Cylinder Reaming

[Catwrangler]

Pre-18 chambers need reaming- local smiths all say nope.
Too old for S&W per customer service. I can buy the reamer from Manson, but the tool will used once and just sit.
Anyone on the site willing? Shoot me a price via PM. THANKS

[Ackley1952]

Another case of cylinder shrinkage. You just can’t buy good steel anymore. My older model 36 will be firing 32 long pretty soon .

[Troystat]

You might try polishing the chambers first, sometimes that is enough. There are a few threads in the forum about people renting reamers.

[Hondo44]

Bullet to throat fit:

FYI: Although 22 revolver cylinders have charge holes because .22s use heeled bullets (same diameter as the cartridge case and the last modern cartridge to do so), all charge holes are not created equal.

Charge holes are usually bored thru in one diameter; think cap and ball and the heeled bullet era of the late 1800s.

As you all know, chambers have a shoulder where the case neck ends and a slightly smaller diameter where the bullet throat is located at the front of the chamber, as do all center fire cartridge chambers.

However S&W .22 chamber throats can be the cause of difficulty to chamber rounds due to the bullet plating, color coating, wax, or even crud a bit too thick to enter the throats w/o a little muscle and frustration. Why? Because S&W chamber throat areas have a slight taper, kind of a modified charge hole design.

S&W chambers are seldom truly under sized, they're tapered for accuracy.

Stick your .22s into the front of the cyl chambers backwards to test your ammunition's bullet fit in the throats. You’ll also find that some manufacturer’s .22 ammunition will chamber completely case and all from the front end but with others the case will not enter the throat!



Fixing tight chambers:

I always attempt to fix problems with the very least invasive method.

Also I would never tolerate a sixgun that was finicky with certain brands of ammo, especially these days when certain specific brands are so hard to find. Having said that, I do recognize that each gun has its own preference for the best accuracy and I will cater to that.

But the fact is, many chambers come from the factory with less than satisfactory chamber finishes. This is exacerbated on a nickel gun because the plating does add a smidgen of extra thickness on the metal surfaces and can make chambers a little extra tight.

Look in your chambers with good light and a 5X glass. You'll see the factory machining marks, those are your problem. They not only grip the sides of your cases like friction tape, they collect fouling like a magnet.

However in my 59 years of shooting experience I've never had to resort to a gunsmith or any added tools expense to fix chamber extraction issues.

A simple inspection for burrs is an excellent first thing to do. Quite often one burr in one chamber make all six chambers extract too hard.

Then I load and shoot one round in each chamber and extract that one case to find any chamber or chambers with a specific problem or a burr.


Then I polish all chambers gently. The simplest for me is 800 to 1000 grit paper wrapped around a wood dowel with a slit in it, just slightly smaller than the chamber diameter. Mount in a Dremel tool or small power drill and spin in the chamber. It only takes a couple of seconds per chamber.

You can even go up to 2000 grit, or use Flitz on an S&W barrel mop, the chambers will look like mirrors!!

One caution is to stay out of the chamber throats, you don't want to affect the shoulder or throat area.

Of course .22s chambers are simplest to do because they don't have actual chambers, they have charge holes, no shoulders, (not .22 Magnum chambers, they have shoulders).

The secret to success is to keep the dowel moving in and out of the chamber so you keep the chamber walls straight. If you don't move the dowel or any polishing device for that matter, in and out, you risk creating waves or wallows in the chamber walls and cases will stick even worse.

But as I said only a couple of seconds is needed so there's little risk of the problem occurring and no risk if you move in and out using a dowel.

The risk is greater using polishing compound on a patch because it doesn't have straight sides. Especially if used with a power tool and not moved in and out.

You don't need or want reaming, even finishing reaming; you just get new machining marks and slightly larger chambers for the cases to bulge. All you need to do is a simple little polishing:

1. By hand with a cleaning rod and the wool cleaning mop supplied with Smiths. Apply Flitz, Semi-Chrome or Mother's Mag Wheel polish. This method will take some time.

