Thread: Cylinder play
View Single Post
 
Old 03-23-2012, 07:47 PM
dfariswheel dfariswheel is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 1,421
Likes: 0
Liked 947 Times in 413 Posts
Default

That's not way the hand on a S&W works.
In the old Colt's the TOP of the hand presses against the ejector ratchet lug. The harder the trigger is pulled (within reason) the tighter the cylinder is forced into lock up by the hand pressing the lug.

The S&W hand operates by the SIDE of the hand pressing against the ejector lug. Once the cylinder is locked, the hand bypasses the lug. Once the hammer is cocked and the cylinder is locked, no amount of pressure on the trigger can force the cylinder into a tighter lock up, because the hand simply slides past the lug.

While the cylinder may seem tighter with the trigger pulled due to spring pressure, the built in back lash allows the cylinder to move enough to allow the chamber to align with the bore.
I suggest reading the Kuhnhausen shop manual on how the S&W action operates.
He clearly addresses the S&W design of both how the cylinder is designed to remain slightly loose, and on how the S&W hand operates by bypassing the ejector lug.

Once the hammer on a S&W is cocked, it's as tight as it's going to get.
The only way the S&W action could lock the cylinder tighter is if you used a tapered hand that could press harder against the lug. S&W hands are not tapered in thickness.
Reply With Quote