The Case of the Missing Knob

A few days ago I lucked into a Model of 1899 M&P that was well weathered, but in working order with unbroken grips. The revolver was complete except for the knurled nut that screws into the end of the extractor rod. I bought the revolver anyway, it was only $69, and I hoped to find the part online or at the upcoming gun show. Well, that little bugger was made of unobtainium.

I was trying out different ideas for filling the hole, when I came upon a screw that holds a Colt SAA ejector rod housing to the barrel. Hmmmmmm the threads worked, and the diameter was the same.
I chucked the screw in my rotary tool, and spun it as though it were on a lathe while I used a needle file to carve a groove and a flat file to round off the edges. Finally, I used red LocTite to permanently fix the screw in place. The hard part was the finish. Matching the 100 year old patina would be next to impossible. I blued the screw, then spun it in some 400 grit sandpaper to bare some metal. Lastly, I took a small piece of cloth dipped in 20% saline and wrapped the little knob. That got the process started. Hopefully over time, the finish on the new part will match that of the old gun.