[Ty]

It appears that in 1944 Remington Rand brought more Blanchard Grinders on line, prior to that they used Norton Grinders as that’s what was available early in the war.

If you look at the swirls found on the slides of 1945 Remington Rand production pistols these appear to be a direct result of the Blanchard Grinders. Blanchard machines produced parts at a faster rate, reduced the total number of operators required and were used for the manufacture of other parts even prior to being used on slide production. Alone the Blanchard milling machines had been credited in raising production from 1,000 to 2,500 pistols a day.

What I am trying to determine is when they started producing slides with the Blanchard Grinders. I believe to date the earliest RR slide with swirls on the slide is approximately 2,000,000.
I have included an image below that shows the swirls that are considered to be the Blanchard machines signature. Please feel free to email me with your observations at [email protected]

Highest reported Norton Grinder slide is 2,144,1xx (in my collection)
Lowest reported Blanchard Grinder slide is 2,179,2xx (in well known collection)

Regards,
Ty

 

[TimH70]

Is that an original finish on that RR?

 

[Ty]

yes it is.

 

[koshnaranek]

many years ago i owned a rem-rand with the "swirls". i logged the s/n before i sold it: 2173393. it was a light gray parkerizing. all correct. hope that helps in some way...

 

[Ty]

Every little bit helps! It puts it lower by 6000 units then last reported. you dont happen to have images or know who has it now. How certain are you on the correctness of the gun? 90%+?
Thanks,
Ty

 

[koshnaranek]

i sold it 4 years ago to a guy i worked with. i have no idea where he is now. he quit 2 years ago. i am certain of its correctness. it was stone stock down to smallest part. a true "survivor". sorta wish i still had it, but we all know what that's all about! oh well, they come and they go.......

 

[Rebelsoul]

What type of grinders did the other manufacturers use??
And something else I've wondered,did a guy who was working on the slides and frames have a little room to add his own touch to the parts?
Case in point,on a 1942 Colt I have the very forward edge of the slide where it comes to a point at the end of the recoil spring housing is kinda clipped to reduce the sharp edge.I have noticed the same type of work on a gun,also a '42 I think, on a site,(maybe dsk's).Does that make sense?
The thing I'm getting at here is,could this be one guy's personal touch?I certainly don't see it on all the Colts.

 

[Ty]

I couldnt answer that. You had 2-3 shifts a day, with mutiple operators and grinders. each usually worked on the dedicated operation assigned.

What I can tell you is US&S for example reported it took a total of 94 operations to create the finished slide and 115 for the receiver.

Having a personal touch doesnt seem likely. Could be the case of just the end product of one operator and the way he/she did the operation.

Cheers,
Ty

 

[Johnny Peppers]

Blanchard Grinder

Remington Rand 2042488 is original and has the Blanchard cut slide.
JP

 

[Stumpy]

While not R/R related but..

Take a close look at the 1918/1919 production Colts related to grip spurs,I have noted no less than 4 diff. heights of spurs. Also consider the Heart Cut frames,I have noted 3 diff. radi's of the corners of the slots and about 6 diff. lengths of the slots,(front longer than rear,rear longer than rear,both longer,both shorter and combinatons of same. The radi's of the corners I would consider the result of sharpening milling cutters which probably reduces diam's at ea. time til tool is finally rejected and replaced would account for the diff. in radi's,but the lehgth of the slots has to be machinist's choice,kind of like,the print says XXX",the inspectors will settle for XX" and if you have X" thats good enough as long as it does not affect function,just to meet production quotas. I bring all this up just to think that it totally depends on the machinist's choice and possibly the production pace at the time.just my opinion.

Stumpy

 

[Ty]

Blanchard Machine

Regards,
Ty

 

[45Jim]

Ty, One of my Rem. Rands is serial # 20730xx. It has this swirl pattern on the slide. It is a all correct and I purchased it in the early 80's. Hope this helps.

 

[45Jim]

Disregard that last post. I copied the # down wrong and left out a zero. Correct serial number is 2,070,3xx. Now that's getting close to what you suspected all along about the 2,000,000 serial #.

 

[Ty]

Thanks Jim!

Does anyone out there have RRs in the 2000000 range with out the swirls?

Would also like to know of examples out there in the 1893xxx and 2042xxx range with either slide.

Net is if you have a RR in the 1893xxx and 2042xxx tell me what your slide looks like.

Regards,
Ty

 

[Highpower]

Ty,
I have #1893850 and there are no Blanchard marks on the
slide. I've had this pistol for about ten years and as near as I
can determine it has never been messed with and is in about
98-99% condition. If you want I can attempt to send you some
pictures

 

[Ty]

Thanks, yes can you send me some shots at [email protected]
Cheers,
Ty

 

[Highpower]

Ty,

I tried to take pictures of it but due to the lighting, they came out making the gun look like it has leprosy. I'll wait untill tomorrow and try it with natural light.