Hello,
I have a model 34-1 4" barrel that I purchased a couple of years ago. Although the gun was manufactured in 1977, when I purchased it it was in unused condition. Brand new in every respect. I've noticed that the gun has about .004/.005 of end shake and I'm wondering what if anything I should do. I do believe that it came from the factory that way. I'm wondering if I should send it back to S&W at my expense or if I should allow the end shake to remain. The gun shoots very well aside from an occasional misfire if the recesses in the back of the cylinder aren't clean. I'm wondering if using it in this state will result in accelerated wear. How much end shake should be considered acceptable? I'll be grateful for all replies.
S.K.

End-shake can be fixed quite simply and inexpensively with some Power's Custom End-shake eliminating Stainless Yoke Bearings. All that is required is that you unscrew the Ejector Rod, and slip in the proper amount of bearings. Reassemble, and you are good to go. Just make sure you realize that the threads are usually left handed and that you MUST place at least 3 empties in the cylinder while unscrewing the ER.


Stainless Yoke Bearing [PC-REV-018] - $18.00 : GrandMasters L.L.C., Gunsmithing, Ruger 10-22, AK-47, Ruger, AR-15, Ruger Accessories, Gunsmithing Tools and Gun Accessories

The end shake could very well be a partial cause of occasional misfires. The cylinder moving during firing pin strike would absorb part of the hammer energy as well as making the cartridge farther from the firing pin than nominal. I also believe that excess cylinder movement during recoil would accelerator wear but probably minimal on something like a 22lr.

Correct end shake should be between .001 and .002. It is not a difficult repair. Simplest way is to add a shim or 2. In your case I would try 2 and if the cylinder got draggy remove one. They are available through Midway for $15.95 for 10. I have some N/L/K but J frames require a different one than those. The other method is to stretch the yoke. I have never done this myself, but understand the simple procedure where a device like a rolling tubing cutter with a dull wheel is ran around the yoke tube causing metal displacement to stretch the tube a small amount. I have used shims on several revolvers and turning a couple cylinder replacements and they are simple to use and work well.

Here is a video by Midways smiling Larry

Another, less expensive source for quality end shake bearings and yoke bearings is Michigan Center Outdoors........

Revolver Cylinder Shims

As you know, you need some gauge (.001-.002") for the cylinder to freely rotate as it should. The rear gauge spec for rimfires is .008" - .010", so if you decide to order and use bearings/shims, keep this rear gauge in mind as you close that internal gap between the end of the yoke barrel and the bearing surface inside the cylinder and move the cylinder back. Also keep in mind that moving the cylinder back with yoke barrel bearings (shims) will open up the B/C gap.

__________________
Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

There are no endshake shims for a 34/63. Even though it's a J-frame, the ID of a centerfire J shim (.38 snub, for example) is way too small and no real way to ream out the ID of those paper thin shims. The yoke tube ID of a 34 is the same as a K-frame, but a K tube and the shims have an OD way too big. Reason I know is my 34 had endshake like yours and had several misfires.
What I did was to get some K's and turn down the OD so it just slid nice into the cylinder hole that the yolk tube goes into. The ID of the shims were perfect so you don't have to mess with that.
Get a standard BIC pen (the kind that is just one of those pull off cap types) take the cap off, pull the ballpoint end/ink tube off and put the shim down the ink tube and onto the tip. Put the pen back together and push it down tight making sure the shim is centered and won't rotate on the tip. Get a piece of very. very fine emery cloth or sand paper. Lay it down on a flat surface and start pushing the edge of the shim across the paper while rolling the pen EVENLY to take equal material off the shims OD. Don't apply too much pressure as to bend the shim edge. What you basicly want to do is reduce the OD of the shim. Test it often by sliding your pen/shim assembly into the hole of the cylinder until it slides in nice with almost no rubbing of the wall and without making the shim too small on the OD.
I made about 4 of them for spares. Works perfect and haven't had a misfire in about a thousand rounds. I'd get .002" for this. You don't want "no endshake".

Michigan Center Outdoors......or triggershims.com, does have the "oddball" sized end shake bearings/shims for the .22 rimfire J-frame models.
They are sized nominal O.D. of .357" X I.D. of .242", (.002") and cost $5.00 for two, including shipping.

Many other shims and bearings are also available for different makes and models.

TriggerShims Brand Shim Kits

__________________
Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I want to thank everyone for the replies. I believe that I'll use cylinder endshake shims. From what I see the only place to get shims that will fit a J frame rimfire is from Michigan Center Outdoors per armorer951. Thanks again.
S.K.

I like how you think and work good job. A lot can be done by a man with a brain and some patience.

I'm glad Michigan Outdoors offers them now. I did mine way back when Power Custom was the only game in town.
Thanks for liking my post, I can only take credit for half of the process. I read about it here where a member used a pencil eraser to index the shim, but I found out it wanted to walk off the rubber and he used a fine India stone, where I had more even control with emery cloth.

Received the end shake shims from Michigan Center. First tried the .002 which reduced the end shake to .002/.003 then removed it and tried a .003 which gave an end result of .001/.002 of end shake. The numbers added up!!! Went to the range and fired off about 145 rounds with 1 misfire. This occurred at about 130 rounds. The strike dent in that shell is only very slightly less deep than the others and I don't think the strike was light enough to cause a misfire. However, I'm pleased with the results and I'm grateful for the advice on this forum. A lot can be learned here. Thank you for all the replies.
S.K.

Alternative to expensive cylinder shims for endshake

Read my last post in this thread. Explains what else should be done when repairing end shake with shims.

Thanks. Yes, I've read about this procedure in other threads. As I stated in my original post, this gun has a very low round count (it's nearly new) and I suspect that it came from the factory this way rather than as a result of wear. The front face of the yoke tube looked smooth and square and the bottom of the cylinder was difficult to see but with a bore light and an eye loupe it looked ok but with the usual tool marks that I've noticed in a lot of S&W machining. I was comfortable going ahead with adding the washer. Also, I don't have the necessary tools to resurface the bottom of the cylinder and yoke tube and was unable to find them online. As I said previously, I believe the gun probably had less than 1,500 rounds on it. Thanks again.
S.K.

NEVER TELL YOUR WIFE SHE HAS DEVELOPED "END-SHAKE"!!!

Sounds like a hard learned lesson.