Swapping Cylinders

AManWearingAHat

AManWearingAHat

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Hi there,

Is there any fitting that needs to be done to swap a cylinder into a revolver? Context below.

I would like to have a moon-clipped .38 Special just for fun. I was thinking of purchasing a used K-Frame .38 Special cylinder off of ebay or something, having it sent to TK customs for the machining work, and retaining the original as well. Ideally I would be able to swap the two in and out of my Model 15. I want the moonclip capability for handgun sports mostly. Would the two be easily interchangeable?
 
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Sometimes a cylinder will drop in and time ok, but not always then if it times too early the ratchets will have to be recut if timing is too slow a new ratchet is needed, and probably will need to be cut to time correctly. Hope this helps
 
A definite maybe. I’ve hear stories of guys getting lucky. :D I wouldn’t bet money on it. When you buy your extra cylinder you might also buy the yoke. Having that part might come in handy.
 
As noted, it would be rare a cylinder swap is accomplished without fitting. You want the new cylinder ratchets the same as the original. If the new cylinder ratchets require a new hand then the old cylinder will need ratchets cut. Another thing to consider is to be sure you get the yoke for the replacement or there can be a problem with the gas ring. A same model and dash of what you have is the best bet. A new cylinder would be my preference.
 
I’ve been thinking of doing the same but having the extra cylinder redone to take 9mm and moon clips.
 
Besides the old K frame 9mm Model 547 ,
SW has recently offered 9mm J frames , N frames and L frame revolvers in 9mm.
There are also alternative brands that offer .357/38/9mm combo guns in the neighborhood of $500.
 
I picked up a 686 cylinder & yoke the same dash as mine. First, I put the new to me cylinder in my 686 and ran a service grade 357 range rod (Brownells very reasonable) thru all 6 of the chambers to check alignment. They were OK. I took it to the range and fired it with light 38 loads and checked for any lead shaving.

Then I sent it to Pinnacle Gunsmithing for his 9x23 conversion to a 357 cylinder. That work allows using 9x23, 38 Super, and 9x19 (9mm luger).
When it came back, I loaded some moon clips & had a blast.

I am a very happy camper !!!!!!
 
reccpd101 said:
I picked up a 686 cylinder & yoke the same dash as mine. First, I put the new to me cylinder in my 686 and ran a service grade 357 range rod (Brownells very reasonable) thru all 6 of the chambers to check alignment. They were OK. I took it to the range and fired it with light 38 loads and checked for any lead shaving.

Then I sent it to Pinnacle Gunsmithing for his 9x23 conversion to a 357 cylinder. That work allows using 9x23, 38 Super, and 9x19 (9mm luger).
When it came back, I loaded some moon clips & had a blast.

I am a very happy camper !!!!!!
Click to expand...

Pardon me for asking, what did it cost?
 
Been there, done that.

Mine is a M60-4 in .38 Spl. The spare cylinder -- also from a 60-4 -- was found on ebay two years ago for about $60 IIRC, and sent off to TK Custom.

Apparently I am one of the lucky ones, as it dropped right in and timed perfectly. My suspicion is that the newer the gun, the more likely it was assembled at the factory with minimal hand fitting, as CMC technology has improved manufacturing efficiency and small parts uniformity.

I opted for the 9mm conversion. Allows use of .380 ACP and .38 Super in the clips as well as 9mm.:D I already had a M940 and liked it, and wanted to see how well a gun with a longer and heavier barrel and adjustable sights would perform in 9mm. Just don't expect accuracy with the 9X19mm as good as with .38 Spl. Your plan of going to .38's clips should be easy, and accuracy identical to the original configuration.

But how much more will it give you for the expense compared to 9mm? Speedloaders are cheap. So is 9mm. Conversion is expensive.

BTW, if you do this, advise TK Custom as to whether you will use his moon clips (good quality, easy to load/unload but pricey for something that can get stepped on) or S&W clips. They are not the same size and allowance must be made in the machining of the cylinder face.

Good luck!
 

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Having swapped over at least a dozen or more cylinders here is what I have found. First the length of yoke tubes or depth of center hole in cylinder varies. Could end up with the cylinder actually riding on the gas ring instead of the end of yoke. You may have to shim or trim length of tube to match. If you trim the tube you will need to add shims to original cylinder to reuse it on trimmed tube. There may or may not be some variation in B/c gap but usually only 0.001-0.002. So far for me 90% of the time the actual timing is OK as is chamber to bore alignment. Sometimes you get lucky and some times you don't. I only have one 2 cylinder guns left, a 224 Harvey Kay Chuck with a matching 22TCM cylinder. I went to the have several gun method. I do have a couple of 45 colts cut for moon clips to shoot acps, but then there is no second.
cylinder. If I wanted a 9mm revolver I would just get a model 14 or 15, and rework the cylinder.
 
Interesting topic...looking at the various used Model 10/64 cylinders on eBay the difference in ratchet teeth shapes/designs are apparent. Wouldn't these ratchet differences also be a major consideration during any swap?
 
8shot said:
Interesting topic...looking at the various used Model 10/64 cylinders on eBay the difference in ratchet teeth shapes/designs are apparent. Wouldn't these ratchet differences also be a major consideration during any swap?
Click to expand...

Surprisingly, that doesn't seem to matter too much. The part that the hand contacts is the critical element, the rest of it can be whatever it wants to be.
 
I did a 627 9mm conversion on an extra cylinder that I posted earlier in this section. Very happy with the results but it is important to make sure that the cylinders time up and that the chambers line up. I was going to do one for a k-frame as I have an extra cylinder assembly but my only k-frame centerfire is a 357 resulting in a gigantic barrel cylinder gap. Oh well.
 
reccpd101 said:
I picked up a 686 cylinder & yoke the same dash as mine. First, I put the new to me cylinder in my 686 and ran a service grade 357 range rod (Brownells very reasonable) thru all 6 of the chambers to check alignment. They were OK. I took it to the range and fired it with light 38 loads and checked for any lead shaving.

Then I sent it to Pinnacle Gunsmithing for his 9x23 conversion to a 357 cylinder. That work allows using 9x23, 38 Super, and 9x19 (9mm luger).
When it came back, I loaded some moon clips & had a blast.

I am a very happy camper !!!!!!
Click to expand...

I did the same thing with a 686-1. Just sent it to TK Custom instead. The returned it in less than a week including travel time both ways. Works great and a lot of fun.
 
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Be aware that there was a change in the yoke tube bushing; in the Model 66 it occurred between The ND and the-1 version, IIRC. I found this out when I had a later cylinder installed on my ND.

Froggie
 
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