Side plate screws and yoke screw assembly question

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Andrewsh

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So while digging through the boxes of the revolvers I took pictures of, I found niw side plate screws(7) and yoke screw assemblies(5), that appear to be for the 60-14.

They appear to be a couple bucks each from midway, but it begs the question, why would you need so many of them, and not sure where they go, but are these a common replaced thing?
I would guess the side plate screws for in case he ever lost one, but can't imagine him taking it apart.
none of the other guns had screws in the case so just this one.
 
Gun people tend to accumulate all sorts of odd parts.

Screws do get lost, and even more common is they get boogered up by someone using the wrong screwdriver at some point, usually at the range.

The good news is they are easily replaced and doing so does not affect the value of the gun.
 
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On a 3-screw side plate, there is one flat headed screw that fits at the rear under the stocks. The other two are the same, except the front-most screw has been fitted by filing the threads at the tip to allow free rotation of the yoke, but no fore-aft movement. That screw also acts as the yoke retention screw.

Unless you're completely ham-handed, there's no reason to have all those screws, more so because there's no real need to remove the side plate or the yoke retention screw alone, unless the yoke needs to be removed in order to do work on the cylinder. Unless the gun has just been shot to death or mistreated, you could go many, many years without the need to remove anything.

I suppose they're nice to have available, since you have them.
 
That is interesting. only the round headed screws are in the parts. no flat head ones.
but thanks for confirming they aren't "needed" spares.
 
WOW!!!

When I first saw the subject description, I thought it concerned which screws go where----sideplate or yoke. (Wrong again, but IF any are shorter, they're for the yoke.)

Then I was more than startled by the comment, "-----but I can't imagine him taking it apart." I, on the other hand, can't imagine him NOT taking it apart in order in order to PROPERLY clean the gun-----so as to insure PROPER functioning. But then I saw another comment about "---there's no real need to remove the sideplate or the yoke retention screw alone----"., and the dawn came!

The dawn came in the form of the realization there sure enough are different strokes for different folks, and some of these strokes REALLY make my teeth hurt! I reckon that reaction comes under the heading of a personal problem of mine.

My best wishes for the sustained life of your guns---especially considering the FACT those of you with these different strokes are asking for trouble down the line---BEGGING for trouble actually.

WOW!!!---again!

I reckon I could go on and on (and on), but I fear such would fall on deaf ears; so live and learn----the hard way.

Damn shame too!

Ralph Tremaine

Having sat and stared at what I had to say, and having taken note of the time period of the guns to be treated in this section, I decided there's quite possibly another aspect of this whole business to be considered. That's the matter of philosophy.

There are two (and only two) philosophies extant among the world's manufacturers.

1. We will be successful if we build the best possible product for the price.

2. We will be successful if we build our product at the lowest possible cost.

In the beginning (1857), S&W very clearly subscribed to philosophy #1. They continued to do so until perhaps the mid 1950's when the matter of cost savings began to become apparent. Then, as time passed, it became more apparent.

Another damn shame!

One man's opinion.
 
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rct269 said:
WOW!!!

When I first saw the subject description, I thought it concerned which screws go where----sideplate or yoke. (Wrong again, but IF any are shorter, they're for the yoke.)

Then I was more than startled by the comment, "-----but I can't imagine him taking it apart." I, on the other hand, can't imagine him NOT taking it apart in order in order to PROPERLY clean the gun-----so as to insure PROPER functioning. But then I saw another comment about "---there's no real need to remove the sideplate or the yoke retention screw alone----"., and the dawn came!

The dawn came in the form of the realization there sure enough are different strokes for different folks, and some of these strokes REALLY make my teeth hurt! I reckon that reaction comes under the heading of a personal problem of mine.

My best wishes for the sustained life of your guns---especially considering the FACT those of you with these different strokes are asking for trouble down the line---BEGGING for trouble actually.

WOW!!!---again!

I reckon I could go on and on (and on), but I fear such would fall on deaf ears; so live and learn----the hard way.

Damn shame too!

Ralph Tremaine

Having sat and stared at what I had to say, and having taken note of the time period of the guns to be treated in this section, I decided there's quite possibly another aspect of this whole business to be considered. That's the matter of philosophy.

There are two (and only two) philosophies extant among the world's manufacturers.

1. We will be successful if we build the best possible product for the price.

2. We will be successful if we build our product at the lowest possible cost.

In the beginning (1857) S&W very clearly subscribed to philosophy #1. They continued to do so until perhaps the mid 1950's when the matter of cost savings began to become apparent. Then, as time passed, it became more apparent.