2. This is actually a proper application for a Dremel tool when used correctly! And much faster. Mount the mop in a Dremel tool. The critical issue is to keep the mop MOVING IN AND OUT while spinning in the chambers to keep the chamber walls perfectly straight and not create wallows.

3. Make a small mandrel for the Dremel from a piece of old cleaning rod, Chinese chopstick, or the like with a split cut in the end. Use a piece of 2000 grit wet or dry paper in the split and wrapped layers around the mandrel until it's a snug fit in the chambers. Use a light oil and again, keep it MOVING IN AND OUT until chambers are polished. Methods #2 and #3 of course will take much less time.

I'm sure you'll have no problems after that.

[Catwrangler]

The chambers have been polished and checked for burrs.. Any brand ammo is tight to insert in the chamber and damn near painful to extract. There have been several posts showing amount of filings removed with a finish reamer. I know what I want. I posted legitimate need for someone to provide a service. This is not a post requsting cute responses or unwanted opinion.

[raljr1]

Then just put a "want to buy ad" in the classified.

[smoothshooter]

There are places that rent-out reamers.
Others can chime in with the names of the places that do that.

[Marylander]

Originally Posted by Catwrangler

Pre-18 chambers need reaming- local smiths all say nope.
Too old for S&W per customer service. I can buy the reamer from Manson, but the tool will used once and just sit.
Anyone on the site willing? Shoot me a price via PM. THANKS

PM Sent, "Marylander"

[steelslaver]

4DReamerRental Kalispell, MT

[cfplinker]

For your reading enjoyment. What you need, how to do it, and even a pass around reamer (if my memory is right).

Finish reaming K22s, or, How To Solve Difficult Extraction In .22lr S&Ws

[Krogen]

Originally Posted by Catwrangler

The chambers have been polished and checked for burrs.. Any brand ammo is tight to insert in the chamber and damn near painful to extract. There have been several posts showing amount of filings removed with a finish reamer. I know what I want. I posted legitimate need for someone to provide a service. This is not a post requsting cute responses or unwanted opinion.

Wow. Where are your manners?

[gwpercle]

Originally Posted by Catwrangler

The chambers have been polished and checked for burrs.. Any brand ammo is tight to insert in the chamber and damn near painful to extract. There have been several posts showing amount of filings removed with a finish reamer. I know what I want. I posted legitimate need for someone to provide a service. This is not a post requsting cute responses or unwanted opinion.

Cast Boolits

Member DougGuy performs this service .

Gary

[boatbum101]

As stated above Doug does an excellent job very reasonably . Just ship the cylinder , uses a Sunnen honing machine . Dimensionally correct with a smooth surface .

[GeoJelly]

I had the same issue with a Ruger SP101 several years ago. A well-mannered and highly-skilled Gent here on SWF was kind enough to offer to take care of it gratis. Being friendly and nice on a public forum like this has worked out very well for me these past 20+ years. I just bought another great Ruger revolver from another stellar member here. As a sidebar, I see that same (old-style SP101) revolver is now going for $900+ on GB.

[pantannojack]

Thanks for the info from poster #4. I have a m18-3 giving me the hard extraction symptoms. I just now fired the chambers one at a time and discovered the one I named #1 is the offender. I next, after cleaning, checked visually with my Lyman Bore Cam and found a brass or copper fouling speck within. I lightly scraped with a ribbed brass cleaning jag, then polished lightly with some Flits on a cleaning patch. I think I may have found a cure. More time at the range will tell. I also found using the push a fresh round in both directions method my exit holes are slightly tighter than the rear of the cylinder. Also with the Bore Cam, I can see radial tool marks in the bullet travel portion but longitudinal marks in the "chamber" portion. Might that indicate that a previous owner has tried something similar?

[Catwrangler]

Thank you Gary..

