I got the stuck bullets out last night. The interior of the bore is swelled where the pressure got trapped. The barrel is toast, you can clearly see the bulge on the exterior of the barrel.  

This is 4" model with a pinned barrel and recessed case cylinder. I have found several used barrels online but have no idea who he should send it to for repairs. I also wonder if the current barrel could be relined?

Because he has zero invested and the firearm is damaged he doesn't want to spend a lot to get it up and running. I suggested relining.

I gave him S&W's Custom Shop's number and he is going to see if they can help. I have a feeling they won't touch it because of liability concerns.

Can anyone suggest a quality repair that isn't really expensive?

Tom Kilhoffer at TK Customs in Rantoul, Il.

I question whether an older barrel can have some sort of liner installed.  With the correct barrel, a seasoned gunsmith, experienced with revolvers, should be able to replace the barrel.  Ask a lot of questions.  You don't want this to be your 'smith's first time replacing barrels.

Shoot it, see how bad it groups...may not be an issue.

It's going to be an issue, literally 1.5" of barrel is bulged enough that a Lewis Lead Remover doesn't touch as it passes through.

I my experience they shoot just fine.    

However, I'd likely look at something more exotic than a replacement stock bbl.   Like a nice bull bbl.     IF it needs replacing.  

I'm personally uncomfortable with the notion of shooting any barrel that has obviously been stressed past it's structural integrity. The steel has been compromised.

He is going to try some .38 Special through it as is. I'll be surprised if he can hit anything with it. I think he will be fine shooting .38 Special if he gets it relined, .357 not so much.

Buy a used barrel off of Gunbroker.

Take a wide and thick piece of board the width of the cylinder window that allows the end of the barrel to clear.

Punch out the barrel pin.

Clamp old barrel directly in a vise.

Stick thick piece of wood through cylinder window.

Unscrew old bulged barrel.

Wrap new gunbroker purchased barrel in leather or a sheet of lead.

Place in vise.

Screw in new gunbroker purchased barrel until it lines up top dead center.

Drill new barrel for barrel pin. (Or don't)

PROFIT!

Some say you can tweak the frame and ruin it.

I did one using the above procedure and it turned out perfect.

But it is a sample size of one.

I wouldn't mess with the old barrel.  I would send revolver and new barrel to someone like Cylinder and Slide to have the next barrel installed by professionals.

Mike Klos, American Manufacturing can do it. https://www.am-mfg.com/
DO NOT ATTEMPT IT WITH A VISE AND STICK.....

Forget about this barrel relining you speak of. It's not a shotgun you can't put a sleeve in.  No gunsmith would even attempt such a bad idea.  Buy a new barrel if your buddy can't do it let a pro bnb put it on.
Then you have a great gun and also the smith can check the rest of the gun for problems.

There are companies that provide this service and new production S&W revolvers use barrel liners instead of rifled barrels. My S&W M60 Pro Series (.38 Special) has a barrel liner straight from the factory. I agree a new barrel is best, but he isn't interested in dropping $300 to $400 on fixing this revolver.

Most used barrels are averaging around $125.00, gunsmithing will be at least double that, easily topping $350. Barrel liners have been used to restore all sorts of antique weapons and family heirlooms to full service. Modern adhesives have replaced silver solder when fixing them in place.

There are gunsmiths that will swap those barrels out for 75 bucks.
If they have a frame wrench and inserts it's a very quick job unless they have to do machine work to get indexed right.

I know I can get the barrel off, that isn't my concern. Timing the replacement  barrel to the receiver and setting minimum cylinder gap isn't something that I can guarantee at home.

This is exactly how you ruin a revolver by bending or breaking the frame.
Look at the frame just under where the barrel screws in.  Note how thin the metal is.
When you do the old wood through the frame gag that area is put under heavy stress and the frame tends to crack, or the frame just bends.
Yes, lots of people claim to have done it with good results, but they never tell you about the time the frame was ruined.

Also there's a LOT more to a barrel installation..........
When installing the new barrel you have to use a lathe or bench barrel shoulder cutting device to trim the barrel shoulder so that when it's torqued into the frame the front sight lines up.
A lot of people figure a barrel is just a piece of fancy pipe that will just screw in.
When the front sight is off they're mystified why that is and what to do about it.
If the barrel is just screwed in so the front sight is aligned, the barrel is not tight and will eventually unscrew from vibration.
If it's pinned but not torqued in place, the barrel is actually loose in the frame and accuracy will be poor.

After the barrel is torqued in place, then the barrel-cylinder gap must be set by using a special end facing cutter that works down the barrel to establish the gap within specs of 0.004" to a max of 0.008".

After that, another cutter device that works down the barrel is used to re-cut the forcing cone in the rear of the barrel.
The forcing cone is very misunderstood, and a shocking number of gunsmiths have no clue about how important it is.
It's isn't just a funnel in the barrel.
The critical dimension is the diameter of the mouth of the cone.  Too big and accuracy is not good.  Too small and accuracy os off, and the gun spits bullet metal out the gap.
The cone has to be properly cut and gauged with a special drop-in plug gauge.
Due to the tiny difference between too big and too small, the cone can't be eyeballed, it has to be gauged.

After cutting, another special brass lap tool and valve grinding compound is used to smooth the surface.

So, lots of people have heard these stories of shoving a hammer handle or piece of wood through the frame window to remove and just screwing a barrel on enough that a cross pin will hold it, but then they usually wonder why the gun doesn't shoot well.
People also think the charge a pistolsmith charges for a proper rebarrel job is over priced until they know what's involved.

This is why I want a pro.

If S&W won't take it on, Frank Glenn in Arizona is a Master pistolsmith and an American Handgunner magazine Top 100 gunsmith.
He offers repairs to factory specs and standards, has excellent pricing, and fast turnaround.
He's the go-to guy for members of the Colt forum.

http://glenncustom.com/

If it shoots fine then there's no mechanical issue, but there's nothing wrong with replacing the bulged barrel simply because you dislike the bulge.

Totally agree with dfariswheel.  Replacing revolver barrels is one of the times you go to a professional.  Also, the barrel used on current S&W revolvers does not use a 'liner.'  It has a barrel shroud installed over the barrel.  There is a difference.

Found a replacement take-off barrel on GunBroker, the revolver is being shipped to S&W for repairs. They quoted $300 to put a new barrel on it using their barrel. If this barrel passes inspection that price should drop considerably.