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Old 05-30-2010, 07:18 PM
RussellD RussellD is offline
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When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver?  
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Default When do you tune up your revolver?

I have two older K frames- Model 19 and Model 10 that were purchased used as inexpensive shooters some years ago. I shoot them with mild wadcutters and semi-wadcutter reloads for target practice. They have just a little bit of endshake and cylinder movement with the hammer down in full lock up. I have newer model 10's that lock up tight as a bank vault.

Both guns will shoot a cleaver leaf type hole with all six rounds touching at 15 yards. Should I leave them alone or have a gunsmith tighten things up a bit? I try to maintain and take good care of the older Smiths so they will last a long time.

They probably get shot a good 50 rounds or so each month.
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Old 05-30-2010, 07:55 PM
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Sounds like a good time for me to use the saying... "If it ain't broken... don't fix it! "

Seriously, if the revolvers have a smooth, consistent trigger pull, they don't spit lead and your able to shoot clover leafs groups at fifteen yards... what is there to be fixed?
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Old 05-30-2010, 08:09 PM
SleazyRider SleazyRider is offline
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That's a very good question, sir, and one that I've given some thought from time to time. In fact, years ago I turned an aluminum mandrel on the lathe that slides snugly down the barrel. I made up some thin-walled aluminum inserts for the cylinder, and slid the mandrel down into the cylinder during full (cocked) lock-up. All of my S&Ws exhibited near-perfect alignment, but being a novice, I'm not sure of the tolerance, or even if there's one published somewhere. I figured the forcing cone corrects some misalignment to some degree, but I don't know what that degree is. Suffice it to say that if you're shooting clover leafs at 15 yards I personally wouldn't mess.
Seems that every time I comb the used gun racks for a beater that I can learn from, I wind up finding a LNIB safe queen for just a few dollars more and buy it, so I'm not sure if I'll ever learn firsthand about tuning up a revolver. I'd love to hear somebody chime in with regard to checking and measuring end-play and timing.
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Old 05-30-2010, 08:49 PM
pownal55 pownal55 is offline
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I picked up a 14-3 with near perfect bluing but it had all the usual mechanical problems. The prior owner never holstered the gun, but shot the hell out of it with target loads. I replaced the hand, locking bolt, center pin, springs, cylinder stop and corrected the endshake. Total cost of gun and parts was 345.00, not much for a "like new" 14-3. You may not need a rebuild, but the experience can be gratifying.
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Old 05-30-2010, 09:04 PM
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Quote:
They have just a little bit of endshake and cylinder movement with the hammer down in full lock up.
I actually prefer .001 shake in the cylinder for the revolvers I use in competition. I can't tell that it affects practical accuracy at all at the distances shot in USPSA and IDPA, and a little grit from a couple hundred shots does not bind up the gun.

I bought a well-thrashed model 66 and as part of going all through it, put .004 shims in the cylinder, leaving about half a thousandth play.
The only other completely new parts in the gun were the cylinder stop and all the springs. Everything else could be corrected by my revolver smith.
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Old 06-02-2010, 12:02 AM
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RussellD,
If you are using them strictly as target and plinking guns, and you can shoot one hole groups the way they are now, I say leave well enough alone!

I have a Model 15 that is well worn, has some scratches, and the double action timing is ever so slightly off (I shoot single action 99% of the time anyway). It shoots one hole groups at 50 feet with 158 grain lead, and I ain't messin' with it!!

Most of my guns are perfect, but sometimes you get one that is just sweet the way it is, and is just a damned great shooter.

I inherited a Marlin 39A from my father that is from the forties. It has some light patina on it, the stock is kind of dinged up and there is just a small amount of freckling on it. On the other hand, it has an incredibly smooth action, a light and smooth trigger, and shoots like the dickens! Before inheriting this gun, I actually went out and bought a new Marlin 39A that was a very pretty gun. It had a beautiful walnut stock but it also had a rebounding hammer, a cross bolt safety, and the action and trigger were nothing to get exited about. These cons outweighed the pros, and I wound up selling the new one, and keeping my fathers. Never looked back either!!

chief38
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Old 06-02-2010, 12:58 PM
tomcatt51 tomcatt51 is offline
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Several of my revlovers get alot of rds thru them. They get parts replaced as required. Once the end of the yoke is cut true and square and the the bearing surface in the cylinder is recut to remove any groove from the yoke, they get shimmed. That really helps keep endshake in spec. Some guns need the yoke/frame shimmed also. Hands and cylinder stops get replaced as the timing gets unacceptably "slow" or the stop is beat to death. If you shoot mostly DA (fast is worst in terms of wear) the hands do wear and the cylinder stop really takes a beating. Probably what matters most in terms of longevity is setting the endshake by trueing and shimming. My 2 cents.
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Old 06-02-2010, 01:07 PM
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Can I be the one to ask the dumb question? HOW do revolvers get out of time? Do the parts wear and tolerances increase? For example, the hand that rotates the cylinder -- does all that repetitive metal-to-metal contact wear down the hand and so it doesn't push the cylinder quite as far as it once did, and this is what happens to timing...?

And what exactly is end shake -- is it when the cylinder moves forward and backward...?

Thanks. I honestly want to know. Slide wear on rails and link stretch in 1911s, I understand. Revolvers, no clue.
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Old 06-02-2010, 01:14 PM
tomcatt51 tomcatt51 is offline
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When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver?  
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Timing: The hand and the ratchets wear. As they do the cylinder starts to not be rotated far enough.

Endshake: The cylinder moves forward and backward. Usually caused by the end of the yoke wearing and also wearing a groove into the cylinder surface it bears against down in the cylinder.
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Old 06-03-2010, 10:54 AM
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Quick definition of the yoke...? The part that swings out from the frame is the yoke, AKA the crane?

Thanks for the info. Been shooting Glocks and HKs too long.
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Old 06-03-2010, 12:53 PM
tomcatt51 tomcatt51 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brokenprism View Post
Quick definition of the yoke...? The part that swings out from the frame is the yoke, AKA the crane?
Yes. The thing that allows the cylinder to swing open is (on a S&W) the yoke. On a Ruger it's the crane. Keeps you out of trouble with picky folks. Kind of like "stars" and ejectors.
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Old 07-22-2018, 02:40 PM
bohuggabee bohuggabee is offline
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When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver? When do you tune up your revolver?  
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i noticed after shooting my dan wesson that there was excess lead splatter next to the barrel. my head spacing was correct. then i realized the cylinder wasn't aligning right on every shot. looked it over. i've always felt the lock up wasn't the best. but now i decided to do something about it. i saw the arm could move left an right about .014". definitely, your revolver needs a tune up if you see lead splatter on the left side of the barrel. my cylinder wasn't aligning on every shot and so rounds were being shaved as they entered the rifling.

Last edited by bohuggabee; 07-22-2018 at 02:46 PM.
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Old 07-23-2018, 06:50 AM
stansdds stansdds is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RussellD View Post

Both guns will shoot a cleaver leaf type hole with all six rounds touching at 15 yards. Should I leave them alone or have a gunsmith tighten things up a bit? I try to maintain and take good care of the older Smiths so they will last a long time.

They probably get shot a good 50 rounds or so each month.
With accuracy like that, I'd leave them alone. Also, 50 rounds per month is not a whole lot of shooting, especially considering that you are using mild ammo.

By the way, just how much end shake are talking about? Seems to me end shake of 0.003" or less is considered acceptable.
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endshake, gunsmith, idpa, lock, model 10, model 15, model 19, model 66, ruger, walnut

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