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January 26, 2013
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I have been doing a little organizing of my gun stuff and came across a couple of new barrel's that I had wraped up. They are .357 cal. but have the same OD diameter lug as some 44mag barrels that I have. This is the diameter that the shroud would slip[ over. These lugs are only about 1/2 long on both ends on the .357 where the 44 barrels are full length. This diameter measures .6705. I have one in 8" length and one that is 9.750 in length.
I no longer have any Dan Wesson revolvers but have owned several in 44mag. I was an engineer selling metal cutting tools and called on Dan Wesson weekly for more than twenty years. As a matter of fact the founder Dan Wesson gave me my first sales order when I first started. How time flies.
If someone could answer this question I would appreciate it.
Thanks, Steve
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Dans Club
December 4, 2011
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Welcome! If you could post some pics of what you have it would help us determine what you have. It sounds like they may be for the Supermag frame 357max but a pic would really help.
There is a for sale section of this site where members can sell items free of fees. There is also likely to be interest for what you have, right here on the forum.
Also we would love to hear any and all stories you have from your dealings with Dan Wesson and Mr. Daniel Wesson himself. Little is know about the early years at Monson and it sounds like you have an interesting and unique perspective on that period of time.
Glad you stopped by. Others will post more on the description of your barrels shortly I'm certain.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
My father
If a man designed it, and a man built it, then a man can fix it.
My grandfather
January 26, 2013
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Scorpio
Thanks for the welcome.
As far as the pictures go I have not researched what is entailed to posting a picture but some other forums that I belong to it seems like a nightmare at best.
The stories that I could tell! Dan Wesson was a very good client of mine and with an interest in firearms myself it was an enjoyable part of my week to service them. I actually did almost all of the tooling setup for the large frame revolver. Their VP of manufacturing and I became very good friends. Each friday, on my weekly visit, we would get together and find the biggest problem that they had in production and attempt to find a cure. I have very fond memories of those times.
It was actually my idea for the compensated muzzle shrouds. I was paid by accepting two 44 stainless steel pistol packs with six and eight inch barrels. At the time I was into 1911 45's and I had a gun made for me with a compensator. After looking it over I suggested that they could do the same with their shrouds.
Some of the history of the company is that for quite a while they operated in Monson and Palmer at the same time. They first occupied an old school house in Monson and at the time the demand was so great that they expanded to Palmer. It seems that the company was always in financial difficulty even with a great product. There were several different owners during my time and almost came close to throwing my hat in the ring along with my friend the VP of manufacturing. He actually did get part ownership along with Seth Wesson which was Dan's son.
I could ramble forever but my typing skills are not the best (old school).
Thanks again for the welcome, Steve
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December 4, 2011
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To add pics, click the UPLOAD ATTACHMENTS button under the window where you type responses. Then click ADD FILES and you can browse the files on your hard drive. Select what you want to post and then click UPLOAD. Finally click UPLOAD ATTACHMENTS agian dna then hit SUBMIT REPLY and your pics appear in the post. It took me longer to type that than the actual procedure takes.
Thanks for the great story, I hope you'll tell us more of your experiences.
BTW great job on the Compensated BA's, I have several and they work quite well, especially on the large cal. supermags, like my 445's.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
My father
If a man designed it, and a man built it, then a man can fix it.
My grandfather
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February 22, 2009
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Welcome! Sounds like a great relationship. I'll wait anxiously to hear more.
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
August 28, 2009
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Steve, thanks for the stories. That's some interesting information you shared and I'm not so sure that anyone actually knew the company was operating concurrently at both locations. That leads to an explanation of why we sometimes see guns with "Monson" frames with "Palmer" shrouds or vice versa. And thanks for the compensated shroud idea! I'm sure everyone would like to hear more if you have the patience to tell us!
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March 27, 2009
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Wow and Welcome! I think what you have with out seeing them are Max Barrels! Sure like to hear more about your time! so as you find time feel free to let you typing skills work! Check our side bars and be sure to click on the EWK one you will pleasantly surprised! Also our grip maker LB has some that Dan would would be proud of!
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January 24, 2009
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I don't think any of us were aware that they were operating out of both plants at the same time, that's very interesting. Thanks for the stories!
It does sound like you have .357 SuperMag barrels. Those barrels do have a ring or lug at each end. Some lugs are longer than others, but I don't think that difference affects function. Yours should look like this...
to the
January 26, 2013
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Charger Fan
That is exactly what I have! It is if you took the pictures for me. I have been very busy lately and was going to figure out how the picture upload works. I have several 44 barrels, a 10'' & 8" 44 barrel and shroud, and the two 357 maximum barrels that I will be selling. Right now I have been listing some guns and taking pictures and I am a little overwelmed with all the computer stuff.
Thanks for the info on the barrels. I was not sure if anything had changed since my departure.
