Bodeo Model 1889 Italian Revolver

[Aragorn243]

Over the weekend in my quest for a Martini bayonet I came across a Bodeo Model 1889 revolver. Granted it is not in ideal condition. It was welded to a stand in a vertical, barrel up position. This can easily be corrected. It is the other issues which are the potential problems.

From outward appearances, the gun is complete with the exception of the firing pin on the hammer. This was ground off. The loading gate opens and closes, the cylinder moves but it does not turn. The trigger is the hinged type and it will hinge up into the storage position but it will not move to release the hammer. The hammer also will not move and is in the open position. I did not really look into the bore to see what kind of condition it was in. Outside condition is mixed. Some areas with pitting some without. Brescia manufacture although I did not notice the date but is most likely an antique.

Price for this contraption is $140.

There is no way I can disassemble this prior to purchase. I'm speculating that some spot welds have taken place on the interior which prevents the moving parts from moving. No idea if all the springs and such remain inside.

My head is telling me to steer clear of this but the part of me that likes to save hopeless cases keeps telling me it's only $140, they aren't very common and for my purposes, I don't really need to ever fire it.

Obviously I'd like to restore it but would it be worth the effort.

Opinions?

If the barrel isn't clear, that will be the end of it. I will check that before going further.

Information

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[Sentryduty]

You are blazing new territory the idea of restoring something that someone has made into decorative furniture, back to a pseudo firearm.

I would look at what that $140 dollars might buy you in a functioning gun and then take careful consideration, I play the "would I rather..." game, for the money spent what would I want this "unusual bookend" or "something else" sometimes it makes it pretty easy.

Personally, For a broken/non-functioning gun like this I would maybe pay $100 for a decoration piece, but since I don't find the Bodeo revolvers a particularly pretty or technologically interesting design I would likely pass.

Now if someone welded a vintage S&W M&P to a hubcap they might get my $100 and the punch to the face would come for free. LOL.

[mmppres]

those inside parts being spot welded could be a problem depends on how hot they got them

[Aragorn243]

I checked the usual sites and while my Petersons says they aren't really worth squat except in pretty decent condition, the auctions show similar condition ones (not welded to a horseshoe) being listed at Petersons very good to excellent range. This is far from that discounting the decorative part.

So while I should be able to get a functioning revolver in this condition for the same price in theory, in actuality probably not.

I got another disaster to fix up today so probably will pass on this one for now. Jap 99 with just about everything done to it to ruin its collector value, cut stock, broken after cut, bent bolt, converted to 30-06, lots of pitting. The good part of the story with this is the bore is chrome and beautiful. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet but probably restore it to WWII appearance if nothing else. At least this one functions.

[RCS]

I have an excellent example of a Type B Officers Model manufactured by D'Armi Brescia, came back from WW2 by a US veteran who gave it to my father. It is really difficult to
find parts, some parts you have to make or else look for another junker for the parts. If the barrel is damaged beyond repair, it could be made into another smaller caliber.

During the Korean War, a number of Japanese rifle in 7,7mm were converted to 30-06 for the ROK Army and others were converted by gunsmiths during the post war years, if
there are any marking that would indicate a ROK conversion, it would be worth the restoration