Hi,

My name is Tim and I'm stupid. I bought what appeared to be a nice 18-3 off of GB "as is." Yeah, I did. And I paid good money for it too.

So, yeah, I'm stupid.

Now that we've got that out of the way, onto the question.

The DA pull feels clunky and erratic. Sometimes I cannot pull the trigger completely to the rear. It binds, stops and I have to release the trigger and pull again. The cylinder notches are burred.

In my very amateur Smith gunsmithing opinion, I'd say it has timing issues.

The bluing is scratched up on the cylinder and there are some tiny divots on the outside of the cylinder on the hammer end. Not sure what caused those marks other more amateur and careless gunmsmithin'. It looked nice in the pictures and naturally the seller said it was in excellent condition and he was the original owner.

The gun appears to be mechanically sound otherwise. I think it's just the victim of some amateur gunsmithin'. (There's a small ding on the sideplate where it appears some goon has tried to pry the sideplate off.)

Am I better off to send it to S&W or take it to Cylinder and Slide, who is just an hour away from me?

Thanks!

Sorry to hear about your trouble. The "divots" you mention are probably from the gun being dry-fired.

Assuming the seller will not take the gun back, I would try oiling the internals really well, and if that doesn't solve the other issues you mentioned it is fortunate you are close to an excellent 'smith. Please let us know what happens.

__________________
Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I doubt he'll take it back or give me any other consideration as it was "as-is" which should have been a warning to me but it looked so good in the pics and I took him at his word that it was "excellent."

I hosed it down good with some Slip2000 EWL and let it sit overnight but I can still detect some binding as I cock it in SA mode occasionally. Something just ain't quite right with it.

The "divots" I mention are really more like tiny gouges in the surface of the cylinder as it someone had laid it on a hard concrete surface and moved it around. I'm not sure what could have caused it other than some less than gentle handling at some point. I can see no indentations in the chamber mouths as if someone had dryfired it fortunately.

I'm more concerned about the burrs I see developing in the locking notches.

Anyway, it's mine now and I want to salvage it as best as possible and make a good shooter out of it.

If the seller said it was "excellent", there is a difference between that and fubarred.

GunBroker has a system in place that will protect you from this sort of misrepresentation from the seller. If he said "As Is" and left it at that - then yes - caveat emptor. If he said that it is "excellent", then that is yet another thing entirely.

Check the hammer spring screw on the forward side of the grip near the bottom. A really loose screw can alter the spring causing it to bind up the internals. Also some after market grips have the screw a little off from the factory location and can interferre with the mainspring causing similar problems. I'm sure C &S could fix it up but may take awhile. S&W should also be able to get it back in fine shape also.

If you're comfortable giving it a detail strip and cleaning, do so. This might make a meaningful difference in the quality of the action feel, and also account for anything like loose mainspring screws.

It also allows you to really inspect the innards for burrs, gouges, etc.

I'd do this first.

Next up, I echo gm272gs' observation: if the seller described this item as excellent, it is clearly not and you have grounds to dispute. Hopefully you have retained a PDF of the original GB ad, and kept a copy of all correspondence you had with the seller.

Lastly, if you do decide you need a 'smith, and Cylinder and Slide is only an hour away, I'd contact them, explain your situation and arrange a drop-off for service; then I'd do a little Googling and see if there are any good restaurants or cool sights along the drive and make it a fun day trip. I've done this with all manner of otherwise obnoxious drives and it really improves the experience.

If C&S can't help you or for some reason after talking to them you're disinclined to use them, I'd pack it off to S&W with a note that says "HELP!"

Hi Tim:

First of all, welcome to the Forum - you're going to love this place! Secondly, quit beating yourself up about your purchase. Others have given you good advice on how to proceed if you want to complain. Personally, I've purchased 3 firearms from GB with out any "surprises" or problems. Cylinder & Slide is a well known gunsmith shop, so you'll be in good hands if you go that route. Finally, diagnosis and treatment is difficult to do in the absence of sufficient data. In other words, some photos of the areas of the piece that trouble you may make it easier for folks here to try and help you. Best of luck to you. I hope this ends well for you. Please let us know how this ends.

Regards,

Dave

Who knows, the Gunbroker seller might be a stand-up guy who will stand behind it. I sell on Gunbroker as well as buy. If someone told me the story you just related, I would work with him to adjust the price so that the buyer felt like he got treated fairly, or take the gun back.

Latest update: Tonight I got out the Kunhausen book and looked it over. I had a good fittin' screwdriver bit, so I went for it. I dropped the sideplate off.

I could not make out anything amiss, such as metal shavings or particles, big balls of dried grease etc. I didn't do anything more than drop the plate though as this was the first time inside a Smith and I'm a scaredy cat that way. I stuffed the chambers with some snap caps and started hammering while watching the inner workings of the ancient design.

What I saw happening was, if I pulled through the DA cycle very slowly, one particular chamber would hang up, just nearly at the top of the hand stroke/hammer drop portion of the cycle. If I pulled the hand out of the slot at that point, i.e., disengaged it from the cylinder, then I could pull the trigger the required amount and drop the hammer.

It seemed to be one particular chamber and only if I pulled slowly and deliberately.

I greased contact surfaces with some good ol' TW-25B, which seemed to smooth things up. SA and DA pulls are much smoother. I could see nothing unusual about the cylinder engagement surfaces.

It seems better now. I can live with the cosmetics. They aren't that bad and I bought this thing to be a shooter.

Thanks for your input and help!!!

My forearms are tired.

glad you ventured forth,opened it up and seemingly repaired it....congrats!

__________________
SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Are there any pictures in our future??

You've had a rough couple of gun purchases first the 66-1 and now the 18-3. Will Cylinder and Slide give you a volume discount? Good luck with these and any future purchases.

Don't go working a wheel gun a lot with the side plate off. Those parts have a way of walking out of their spots, and flying. The side plate is there to keep them in place.

If you are new to this level of dis-assembly, I tell folks to do it inside of a big (gallon size) ziploc bag.

Ah, the ol' 66 issue. I sent that one back home. But I did find a nice one at an auction at a good price. So that itch has been scratched.

Got K-frame fever I guess.

I found that out early. I kept pressure on the trigger/hand junction. Otherwise, the trigger worked out slightly.

A very poor one. This one isn't afflicted with the accursed TT, the bane of DA shooters.

Attached Images

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It’s tough to diagnose without being able to handle your 18, but the only thing you’re typed that indicates a problem other than the two most common causes of the cylinder binding while rotating past one chamber is that the binding only occurs when you operate the action very slowly. The two most common causes are: 1) an oversize hand wedged tight between the frame and ratchet, and 2), more likely on an old worn revolver, zero B/C gap resulting from end shake. I’d look first for the front of the cylinder dragging on the back end of the barrel. Next someone may have replaced the hand with an oversize one to correct late timing that was the result of wear, and the oversize hand almost fit without filing the frame’s hand slot.

Another possibility is that when the back of the cylinder was dinged up one ratchet tooth was damaged.

Have you inspected for these things?

I'm told the gun never has been apart and judging by the appearance of the internals, it hasn't been fired a great deal.

What I'm finding now is that it appears the plastic snap caps I've been using get deformed and cause drag while the cylinder rotates. I replaced them with new ones and the problem went away entirely.

Classic case of overthinking the problem.