Steve
Charger Fan said
I don't think any of us were aware that they were operating out of both plants at the same time, that's very interesting. Thanks for the stories!It does sound like you have .357 SuperMag barrels. Those barrels do have a ring or lug at each end. Some lugs are longer than others, but I don't think that difference affects function. Yours should look like this...
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January 24, 2009
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You're welcome for the photos.
I may be interested in your 8" .44 barrel assembly, depending on whether it has a Monson or Palmer roll mark.
January 26, 2013
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Charger Fan
The two barrel assemblys that I have are both stamped with the Monson logo.
Thanks, Steve
Charger Fan said
You're welcome for the photos.
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March 27, 2009
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Steve,
I would interested in the 10" are these blue or stainless! and maybe one of the max barrels!
Keep us posted and watch cf he may be hiding around corner and taking those pics when you aren't looking!
January 26, 2013
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SCORPIO
I must be really dumb because this stuff continually kicks my butt. I have been trying to load some pictures and I am following the directions that you kindly posted. I click on the UPLOAD ATTACHMENTS button and then click on ADD FILES (it does get highlighted). After clicking on ADD FILES it does not allow me to browse my hard drive where the pictures are
. May you have a clue as to what I am doing wrong?
Thanks again for the help, Steve
SCORPIO said
To add pics, click the UPLOAD ATTACHMENTS button under the window where you type responses. Then click ADD FILES and you can browse the files on your hard drive. Select what you want to post and then click UPLOAD. Finally click UPLOAD ATTACHMENTS agian dna then hit SUBMIT REPLY and your pics appear in the post. It took me longer to type that than the actual procedure takes.
Thanks for the great story, I hope you'll tell us more of your experiences.
BTW great job on the Compensated BA's, I have several and they work quite well, especially on the large cal. supermags, like my 445's.
January 26, 2013
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Dave
Both the 10" and 8" are 44V. The 10" barrel is silver and the 8" barrel, as well as both of the 357 maximum barrels are blued on the outside. All of the other barrels I have are silver. I am not quite sure when they started doing the blue on the outside but for sure it was in the time frame when the Monson plant was still in operation. As soon as I can figure out what I am doing wrong trying to upload pictures they will appear in the classifieds.
In reguards to both the Monson and Palmer plants running at the same time here is what I remember. When I first started calling on Dan Wesson they were in a schoolhouse in Monson and run by Danial B. Wesson. After Dan's death it was owned by Robert McWilliams and at the time he had a partner (forgot name), I am not really clear on how that sale went. Seth Wesson was an employee at this time. Their business was really booming at this time. After a few years McWilliams and his partner had a few disagreements and McWilliams bought the entire company. This schoolhouse was bursting at the seems with no wasted space. About the time that the large frame was introduced with the 44 they rented space in Palmer due to the need of expansion. Both of these plants were run together and all the guns during that time were roll stamped with the monson logo. After being in and out of chapter 11 several times it finally got the best of them. This is when Seth and his wife Carol, along with the VP of manufactoring Ed Arventos bought the company and had operations only at Palmer. I believe their was a slight name change at that time. This would likely be the timeframe that the roll stamp changed to Palmer. So to sum this up a bit both Monson and Palmer operated together for a minimum of five years with all guns being stamped Monson.
Steve
Dave_Ks said
Steve,
I would interested in the 10" are these blue or stainless! and maybe one of the max barrels!
Keep us posted and watch cf he may be hiding around corner and taking those pics when you aren't looking!
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January 24, 2009
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Some things changed in the pic posting area, last time the forum software was updated. I park most of my pics on an offsite photo host site, so the update didn't affect me too much.
As a result, I'm a little rusty, but I think I have the steps figured out.
1) Once you open the window to reply to a post, click the Upload Attachments button.
2) This opens another window beneath that one. Click Add Files...
3) Choose a photo from your hard drive (yours may look different, depending on your browser software) & click Open...
4) That will put the file in the que to upload. Now click Start Upload...
5) The pic should now appear in the standard reply window.
From here, if you want to add more pics, simply repeat steps 2 thru 4 and you should be golden. I hope this helps, I know it's a lot of steps.
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January 24, 2009
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THE ITCH said
In reguards to both the Monson and Palmer plants running at the same time here is what I remember. When I first started calling on Dan Wesson they were in a schoolhouse in Monson and run by Danial B. Wesson. After Dan's death it was owned by Robert McWilliams and at the time he had a partner (forgot name), I am not really clear on how that sale went. Seth Wesson was an employee at this time. Their business was really booming at this time. After a few years McWilliams and his partner had a few disagreements and McWilliams bought the entire company. This schoolhouse was bursting at the seems with no wasted space. About the time that the large frame was introduced with the 44 they rented space in Palmer due to the need of expansion. Both of these plants were run together and all the guns during that time were roll stamped with the monson logo. After being in and out of chapter 11 several times it finally got the best of them. This is when Seth and his wife Carol, along with the VP of manufactoring Ed Arventos bought the company and had operations only at Palmer. I believe their was a slight name change at that time. This would likely be the timeframe that the roll stamp changed to Palmer. So to sum this up a bit both Monson and Palmer operated together for a minimum of five years with all guns being stamped Monson.
