I hate it when you have to follow someone else's bad work. I recently purchased a model 28-2 that is functionally pretty darn nice with the exception that the center pin had become warn to the point where it would not release the cylinder on half of the cylinder rotation.

I ordered the new pin, and when it came brought the revolver to the shop to remove the ejector rod, and replace the center pin. The ejector rod was in pretty good looking condition, with no excessive signs of wear or abuse. I wrapped the knurlled section with a couple layers of heavy cloth and gripped it with a set of vice grips. Turning in either direction did not loosten. The grips slipped and messed up the knurling... so now I'm going to either have to replace the ejector rod as it is physically ugly.

I suppose the guy used lock tite on it so it wouldn't back out.

Any suggestions on how to get it to release? Could remove the cylinder and give it a few seconds of propane torch I suppose. Did that to get a Mossberg 500 magazine tube off...

I'm glad you posted this. I'm having the same issue with my 28-2. I look forward to a response.

You really shouldn't need to use a propane torch to get locktight to release. I've use a simple oven and some heavy leather gloves to good effect. If it was the blue locktight about 150 degrees is all the heat you need to get it to release, for the high temp red you'll need 350 to 450 degrees. Good news is the high temp red is normally a special order item so it's not very likely you'll need to cook it to more than 200 degrees.

BTW, in the future I would suggest the use of a piece of old worn out leather belt, makes for a pad that's much tougher than any cloth. You'll also want to confirm the correct direction of the threads on your model 28, for the 28-2 the information I have is that it's a left hand thread. Finally, do NOT forget to fill the cylinder with fired casings.

There is a tool that works well for loosening the ejector rod, however, more importantly, the ejector should be supported when trying to loosen the rod. There is a tool for that also but I would just suggest putting spent cases in the cylinder in lieu of buying the tool.
Good luck, Steve

Thanks for the tip on the locktite. I'll give it a try.

Called S&W and asked them about the threads and they confirmed it was LH threads. So was fairly sure which direction to rotate. I just hate to buggar up threads or mess up screw heads, or wipe out knurling. So ordered a new ejector rod. $13 from S&W. This is my second rod as I replaced a bent one in a K-38 earlier this year. This is the first worn center pin I've ever seen though.

The fired case thing was already in my head. I'd seen pictures of bent pins and badly damaged ejectors caused by amateur gunsmiths who failed to consider the consequences of their rotational torque.

My father taught me to never to force things... so I usually back off before it would be enough force to bend or harm anything else.

The cylinder has some pitting from being in a holster. The frame is free from any damage. Been trying to decide whether to do anything with the cylinder or just leave it as is.

It's not what I would call a collector quality piece, but in another 50 years it might be in better shape than others. So modifying it seems like a bad idea.

The 28 is in reasonable shape, and shoots great groups. I get a little vertical stringing, but the groups are tight horizontally. Put em all into 1½ inch horzontal and 2½ vertical at 25 yards.

Can't wait to have it fixed.

Vertical stringing is an indication of marginal primer ignition. As an experiment you may want to try putting a 0.010 inch thick shim between the strain screw and the mainspring, that should add just enough just enough power to the primer strike to eliminate the stringing. If that does do the trick, order a new strain screw and check the length against your present strain screw. When you do, I suspect you'll find it's either been filed down or the end has worn enough to shorten it. If you want to maintain a somewhat light DA trigger pull, buy or borrow some digital calipers with a depth probe and file the new strain screw to the length of your old one PLUS 0.010 inch.

Another option is to remove the mainspring and take just a bit of the arch out of it. However, it's a lot more difficult to re-bend the mainspring in a controlled manner and I have no idea how much arch you need to take out to get the mainspring power to increase by just a "smidge".