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Old 08-30-2020, 12:45 PM
Gazz Gazz is offline
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Default Model 66 Lead Shaving

I have a S&W 66 that was a former police duty gun that shaves lead when fired. It has some end shake and a little rotational play at lock up. Does it need to have an oversize hand fitted? Or will will shims to tighten up the end play fix it? Or do I need to look at something else like the cylinder locking bolt?
Thanks for your replies!
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Old 08-30-2020, 02:14 PM
stansdds stansdds is offline
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I seriously doubt that end shake shims are going to cure a lead shaving problem.

Lead shaving occurs when the chamber is not in alignment with the barrel forcing cone. This can be the result of the hand not fully carrying up the cylinder, a poor fit between the cylinder stop and stop notches, a worn ratchet, or a combination of these issues. It can also happen if the cylinder yoke is bent.
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Old 08-30-2020, 02:18 PM
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Originally Posted by stansdds View Post
I seriously doubt that end shake shims are going to cure a lead shaving problem.

Lead shaving occurs when the chamber is not in alignment with the barrel forcing cone. This can be the result of the hand not fully carrying up the cylinder, a poor fit between the cylinder stop and stop notches, a worn ratchet, or a combination of these issues. It can also happen if the cylinder yoke is bent.
+1..

I had one like the OP's.. shot it to much and cracked the forcing cone.

Get it checked out.
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Old 08-30-2020, 02:41 PM
Pisgah Pisgah is offline
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You say it's shaving lead, and I don't doubt your word -- but different folks mean different things when they say that. A buddy once told me his Model 28 was shaving lead, and showed me what he was talking about. IN his case, it was nothing more than the usual accumulation of lead/lube you can expect to find around a forcing cone after shooting a lot of high-pressure cast loads.

But assuming yours is actually spitting lead, you really need a revolver smith to diagnose exactly what's needed. I've tinkered with revolvers and done a lot of parts-swapping in my time, but a serious timing problem is one i'll leave to a pro.
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Old 09-02-2020, 03:42 PM
Gazz Gazz is offline
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Thanks for the useful replies. Fortunately, the revolver seems to be fine as it is. The fellow that I got it from told me that it shaved lead and I believed him but after a total disassembly, cleaning and lubrication, it works fine with no evidence of any shaved lead. I hung a piece of white paper vertically and fired the revolver with lead .38 special loads about 6" or so from the sheet with no evidence of any holes or marks in the paper.
Also the reason I asked about how to fix it was so that I could do the work and learn something. Taking it to a "professional" is something I already know.
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Old 09-03-2020, 07:26 AM
stansdds stansdds is offline
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Thanks for the useful replies. Fortunately, the revolver seems to be fine as it is. The fellow that I got it from told me that it shaved lead and I believed him but after a total disassembly, cleaning and lubrication, it works fine with no evidence of any shaved lead. I hung a piece of white paper vertically and fired the revolver with lead .38 special loads about 6" or so from the sheet with no evidence of any holes or marks in the paper.
Also the reason I asked about how to fix it was so that I could do the work and learn something. Taking it to a "professional" is something I already know.
Happy that your Model 66 is not actually shaving lead when fired. It could be that the former owner was not adequately cleaning the revolver or was shooting some really poor quality lead bullets, leading him to believe it was shaving lead.

Kudos to you for the desire to learn more about your revolver and how to maintain and maybe execute some repairs.
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