Is there any way to avoid the "turn line" on revolver cylinders?

Don't shoot it?

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USAF AMMO

Yes, but it's not easy (depending on your skill set) nor necessarily foolproof. The line is caused by friction on the cylinder caused by rubbing on the top of the arch of the cylinder lock. Polishing the top of the cylinder lock will help somewhat. Engravers who wish to minimize the possibility have been known to put small inserts of plastic or nylon in the top of the lock, small enough and just high enough to prevent the steel surface of the lock from rubbing. It might help to just put a small piece of tape on the top center portion of the lock, but I wouldn't recommend doing it if you plan on shooting the gun, and certainly not on a gun carried or relied up on for self defense as the tape could come off and cause issues inside the gun.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

As indicated in the reproduced factory letter, the turn line is an artifact of the design. Yes, a knowledgeable and careful gunsmith can modify the action to eliminate the line, but in so doing he would be resolving a small cosmetic issue by performing a modification with the potential to impair reliability -- not a desirable trade in my opinion.

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Pisgah

Nice find,thanks for posting.

Perhaps a good high quality lubricant that impregnates the metal could be beneficial in keeping the line wear to a minimum. Think about it, oil is used to prevent metal to metal wear besides just lubrication.
I have smeared oil on my cylinders at the line areas hoping to keep the wear line minimal.

Thanks for sharing those letters.

There are ways to mitigate the wear line. I won't go into them, especially one method because I'm not sure they're safe. The other is to just break the top leading edge of the stop with a stone. It seems some stops are sharper than others. I've seen some revolvers, especially model 10s that have been literally gouged by the stop. Too much spring pressure and sharp stop edge. Go easy on the stone. Just take the tiniest amount of sharp edge off.

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NRA Benefactor

Sure fire way! Don't ever pull the hammer back! Most gun shops will caution you to not pull the hammer back when examining a revolver. Nobody likes the "turn line" but it is a fact of life.

In order to function properly, the trigger must pull the cylinder stop out of the cylinder stop notches before the hand turns the cylinder. If this does not happen, the hand will push against the locked cylinder and it will not move. Now that the trigger has pulled the cylinder stop out of the way of the cylinder rotation, it must release it before the ball reaches below the frame so that it does not catch on the frame and failing to pop back to lock the cylinder as it rotates. The cylinder stop pops back up in short order causing the the turn line. I have seen some guns with little turn line and some with a lot. I agree with others that smoothing the ball of the cylinder stop could reduce the line, or take longer for it to become evident, but I think the only way to keep it from occurring would be to remove the cylinder stop, making the cylinder free wheeling. Ok if a collector grade gun never to be shot, as long as you don't loose the stop.

I refuse to be bothered by it.

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

Turn lines don't bother me, but I've thought you might be able to shrink wrap the cylinder in some type of plastic sleeve material.

Buy a V spring action Colt

I have a new car and want to keep the nubs on the tires. Can someone recommend a way of keeping them looking like new.

To operate any machinery expect visible signs of use you can't avoid..

I've often wondered about it myself, then once I understood what caused it, I quit worrying about it. But then I'm just a shooter, not a collector. I have had some 1911's that show a horizontal line on the front of the slide, low, where the spring rides inside, that is caused by touching the frame. Like revolvers, some guns lighter than others.

I've decided that they are tools, and are showing "character" from use. Since I love shooting mg guns, and the cosmetic marks are signs of use, they must be "love lines".

I wouldn't take any metal off the stop. Revolvers need the squared edges to index and stop the cylinder. Any rounding will make them skip. Deal with the lines and the parts will wear in. Leave all indexing parts squared and sharp.
Deal with the lines or don't shoot the revolver.

All that I can say is the gun was meant to be fired , Collectables were not , so do not dry fire it , put it away for a resale some day.
I shoot all of my Revolvers and I am only concerned with proper function all the time.
Just my take on this.

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Be Safe & Shoot Straight

Don't cycle the action . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

"turn lines" are like tire wear from driving your vehicle. If you use the revolver, even infrequently, it's inevitable

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John

Thank you, GunarSailors. That was exactly what I needed to know. I had seen several "cures" on the 'net, but was hesitant to try any of them. So, I won't worry about my next revolver.

The turn line is as much a part of the aesthetics of a revolver as the yoke and cylinder IMHO. Think of it this way, it shows that the cylinder stop mechanism is functioning properly

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MCRGO member

Periodic touch ups with Krylon Epoxy spray paint.

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Still Running Against the Wind

That's just wrong..

and I've seen just about everything...

It's a 'character line' is how I look at it It gets better with time and more polished and defined, and that's OK!

I have seen some work done on custom revolver where the line is widened a bit and highly polished, makes it look more intentional and with the high polish may even have slightly less rotational friction.

Karl

They are not "cures" since there's nothing to cure. This is how the gun functions. It's like asking to stop rail wear on a semi aut

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Just make sure when purchasing a used gun that is well defined the stop edge on the cylinder isn't all peened back and out of time

Get a Stainless Revolver

Not in properly functioning S&W revolvers.

In the revolver armorer class I attended, that "turn line" was called a "stop track" (because it was caused by the cylinder stop ball leaving a track in the cylinder finish).

The cylinder stop's proper engagement is very important in order to experience normal function. (Its pressure against the cylinder may even have to be adjusted in older/worn revolvers, by judicious filing of the adjustment pad on top of the cylinder stop, raising it slightly higher in order to increase contact with the cylinder).

If the cylinder stop doesn't firmly engage and catch in the cylinder's stop notches, then the cylinder may continue to turn (especially if being rapidly fired in DA), due to the mass and momentum of the cylinder. This condition is called "throw-by". (It can also be caused by the cylinder stop getting stuck under the frame, so it can't rise up through the cylinder stop's frame window cut, which is another type of problem that may occur if the stop isn't fit/working properly.)

A "stop track" is an indication of a healthy, properly working S&W revolver.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

If you shoot a Smith & Wesson you WILL get a line. Colts get them as well, but due to their design it is a fainter version of a line.

How come no one ever asks why the rails of an Auto Loader has the blueing or parkerizing wear off? - LOL

OK, Keep your re bluing pen handy.

How about if it's a stainless cylinder and then use a Dremel?

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Still Running Against the Wind

Well, my Smith 28-2 has a slight narrow line. I don't shoot double action and I did buy it used, so no idea how the previous owner used it. I suspect that fast double action shooting will rightly leave a more visible line with time. I also take care to line up the cylinder when closing it so that it locks into place without having to rotate it around to find the notch. Likewise with my Colts.
The ability of the Smith to withstand repeated fast double action shooting is why the 'Smolt' came to be. It combined the resilient Smith action and the excellent Colt Python barrel for competition shooters back in the day.
The Colt action is not weak but if it is not mastered correctly, I believe that repeated fast double action firing can cause it to get out of time with more frequency than a Smith. Such is what I have read on average.