I've come across a Model 19 that has a problem which makes it inoperable. The cylinder rotates with extreme difficulty. If I swing the cylinder out and pull the thumb latch back, the hammer can be cocked and released as normal. However with the cylinder locked into the frame, it is impossible to cock the hammer as the cylinder will not rotate. I suspected a bent center pin so I disassembled the cylinder assembly and sure enough when I mounted the pin in my lathe it showed it was bent perhaps .06" out at the end. Careful tapping on the pin with a rawhide mallet I was able to get it to spin true but after reassembly, the problem persists. Could it be that the crane is bent? So I made a stud that fits inside the crane (without the cylinder present) which has a small end duplicating the center pin. This stud aligns perfectly with the hole in the frame and can be moved by the thumb latch so it seems that the crane is in good order. With the cylinder in place this revolver has zero endshake and I wonder if that is the problem - it fits to tight to revolve. I have cleaned under the extractor and there are no endshake shims present. What else can I look at? Thanks for any helpful comments!

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Gazz