" at the tip as it is a lighter color than the rest of the gun.

It's a tough call but one way to gain a bit more certainty is if we knew where the interior shots of the car scene where filmed. If filmed in Hollywood the gun would most likely be the Stembridge. If filmed in England it would be the Bapty.

Does anyone know where that scene was filmed? The answer to that question would surely solve the mystery!

Also I will ask Lee Keppler if the gun looked to be "deactivated" as he had handled it after the filming. That would also help solve this mystery!

[Indiana Bond]

Misfit,

Those are the correct grips. $95.00 at www.gungrip.com .

[misfit]

yep they are on the way ;-)

[sithspawn]

I've seen those grips before. If you look at the PICS of the Stembridge you'll noticed the tops where the medallions would be are rounded. These are NOT. I wish they would make that variation. Other than that they are PRETTY CLOSE.

[RaiderZee]

Yep, the Stembridge grips have rounded CONVEX tops; these have rounded CONCAVE tops, i.e. they are scooped out. I just saw a pair of the correct vintage grips for $65: enter "smith & wesson 1917" on eBang search.

RZ

[Indiana Bond]

RZ,

I'm not finding those grips on ebang. Can you PM me the link?

[RaiderZee]

Done!

RZ

[Indiana Bond]

OK, I just spoke with Lee Keppler about the Stembridge gun and also its' use in TOD. Lee has confirmed to me that it was the Stembridge that was used in TOD. He was told by the Stembridge company that it was rented from them for TOD. He also confirmed that the car interior scenes were filmed in Hollywood. Furthermore he told me that the Stembridge is also a "shooter"! It was fired in the car chase scenes and also Lee fired it himself when he had it!

So that means that the Stembridge appears in two of the films, and is also a "shooter". Also if you plan to convert a 45acp Smith the Stembridge would be correct for that as the Bapty was a .455. Lee also had some doubts if the Bapty we have been using as our model is actually the one used on screen in ROTLA as the sights do not look quite right. He feels that it may have been a "back-up" to the actual screen used Bapty.

With all this "improved" info I feel a lot more confident with my decision to create a "Stembridge" conversion as that may be the more "accurate" screen used version. Also it would be the gun used in two of the films and not just one. I also noticed that most of the revolvers of the WWII period had the "half moon" or "partridge" front sights. Check out some other WWII revolvers and see for yourself. The "ramped" style of front sights didn't become popular till sometime after WWII. So historically and stylistically the front sight on the Stembridge is more accurate than the one on the Bapty.

So now I just have to wait my 10 days before I get it in my hands and then I start working on getting the conversion done!

[Michaelson]

viewtopic.php?t=37370

Check my response to your duplicate post...

Regard! Michaelson

[Indiana Bond]

Ok, The discusion on the TOD gun has moved over to this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=38086

So getting back to my original post, I would like to see some photos on any Stembridge conversions out there.

Misfit: How is your conversion coming along? Any chance of your gunsmith taking photos during the conversion process?

I still haven't made up my mind if and what conversion I would like to do. I have set up a poll to get the opinions of what version you all perfer.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=38200

Check out the poll and post some pics here if you got them!!

[misfit]

My gun smith is a funny old fart but I don’t think he would mind me taking photos of the conversion. The only thing holding me back right now is the barrel. I have the grips. the stembridg is an easy one all you do is notch the front sight off the front of the barrel then turn down the barrel to 4", then slot and solder the modified sight back on the newly cut barrel.

[Indiana Bond]

Ok, Here is a photoshoped version of what I'm thinking of having done to my S&W 1917. It is a hybrid of the three S&W revolvers that were used by Indy. The shortened barrel of the Stembridge and Bapty, the grips of the TOD, and the front sight of the original. I like the concept of the shortened barrel but I never liked the sights they ended up with on either the Stembridge or Bapty. The Bapty's ramped front sight is not period correct and the Stembridge shortened sight just looks strange.

If S&W would have produced a 4 inch version of the 1917 it would surely have had the same "half moon" front sight as the 5 1/2 barrel version. All of the other Smith revolvers with a 4 inch barrel of that time period had the same "half moon" front sight. Even thier current model 22 4 inch has the "half moon" sight.

So here is a photo of my propossed 4 inch S&W 1917 along side my Webley WG. Please let me know what you think of this idea. Thanks!!








This is an animation showing the difference between the 4 inch and 5 1/2 inch barrels.





And this is the current 5 1/2 barrel.

[Luke Warmwater]

Man, I had no idea the Webley was that big.. What a cannon.

[Solent MKIII]

I'd run with your concept, IB - it definetly captures the look of the 2 revolvers. I prefer the medallion grips and the uncut half-moon sights as well, it just looks better to my eye. Any progress pics yet?

[Indiana Bond]

Any progress pics yet?

Right now I'm on a working trip to my Home in Hawaii. So probably won't get to doing any type of conversion till April. I just picked up a High Standard Riot Shotgun and I need to shorten the length of pull as it's so long I can barely shoulder it. So that will have to come first.

I'll keep you all posted!

[Indiana Bond]

Just had a chance to get my shotgun over to my gunsmith for the lop chop! Brought the 1917 along to see what he would say regarding doing a Stembridge conversion. The first thing he told me was that the blade front sight on the i917 is an intrical part of the barrel. The barrel is machined with the sight and the sight is NOT soldered on. All this time we had thought that the sight on the Stembridge gun was just unsoldered and then soldered back onto the shortened barrel. This was most likely not the case. It would explain why the front sight on the Stembrige looks so different than the original sight. It would of had to been made up.

This also means that doing a Stembridge conversion would not be simpler than the Bapty because in both cases an entire new front sight would have to be made. To do the conversion would not be a simple unsolder and resolder the sight operation.

Thus for now I have decided to leave the gun as is in it's original glory. If I can find a spare barrel I may consider doing the conversion later. Instead I will be concentrating on finding a Colt Official Police .38 with a 4 inch barrel. As that seems to be the Temple of Doom gun.

I would still like to see photos of any other Stembridge conversions that may be out there. There still have been no photos like that posted here yet.

Thanks to all!!

[binkmeisterRick]

Another gun spared!