Forgive the noob,
I just bought a used model 19-5. Took it out and shot it, everything went fine. I disassembled it, including removing the side panel, to clean it. Now that it's back together, the cylinder is not rotating. I did have to take it apart and put it back together several times since at first the trigger was sticking as well, and the hammer would not fully cock. Once I felt the side panel was on with the trigger/hammer working I replaced the cylinder. The trigger pulls, the hammer cocks and fires, but the cylinder does not rotate. The little arm that rotates the cylinder seems to be moving up and down but not extending through the gap to reach the "gears" (not sure what they are called) on the cylinder to rotate it. Any suggestions?

Edit to add clarity: When I say disassemble I mean removed the side panel and the cylinder. Nothing else was removed except the hammer block which falls out when the side panel comes off.

The little thing (hand) will go up and down with the movement of the trigger. However, if the torsion spring has been disconnected, as it surely has, the hand won't protrude through the window to reach the cylinder.
Go to the "smithing" section of this site and find, in FAQ, the tutorial on replacing the hand torsion spring. It'll take you a few minutes, but you will succeed. Now, go do it!

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Why, I aughta.....

There is a very small torsion spring on the hand that is easily displaced during disassembly, especially if you are not aware of it's presence. Here's a video showing where it is and how to reinstall it. The guy's method is a little unorthadox but you'll get the idea...

How To Reinstall a Hand Torsion Spring for a Revolver Trigger - YouTube

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"Shall not be infringed"

Once you get it all fixed, just as a point of interest, there is very little need to fully disassemble for cleaning. I only remove the side plate maybe once a year.

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Support your Police, & NRA

I wouldn't have removed it at all except that I bought it used from a pawn type shop and had no idea of the history/maintenance it had been through. I had hoped to get it one good cleaning then just regular maintenance.

On brighter note, after disassembling again and making some minor adjustments to the hand, it seems to be working now. I didn't want to have to pull the trigger out as I do not have the special tool to reinstall the rebound spring. The hand seemed to be at a strange angle and needed to be raised off of the trigger a little to ride smoothly in the window. It seems to be okay for now. Thanks all for the quick responses and help.

The test for the hand is whether the cylinder rotates when the muzzle is pointed straight up.

"I didn't want to have to pull the trigger out as I do not have the special tool to reinstall the rebound spring."

I use a narrow pocket knife blade. You can also grind down a cheap screwdriver blade as well.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

That works fine. I may need to get a smith to look at it for a general "tune-up". The trigger reset feels a bit "gritty" or "chunky" still.

The normally sold two prong tool that is available from places like Brownells is a pain for reinstallation though works OK for disassembly. After 40 years of armorers work I have found that a large center punch is the best tool for reinstalling the rebound spring. Just push it in and with the other hand push the rebound slide down. One easy movement.

The revolver armorers kit that S&W used to sell for students at the armorers school didn't include any tool for the purpose. They used a screw driver blade for both operations.

So everything seems to be functioning okay now, however...

The side plate does not sit completely flush at the top where the little ear tab is. It seems like the ear is bent slightly allowing the side plate to lift out slightly and not quite fit flush. Is this a problem and how might it be corrected? I have tried seating it with a rubber mallet and while it does help some initially, the plate seems to lift out while working the action over time.



Also, when firing it yesterday double action, on two separate occasions it failed to fire. The cause seemed to be a failure to advance the cylinder and upon pulling the trigger again it did advance and fire. What might cause intermittent timing issues?

Thanks for all the help.

You might want to have a knowledgeable gunsmith take a look at it at this point. For future reference, taking the side plate off and cleaning with a good aerosol gun cleaner is all that is needed in most cases (don't forget the lube!).

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Centennial Every Day

You most probably do not have the hammer block properly seated. Continued operation of your revolver in this condition may damage it. Read in the FAQ's about how to install the hammer block. Best yet, get the Jerry Miculek video on Trigger Job. It walks you through step by step disassemble and reassembly.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

For the record, I did not remove any of the internals, only the side plate and then used an aerosol cleaner. While the side plate was initially off and I was having difficulties reinstalling it I noticed that the hand was not seated in the window and seemed to be sticking and not functioning properly. More aerosol cleaner and working the internals with the side plate off seemed to loosen things up and realign everything to have it working again. The hand spring was never officially checked as I did not actually remove any of the internal parts.