Steve
Five years? Wow, I really never would have guessed it would have been that long. Very interesting, thanks so much for the great info!
That definitely explains why guns like my 44 here have the frames marked Monson & the barrel shroud wearing a Palmer roll mark.
Until now, I (and many of us) had presumed they were either swapped by a previous owner, or that there were a bunch of leftover Monson frames when they closed the doors at Monson & that those eventually got used up when Palmer was up and running. We've had long discussions here about this mismatch in the past. 
Thanks again for the great info, it's an important piece to the often vague puzzle in DW's history.
January 26, 2013
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Charger Fan
Thanks for the help. I can get to step #2 but when I click on ADD FILES it does not go any where. I do not have an option to look on my hard drive. If I minimize the forum and go to my picture file and highlight a picture it does not go anywhere. I cannot drag it there either. Any other suggestions?
If I cannot figure this out I will list the items I have for sale and if someone would like a picture they can send me there e-mail and I will gladly forward a picture
Charger Fan said
Some things changed in the pic posting area, last time the forum software was updated. I park most of my pics on an offsite photo host site, so the update didn't affect me too much.As a result, I'm a little rusty, but I think I have the steps figured out.
1) Once you open the window to reply to a post, click the Upload Attachments button.
2) This opens another window beneath that one. Click Add Files...
3) Choose a photo from your hard drive (yours may look different, depending on your browser software) & click Open...
4) That will put the file in the que to upload. Now click Start Upload...
5) The pic should now appear in the standard reply window.
From here, if you want to add more pics, simply repeat steps 2 thru 4 and you should be golden.
January 26, 2013
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Charger Fan
I am not sure that your presumption is incorrect. During the time that both plants were operating I still think that everything was being stamped Monson. I am not really sure of the dates but looking at the thread on Dan Wesson history they introduced the large frame 44 around 1980. Sounds about right to me. At that time they needed more space for manufactoring so rented the space in Palmer. Now going forward Seth, Carol,and Ed bought the rights to Dan Wesson in 1991 and moved everything to Palmer. At that time the Monson plant was closed. It may have been that the bank forclosed on the Monson property which I imagine they used for collateral. So doing the math it could very well have been from 1980 to 1990 that both plants operated. When your having so much fun it is hard for me to remember dates. So I can not tell you why you are seeing mixed stamps on guns. You may be correct that their were some leftover frames when it was repurchased. I only did business with the new owners for 2-3 years before parting ways.
Steve
Charger Fan said
THE ITCH said
In reguards to both the Monson and Palmer plants running at the same time here is what I remember. When I first started calling on Dan Wesson they were in a schoolhouse in Monson and run by Danial B. Wesson. After Dan's death it was owned by Robert McWilliams and at the time he had a partner (forgot name), I am not really clear on how that sale went. Seth Wesson was an employee at this time. Their business was really booming at this time. After a few years McWilliams and his partner had a few disagreements and McWilliams bought the entire company. This schoolhouse was bursting at the seems with no wasted space. About the time that the large frame was introduced with the 44 they rented space in Palmer due to the need of expansion. Both of these plants were run together and all the guns during that time were roll stamped with the monson logo. After being in and out of chapter 11 several times it finally got the best of them. This is when Seth and his wife Carol, along with the VP of manufactoring Ed Arventos bought the company and had operations only at Palmer. I believe their was a slight name change at that time. This would likely be the timeframe that the roll stamp changed to Palmer. So to sum this up a bit both Monson and Palmer operated together for a minimum of five years with all guns being stamped Monson.
Steve
Five years? Wow, I really never would have guessed it would have been that long. Very interesting, thanks so much for the great info!
That definitely explains why guns like my 44 here have the frames marked Monson & the barrel shroud wearing a Palmer roll mark.
Until now, I (and many of us) had presumed they were either swapped by a previous owner, or that there were a bunch of leftover Monson frames when they closed the doors at Monson & that those eventually got used up when Palmer was up and running. We've had long discussions here about this mismatch in the past.
Thanks again for the great info, it's an important piece to the often vague puzzle in DW's history.
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February 22, 2009
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Well... I feel better about my mismatched .22 BA now. Thanks!
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Bob McWilliams' partner at the time would have been Dick Rosenfeld, I think. I've been told that Bob was a great salesman, Dick was the financial guy.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
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