[AJ]

For what it is worth this is how I fixed my Model 17 from having sticky chambers. I used a .22 caliber mop on a length of cleaning rod and chucked it into my drill. I used jeweler's rouge on the mop. Used the mop on each chamber several times. After each pass with the mop I tried a fired case in the chamber to see how it ejected. Once I was satisfied with the ejection, I took it to the range. After the range session I polished the chambers one more time. Works just fine now. Wish S&W would have done their job to begin with.

[Ackley1952]

Originally Posted by AJ

For what it is worth this is how I fixed my Model 17 from having sticky chambers. I used a .22 caliber mop on a length of cleaning rod and chucked it into my drill. I used jeweler's rouge on the mop. Used the mop on each chamber several times. After each pass with the mop I tried a fired case in the chamber to see how it ejected. Once I was satisfied with the ejection, I took it to the range. After the range session I polished the chambers one more time. Works just fine now. Wish S&W would have done their job to begin with.

will smith and Wesson clean your gun at your house or do you have to send it in ?

[AJ]

Originally Posted by Ackley1952

will smith and Wesson clean your gun at your house or do you have to send it in ?

Not cleaning the revolver, I was polishing the chambers. I learned to clean and disassemble firearms years ago. If S&W would have polished the chambers on their K frame .22's there would not have been several threads on this subject.

[Ackley1952]

Your chambers will stick again. You’ve polished them you’ve stated. It’s just like cleaning your barrel with a brush. Smith can’t remove build up that comes through use . Do you think smith and Wesson has any experience in reaming and polishing chambers in revolvers ?

[AJ]

Originally Posted by Ackley1952

Your chambers will stick again. You’ve polished them you’ve stated. It’s just like cleaning your barrel with a brush. Smith can’t remove build up that comes through use . Do you think smith and Wesson has any experience in reaming and polishing chambers in revolvers ?

I clean every gun when I buy it, before going to the range. This revolver was sticking from the beginning. After the first range session, I came to this forum to see if others were having this problem. Do a search on the subject, I think you will see what I mean. Many folks reaming chambers. I elected to go the polishing route.

[Ackley1952]

Which happens if this condition gets worse with use ? The charge hole diameter in the cylinder shrinks ? Or the loaded ammunition grows ? Or crud buildup in the cylinder charge hole gets worse as you fire it until a cleaning ?

[AJ]

Originally Posted by Ackley1952

Which happens if this condition gets worse with use ? The charge hole diameter in the cylinder shrinks ? Or the loaded ammunition grows ? Or crud buildup in the cylinder charge hole gets worse as you fire it until a cleaning ?

Well Sir, I guess we are all wrong and you are right............

[Ackley1952]

Just wait till your properly finished chambers stick again . Then you can blame yourself for not doing it right the first time .

[AJ]

Originally Posted by Ackley1952

Just wait till your properly finished chambers stick again . Then you can blame yourself for not doing it right the first time .

Thank you for your input.

[alwslate]

Just buy the reamer, ream your chambers, list it for sale and pack it for shipment. Simple.

[AzShooter]

I used a Clymer Chamber Reamer that I got from Brownell's to fix my sticky case situation. It works great. After using the reamer I polished the chamber with Flitz.

I can now shoot an entire Steel Challenge Match without cleaning the cylinder once for all 39 runs. I also found that using plated or jacketed .22 ammo is a big improvement. Blazers still stick after about 150 rounds but they group the best in all of my .22s.

[Jebus35745]

Check out the link in post 10 at the end. I bought a reamer from someone on the forum and he told me not to send the money just pass it on, so I did. Try to locate it and he will send it to you. It was passed to people on that thread to use then send it to someone else in need. Larry

[9146gt]

Try a ball hone.
Tom

[AJ]

Originally Posted by Jebus35745

Check out the link in post 10 at the end. I bought a reamer from someone on the forum and he told me not to send the money just pass it on, so I did. Try to locate it and he will send it to you. It was passed to people on that thread to use then send it to someone else in need. Larry

Larry,

Saw your post. How is the Mid Range doing?

AJ