I have a spare cylinder for my 681 that I want to have cut for moon clips.
The cylinder fits well with no end-shake and B/C gap is within spec.
Only problem is that the gun binds slightly on all holes.
Appears that the ratchet needs to be filed down.
After reading up on this, have decided that this is outside my competence level.
I know I could send it to S&W, but might not live long enough to ever get it back (last job I sent too 14 months)
Looking for recommendations for a competent shop to do this job.

thanks.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

If all the chambers drag equally (or pretty equally) you just need a thinner hand. Wen you thin a hand you only need to thin the "tip", the part you see sticking thru the recoil shield if pull and hold the trigger back with the cylinder open. Thin the center pin side, use a stone, go slow.

There's about .003" variance in "std" thickness hands. What you get is potluck.

If you want to be able to use both cylinders then you need the ratchtes cut on the new cylinder to match the current hand. If you replace the hand as suggested, it is pot luck because they dont sell them in any certain width other than "oversize". You need a special file and need to know the technique. Anyone that has been to the factory armorers school on revolvers will tell you that was the hardest part of building guns.

That's not how it works. You need to file all the ratchets equally. Never thin the hand.

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Why shouldn't the tip of the hand be thinned? I've done this on a couple of my revolvers and it seems to work just fine, and if they do eventually loosen up I can just put a standard-thickness hand in.

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Mark

If this gets done, it will have to be done fitting the ratchets.
I want to be bale to swap cylinders, not swap the hand at the same time.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

I think that I'd try a .002" yoke shim. It may move the cylinder forward without any "permanent" fixes.

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Why, I aughta.....

+1 That's my thought. You only thin the "tip" of the hand and as parts wear you can go to a "std" hand that's not thinned or thinned less. Guess it's not the "correct" fix for "purists".

WHY? You only thin the "tip" that engages the ratchet, not the whole hand. Look at a 10 shot 617 hand if you want to see an example of an OEM "thinned" hand.

Call John at Shooter's Service Center in Portland. He was the S&W authorized repair center when they had such things, and he knows how to do the work you want. 503-289-1280

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Because Smith and Wesson doesn't teach it in armorer's school. The hand is not an fittable part.

Just because you can and have done something, doesn't mean you should . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

You're kidding? Have you seen a 10 shot 617 hand? Or didn't they show you those in armorers school? What I described doing is EXACTLY what S&W does with 10 shot 617 hands.

Do you not use endshake bearings because in armorers school they only stretched yokes?

Cutting the ratchets cuts the life of the ratchet. Installing a hand that is thinner is much easier and will leave the ratchets in original condition. Just keep the old hand with the original cylinder. It is a lot easier than cutting the ratchets to all match. You can buy several hands for the expense of a new ratchet, even if you can find one.

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

And we're not talking about a 10-shot 617. We're talking about a 681. The 617 hadn't even been thought of when I went to armorer's school, but I suspect the "thinner hand" solution was developed to save time and cost, and because people don't have the patience to effect a true fix. Filing the ratchets to fit the original hand is the proper repair. An oversized hand with additional fitting of the ratchets can work until the ratchets completely wear out, at which time a normal hand a new extractor star are in order.

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Thinning the hand will cause the original cylinder to move less and may cause it to fail to make lock up. Filing the ratchet will cut down its life because it won't bind or wear at a rate greater than any other properly fit cylinder ratchet. Some Prussian blue will show you wear the hand it binding on the ratchet.