That was my initial thought as well. I have removed and reinstalled the side plate on my model 64 successfully several times. I am no pro by any means but I do feel confident that the hammer block is seated and riding in its groove in the side plate. Each time I have removed the side plate the hammer block comes off still in the groove.

This is a great video. Even if you don't ever take the gun apart, it explains how every component of the revolver works, which is great for diagnosing any problem you may have.

I'm no gunsmith, but I've used the video to do "trigger jobs", really just smoothing and polishing on three S&W revolvers, and I'm currently doing one on my recent purchase, a 28-2. The results are quite noticeable.

If you are still not able to pull the side plate fully down, and not have any binding, there is still something wrong. A side plate must fit fully flush.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

For revolvers with the tab at the top of the side plate (like yours) you should never need to seat the top with a mallet. Maybe as you get the whole side plate on and you are sure its seating properly a couple light taps on the bottom can fully seat the side plate (if you cannot squeeze it in by hand) but a failure of the top to seat is not the same situation, its a warning that something is wrong, in that case whacking with a mallet can only make things worse.

How did you remove the side plate? There is a right way and many wrong ways. The wrong way can damage or bend it.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

I tapped the backside (left side) of the pistol with a rubber mallet until it popped off.

when comparing the tab on the sideplate on this one (model 19) to the tab on the sideplate on my model 64, it almost looks as though someone has ground down or damaged part of the tab. It is much more substantial looking on the model 64.

With the side plate off tip the gun up at an angle so the butt is on top and tilted to about 2 oclock. Then put your hammer block in making sure it has slid all the way down the button on the rebound slide. Having the butt up and gun tipped will keep the hammer block in the correct position.

Then put your sideplate on by inserting the tab FIRST and then working the rest of the sideplate down towards the bottom. Some will seat with hand pressue others need a gentle tap.

Hopefully you didn't bend or damage the tab by hammering it prior.

Order a video from AGI (american gunsmithing institute). They are the beans and will make disassembly and assembly a snap.

Fitting a sideplate isn't easy.

If I had one that didn't fit, and nothing I could easily see like the hammer block was the problem.

I'd send it back to S&W.

/c

gunsmither tools makes a nice rebound spring remove/install tool

That tool is fantastic. Best money I ever spent. I tossed all of my others from Brownells and others in the trash.

I think the gun may have sat in a drawer or safe for some time before I purchased it. The binding hand seems to have worked itself out with several cleanings/range trips. As for the side plate, I did a test fit with my model 64 side plate and it fits much more flush than this one. I think the nickel one may have been bubba'd before I got the gun as evidenced by the bad looking tab at the top. I was fortunate though and found a nearly new nickel side plate on gunbroker that should be to me in about a week.

You can get notched slotted screwdriver bits for use with some ty''es of security screws. I have a set of security bits from Northern Tools that has the perfect size. I use it on the rebound slide spring.
That spring is a stiff one and not a lot of fun to remove/install.
Not as bad as some things I've worked on, but not my favorite part of Smith DA revolver takedown/reassembly.
I'll probably get the correct tool for it but the bit I use with my magnetic screwdriver has a notch that fits over the rebound spring stud and the tips fit the rebound spring perfectly.
It's mostly a matter of needing 3 hands the size of infant hands with the strength of gorilla hands.
I've thought about putting Wolff rebound springs in mine.
I like the reduction in DA pull.
However, I like the positive trigger reset of the factory rebound spring.

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What would Jim Cirillo do?

I have a wheeler rebound tool that workes great (after I deepened the notch a bit). Using it for reassembly is a good way to launch the spring across the room. I use a small phillips bit to get it started, then use the prong tool if required to fully seat the slide.

IF you 'worked the action' a couple times WITH the sideplate off, then I can guarantee the parts slid up just a pit. That is to say toward the RH side/sidelplate. All of the goodies must be gently snugged down against the LH side before you replace a sideplate.