uscra112 wrote on May 8^th, 2022 at 2:43pm:

He might but I don’t think he gives it out to anyone. No one answers the phone either and it goes to voicemail, but he has always called me back the same day, usually in the early evening.

First of all, let me say "Thank you!" to all of you who took the time to answer my question!!  ..a lot of good responses and recommendations.

I have a lathe, and if I had a small mill and a shop to put them in, I'd try it myself.  Finding a real 'smith who is local, and does more than assemble AR15's, and as 830singleshot pointed out, offers a "reasonable turn around time" can sometimes be an issue.  As someone else pointed out, this probably requires a specialist in 1885's, or at least, single shots.

Someone else already asked, can the holes be welded, then dressed down to the bolt face, and apparently, that's an option, however I think I would be concerned about the temper?

I'm going to sit down and figure out what I want to do, caliber-wise, and then start making calls to the recommended 'smiths.   

In the meantime, in case I try to go the .22lr route, I'm going to snag that Low Wall Musket breech block.   

I'd like to stay with 32 S&W Long, but I'm open to both .22lr, and 38 Special.

I read through this long set interesting posts. There were a couple of suggestions on where to get a replacement breach block.  I would recommend either MVA or C Sharps.  I believe you can get a breach block from either for about $105 plus shipping.  With MVA I’m not sure they make a low wall block.   

If you go the C Sharps route be aware that they only do coil spring actions.  That in itself will not be a problem using a coil spring breach block.  However, the C Sharps block uses a screw instead of a split pin to for the hammer axle.  I believe the C Sharps hammer screw is ~0.030” greater in diameter than the standard hammer split pin.  To use your hammer you’d have to drill it out to approximately 0.215”.   It addition, if you go the C Sharps route you’ll need to decide whether you’re going to do a center fire or rimfire before you order.  C Sharps rimfire blocks have the firing pin hole drilled slightly higher in the block.  This allows them to use a center fire firing pin and it strikes the rim at the 12 o’clock position rather than 6 o’clock.

If your not going to have your block repaired I’d recommend one of the two above sources for a replacement block.  It will likely be less expensive and you will get new vs used block that might still have issues.  A new block may require some minor fitting.  If that’s the case pay attention to the corners of the vertical breach block legs.  Sometimes they require the lightest chamfer in this area if the block is dragging when closing the action.

Good luck

John Taylor would be an excellent choice, should you choose that route. 
He did a reline job for me. Good communication, timely response, excellent results.

Get a copy of Mr. Singleshot’s Gunsmithing Idea-Book by Frank deHaas.  He has several methods of bushing breechblocks and doing other repairs/modifications on the Winchester single shot.

The modular characteristics of modern guns means that most gunsmiths are parts-replacers any more.  A wood-and-steel gunsmith, if he is any good, will generally have more work than he can do, like Mr. Shaver obviously does.  I believe his heart is really in long-range muzzle-loaders, and with his sight and accessories business, and that magazine he publishes, I can imagine he’s pretty buried.

I’ve bushed several breechblocks on my 6” Atlas lathe, and I’m nobody’s Master Gunsmith, I assure you.  A four-jaw, a drill chuck, centers, perhaps a homemade angled backing plate and a center-drilled rod for alignment of the firing pin hole, a tap and a boring tool can result in a bushing that removes all the breechblock pitting that might be there.  If there is no pitting and the headspace is good, a simple threaded plug will work.

I don’t know how someone these days can be in the “anteeks binness” without being able to do stuff for themselves.  Being forced to go to other people, wait for months and, at worst case, get a poor job back, would be a great way to ruin somebody’s enthusiasm for this hobby.