One man's opinion.

Another damn shame!
Click to expand...

Always enjoy your posts Ralph and I'll offer another perspective. I've had S&Ws a long time, one at least 50 years, and I've never removed the side plate and probably never will. But I don't dump oil into the action, or water, or my bourbon either, and it works as well today as it did 50 years ago. On the other hand, I've passed on more than a few guns because the side plate screws were buggered and while I knew those were easily replaced I had no idea what else bubba might have done while he was "inspecting and cleaning" the innards.

As to cleaning bores, I use to do that after every range trip, rifle and pistols. Friends and I had lively arguments about how it was necessary to clean rifles after every few rounds to maintain accuracy. Then one day I was chatting with a US Rifle Team member, don't remember which specific team, but he was practicing for an upcoming 1000 yard competition. I asked him how often he cleaned his rifle and he said "oh, somewhere around 150 to 200 rounds." Since then I haven't worried too much about cleaning rifles that get fired a few rounds a year. Others mileage may vary but I think I've seen more problems with over cleaning and over "tinkering" than I have with failure to clean. Done properly of course I'm sure there is no problem with taking them apart and cleaning often. . . .but I don't think it is necessary either.

Jeff
SWCA
 
lol, didn't expect this to take such a turn.
I am not a revolver guy. my semi autos I do take down for complete cleanings, if I shoot them more than a few hundred rounds at any given point.
These haven't been shot at all or very much, and I knew my uncle in law didn't ever finish shooting a box of ammo in any gun he took to the range when I went with him.
so I would be surprised if he ever needed to do a deep clean like that, was my point.
so I was wondering if he bought these spares for a known issue with the 60's or just cause he got a good deal on them, or someone told him he needed spares.
 
possibility he bought them to replace the buggered screws in a gun he bought used
that were buggered by another owner .I have removed the sideplates to clean the innards of a triple lock that apparently not been ckeaned for many years ,it appeared to have tar ontht interiodr parts .
r
 
I reckon my fetish arises from my activity---that of a lunatic fringe collector. That manifests itself in "Ralph's Bath"---applied to each and every S&W target gun that came to live here------even way back when, with collection #1, when I defined "target gun" as "anything with target sights". Talk about DUMB!!!!

Speaking of DUMB, it only took me about 30 years to come to the realization I didn't have a collection---I had an accumulation of guns with target sights which had no real history---and told no story. I sold damn near everything, and started over. I ended up with about half as many guns (65 down from 130 some odd), and even then I cheated some, because I had at least one each of all the N frames (up to the mid 1950's)----never mind I'd never seen more than a handful of N frames being used at any match---anywhere---but at least I didn't have anymore Chiefs Special Targets----even though I'd earned a fair amount of spending money over the years by poo-pooing the lower posted scores---and adding "I can do better than that with my snub-nose!" That caustic remark almost always succeeded in producing a reply along the order of "Oh yeah, for how much?!!"----and the show was ON----and I almost always won.

Some folks never learn.

As an aside, "Ralph's Bath" consists of taking a new arrival ALL apart, making each and every piece squeaky clean (and bone dry), hosing everything down with CorrosionX, and then blowing off as much as will come off, and sticking the whole mess back together again. I should note "ALL apart" didn't include barrels or action studs----I didn't mess with those. I was nutty, but not that nutty!

After all that, I removed the CorrosionX from the exterior, and polished up everything nice and shiny----there's nothing nastier looking than a blue gun with oil stains. And speaking of blue guns, I didn't have any nickel guns---except for one I wish I'd kept---Talk about DUMB!----again.

Ralph Tremaine
 
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If you shoot your revolvers frequently, (weekly), gunk will accumulate in the action over time. It is not unusual for a competitive shooter to remove the side plate annually to clean this accumulation out. If left alone the grit can act on the fine edges of the internals and over time make your gun less crisp and the trigger more questionable.

Many shooters remove the yoke and cylinder to clean the cylinder after shooting. It isn't unusual for someone to "slip" with a screwdriver and bugger the head. But a few swipes with a fine file and some cold blue will make it look like new..
 
And boogering a screw will seldom, if ever happen, given the use of proper screwdrivers----------as in hollow ground blades----that fit the slot---length and width.

Wedge shaped blades make for fairly decent pry-bars, but they're not much account for turning screws. When you stop and think about it, a wedge shaped blade is made to order-----to slip out of a screw slot-----guarandamnteed!!

Ralph Tremaine
 
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Thats how I see this bag o’screws. Either buy the right tool or a bunch of disposable screws.
 
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