1958 Model 28 cylinder binding

[duman444]

Bought a 1958 Model 28 triple T, a few years ago. The gun was aftermarket nickle plated. It has always had an issue with the cylinder binding either latched or outside the gun. Its not bad enough to keep it from cocking in single or double, but kind of irritating nonetheless.

Got out my 1982 28-2 last night and changed parts from gun to gun as much as i could as they are not fit and the extractor rod change threads from RH to LH.

Final conclusion. If the extractor rod on the 1958 is not tightened beyond hand tightening there is no binding. Any ideas of what the problem, fix could be?

Looked in Kuhnhausens (sp?) manual and did not see anything that specifically addresses this issue.

[armorer951]

I would guess something related to the yoke and the cylinder assembly as a result of the plating. Cylinder binding on the barrel of the yoke, or not enough end shake for the cylinder assebly to rotate properly when closed. Plating thickness can significantly change the gauges inside the components.
The yoke could also be slightly bent, which would cause a variety of issues, including binding on the center pin when the cylinder is closed.

[duman444]

Yoke does not seem to be the issue as the 28-2 rotates freely in yoke with it open. Will not close as is it not fit to gun.

In regards to end shake, you might be on to something there when the cylinder is in the gun, but why would it bind when it is outside the gun spinning on the yoke?

Only binds when extractor rod is tighter than hand tight, in gun or open.

[armorer951]

If the aftermarket plating included the cylinder and yoke, then the plating on both surfaces may be causing the assembly to bind, and not rotate properly.
I would suspect that the plated gun may have had fitting issues before the plating was done, which only made the issues worse.

Have you had the action examined and evaluated by a qualified, trusted gunsmith? Diagnosis of the problem will be much easier having access to the gun itself.

[mmande]

"If the extractor rod on the 1958 is not tightened beyond hand tightening there is no binding"
It sounds to me like something isn't 100% square to the axis of the extractor assembly.
Either the threaded end of the extractor, the mating surfaces of the extractor collar or the surface of the extractor rod that contacts the collar. If any of these surfaces are not perpendicular (or square) to the axis, the whole assembly will "tilt" to one side when tightened causing binding. If any of these parts where plated it could throw off the axis by even a half a thousands. It would take a VERY experienced machinist to measure the squareness of these parts.
The only part that would interchange with a dash 2 would be the collar.
Good luck with your adventure;
Mike

[duman444]

That's one thing I did not try, moving the collar from one to another. Will try that tonight, plus look hard at the mating surface of extractor rod and Ejector star. Looked at the inside of the yoke and it did not get plated. The Ejector star is still in blue, but the ejector rod is plated on the outside, so the plating may have got on the bottom of it changing the geometry of the parts.

In regards to sending it to a gunsmith, it's not bad enough to spend money on, plus I love to tinker and if I can't fix it, the guns still works with it the way it is.

Not going to sell the gun, the only reason I bought it is, its the only Smith I own made in my birth year. So it was always be my (or my Heirs) problem.

[armorer951]

The extractor rod could also be binding inside the hole or cavity that the rod passes through in the top of the yoke body itself. Does the extractor rod appear to be concentric when you spin the assemply on the yoke....or does the end of the rod "wobble"?

[duman444]

This was one of the tests, I could kind of do. I moved the entire extractor rod star assembly from the 28 to the 28-2 and it spun freely on both yokes, but it was only hand tight. The extractor star is not fit to the 28-2 cylinder so it did not fully seat on the pins at the back of the cylinder.

No noticeable wobble on the rod, but I am only using a visual reference not a dial indicator.

[armorer951]

I was referring to eccentricity of the extractor rod in it's original configuration.

Since these are not "drop in" parts, changing the parts and assemblies from one gun to another will give you mixed messages about what is actually wrong with the model 28.

[duman444]

I was referring to original configuration about the wobble as well.

Knew the parts would not interchange, just testing.

Will use yours and mmande suggestions tonight to see if i can improve.

[CelticSire]

Without actually seeing the parts in question, I'm going to hazard a guess that the plating of the ejector rod is causing a misalignment when it gets tightened past a certain point. I would imagine its due to a difference in thickness of the plating material. It doesn't take much to throw these parts out of alignment enough to cause binding.

[duman444]

Earlier messages talking about thousands of an inch made me look at the rod again and it is bent, would guess about .0010 at the end. Not sure why the binding only happens when the rod is more than finger tight, but will take rod to work tomorrow (drill press and dial indicator there) and see if I can bend it close to factory dimensions as finding a new chrome plated RH thread is going to tough.

[Protocall_Design]

Oftentimes the rod is straight but will have runout when assembled. TDhis is due to the clearance that must be present in the threaded joint for the 2 parts to screw together. The only sure way to get it straight is to do it as an assembly.