I recently purchased a 629-2 with a 3" barrel and an unfluted cylinder that is in excellent condition except the cylinder gap is more than .030. I have read that proper cylinder gap is .006. Why would the cylinder gap be so far out of spec? Is this something that would be warrantied by s&w or is it safe to shoot?

Don't know why it would be that wide. It's probably wide enough that you would experience spitting when firing. I would not be able to put up with a gap that wide if it were my gun.

In any case, the barrel will almost surely have to be set back and the barrel/cylinder gap refit. This takes some experience and best left to the factory or else a professional pistolsmith.

As far as whether or not it will be covered by the factory, it would probably be best to give them a call and tell them the problem.

A cylinder gap that large needs to be repaired. Best to send it back to the factory. I cannot imagine a gun leaving the factory so far out of spec.

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

Really. That's spark plug territory, not revolver territory.