Pef
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- Apr 4, 2011
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First question: Are cylinders "hand tuned" during manufacture for each gun's timing?
I ask this because I noticed differences from cylinder to cylinder, and also how these difference can affect the trigger return of a j-frame.
I have numerous J-frames, and I have noticed that some of them have very smooth triggers on the return (under the force of the rebound spring) and others are much less smooth.
After examining several of my J frames, I discovered that the majority of the return "hitchiness" is due to the hand dragging across the extractor star ratchet as the hand moves downward when the trigger returns. (You can verify this by opening the cylinder, then pushing back on the cylinder release so you can work the trigger; without fail, the return of the trigger is smooth as silk when the cylinder is not closed).
Then I noticed something else - when I look closely at any two stars, each set of "ratchets" vary from gun to gun. Some so much so that I speculated that one cylinder may not cleanly interchange with another. To test this, I took the cylinder from my 640-3 and placed in in my 640 Pro (a 640-1). I very slowly worked the action and sure enough, the gun would not fire.
Second Question Anyone ever polished the "return surface" of the extractor star? If so, what were the results?
With reference to the image below, the cylinder is in the approximate rotation that it would be in during firing. The hand, at firing, is engaged on the ratchet at about 1:00. When the trigger returns, the bottom of the hand (the angled surface that leads to the base of the "triangle face" that pushes through the slot) will rub over the ratchet surface at about 3:00. It would seem that polishing the return surface would not affect timing, as the cylinder does not move when the trigger is returning. Thoughts on polishing these "return surfaces" to smooth the trigger return (assuming you have already polished the hand surfaces).
(And yes, by polish, I do mean "polish," and not "file.")
Thanks
PEF
I ask this because I noticed differences from cylinder to cylinder, and also how these difference can affect the trigger return of a j-frame.
I have numerous J-frames, and I have noticed that some of them have very smooth triggers on the return (under the force of the rebound spring) and others are much less smooth.
After examining several of my J frames, I discovered that the majority of the return "hitchiness" is due to the hand dragging across the extractor star ratchet as the hand moves downward when the trigger returns. (You can verify this by opening the cylinder, then pushing back on the cylinder release so you can work the trigger; without fail, the return of the trigger is smooth as silk when the cylinder is not closed).
Then I noticed something else - when I look closely at any two stars, each set of "ratchets" vary from gun to gun. Some so much so that I speculated that one cylinder may not cleanly interchange with another. To test this, I took the cylinder from my 640-3 and placed in in my 640 Pro (a 640-1). I very slowly worked the action and sure enough, the gun would not fire.
Second Question Anyone ever polished the "return surface" of the extractor star? If so, what were the results?
With reference to the image below, the cylinder is in the approximate rotation that it would be in during firing. The hand, at firing, is engaged on the ratchet at about 1:00. When the trigger returns, the bottom of the hand (the angled surface that leads to the base of the "triangle face" that pushes through the slot) will rub over the ratchet surface at about 3:00. It would seem that polishing the return surface would not affect timing, as the cylinder does not move when the trigger is returning. Thoughts on polishing these "return surfaces" to smooth the trigger return (assuming you have already polished the hand surfaces).
(And yes, by polish, I do mean "polish," and not "file.")
Thanks
PEF
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