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Old 11-16-2013, 01:14 PM
Krell1 Krell1 is offline
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Question Cleaning a Revolver

Just curious. I've owned a Model 60 for a very short time. At what point in the cleaning process should you remove the side plate for cleaning. I purchased the gun used and have fired it a few times at the range. Afterwards I thoroughly clean all the accessible parts, cylinder, barrel etc. Is there a need to strip it and clean it on a regular basis?
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Old 11-16-2013, 01:21 PM
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I've only taken the side plate off of one gun and that was because it had jammed.Its rarely necessary,but some like to do it.
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Old 11-16-2013, 01:22 PM
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I have never done it

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Old 11-16-2013, 01:23 PM
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You're going to get plenty of replies to this question . Personally, I think the internals of a revolver are pretty well protected in normal use, so unless it is exposed to nasty weather or crud, or if it does not function smoothly I would leave the sideplate on. Others with more dexterity may differ, and I respect that. Hope this is helpful.
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Old 11-16-2013, 01:25 PM
Malpaso Malpaso is offline
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If you bought it new, and you take care of it, you should get thousands of rounds through it before anything under the sideplate needs cleaning. On the other hand, when I buy a used one and don't know it's history, I'll take off the sideplate to see what's there. I'll also do some stoning and polishing while I'm in there, so it serves double duty.
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Old 11-16-2013, 01:37 PM
Krell1 Krell1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Malpaso View Post
If you bought it new, and you take care of it, you should get thousands of rounds through it before anything under the sideplate needs cleaning. On the other hand, when I buy a used one and don't know it's history, I'll take off the sideplate to see what's there. I'll also do some stoning and polishing while I'm in there, so it serves double duty.
On the outside, it was in excellent shape. I bought it from an out of town dealer and took his word for the condition. It's stainless and had a couple minor spots that he had told me about and I was able to polish them out. I did an inspection of all the working parts and all were excellent. At that time I decided not to remove the side plate since the overall appearance was good. I may do so sometime in the future since I like to strip down all my guns on occasion just to make sure the internal parts continue to work. I recently joined a local range that offered, as part of the new membership, a free ultrasonic cleaning of one gun. Maybe I'll let them do the snubbie for me. My other guns don't need it and I might as well take advantage of the free service.
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Old 11-16-2013, 02:19 PM
Damn Yankee Damn Yankee is offline
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Krell 1

I am just like Malpaso. All of my Smiths are used and the first thing I did was to dissemble them to check condition and clean and lube. My duty gun is a 686 and every six months I pop the side plat just to put a drop of oil here and there and a little lube on the sear.

I think a lot of us revolver guys get just as much enjoyment polishing and smoothing the action as well as shooting them. You be surprised what some 800 paper and a couple of new springs can do for the trigger pull.

If you are mechanically inclined get yourself the "The S&W Revolver Handbook" written by Jerry Kuhnausen. This book is the "Holy Grail" for Smith Revolvers.

Don't let that side plate Intimidate you. Just learn how to remove it and see how these great revolvers work.
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Old 11-16-2013, 02:26 PM
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Even if you never want to work on your revolver, I recommend this video Team Miculek ? Trigger Job by Jerry Miculek It shows you how to take apart and re-assemble, as well as how each part functions, invaluable for troubleshooting problems. I've had mine so long its on VHS!
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Old 11-16-2013, 06:32 PM
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Since I have not bought a new Smith & Wesson since 1993 and have since ONLY bought used guns I will routinely remove the side plate on a newly acquired used gun, completely disassemble, clean, de-burr if necessary, do what ever work is necessary or desired, lubricate and re-assemble. There are some guns that get shot weekly like my M15, M19, M60-7, M18, M586, etc and after a few thousand rounds I will strip down the gun and repeat. Other than heavily shot guns, I will just do a thorough cleaning and lubrication after a Range session. The parts that I will always remove when cleaning are the cylinder and the grips, but for normal cleanings the side plate does NOT get removed.

I also completely strip some of my Autos that see heavy usage such as my 1911's, Smith M41, and Colt SAA's - but again ONLY after heavy usage. Stripping a gun down too often will more than likely cause more problems than it will solve.
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