19-3 cylinder open issue and hammer interference

[Gunhacker]

Yes. I checked that. The issue is that the "locking bolt" does not retract far enough to release the ejector rod when I push the thumb release. I used a very small jeweler's type screwdriver to push the locking bolt forward and at the same time pushed the thumb release to open the cylinder. When I did both of these things, it opened easily.

I got to that point because I noticed there was absolutely NOTHING holding the cylinder in once the thumb release was pushed. I noticed that it was hanging up at the rear of the ejector rod where the locking bolt inserts (right at the red arrow). What would cause the locking bolt to hang up where it meets/inserts into the ejector rod?

Oh...BTW. Maybe I have it backwards, but I use the shooter as the reference point, not the pistol; the "front" of the center pin is toward the shooter (where you load the cartridges) and "rear" is away from the shooter, toward the shroud where the locking bolt is.

How do I upload a video clip here? I'll see if I can do so

After you have the cylinder opened and the ejector rod out of the way, did you then try pushing on the front (correct nomenclature is the muzzle end is the front and the grip end is the rear, not shooter orientation) locking bolt to see how far it can retract? If it does not easily retract where the end of it is flush or almost flush with the end of hole it's sticking out of... then there is likely a build up of caked junk behind the pin in the hole that needs to be cleaned out to restore full movement.

To load a video, you have put it on a hosting website, like youtube and then insert the link url to it in your post.

Call these guys and ask if they inspect/repair S&W revolvers, they are in San Diego.

On their website they say: OVER 30 YEARS OF COMBINED GUNSMITHING/ARMORER EXPERIENCE FROM THE MILITARY, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR.


San Diego Gunsmithing

 

[BigChief52]

With the cylinder open, can you press on the front locking bolt (the pin in front of the ejector rod) with a punch or the end of a tooth brush handle, and get it to fully retract into the hole it protrudes from?

If not, or it feels like there's more than spring resistance, chances are there is a build up crud in that channel that is preventing the front bolt from retracting far enough to allow the ejector rod to unlatch.

I had that issue with a used 586 I bought, a good cleaning with an aerosol gun cleaner blasted loose a surprising amount of caked powder residue out of that bolt channel. Once cleaned, it fixed my cylinder release problem.

Don't mess with the front of the ejector rod, there needs to be a certain amount of engagement with the front locking bolt, and what you describe sounds normal.

This worked for me too. I could feel that the locking bolt was stiff when I pushed it with a leftover chop stick from Chinese take out. They always seem to come in handy. I didn't want to try drifting out that tiny pin so I dripped some oil in and kept working the bolt with the chopstick until it loosened up. Still works fine years later.

 

[SuperSapper]

I will definitely try this. It does feel a bit stiffer than I sense it should be, so I'll do that this evening.

 

[SuperSapper]

Update

Good afternoon everyone,

I cleaned up the locking bolt as suggested. There were no specific issues with it retracting either before or after. I used a punch to push in the center pin as far as it could go from the front (to simulate pushing the thumb release). I noticed that there is still a bit of a lip differential between the center pin bottom and the edge of the ejector rod that houses it.

It's hanging up there at that tiny little edge. Is this normal?

 

[BigChief52]

A good armorer with wheel gun experience would know exactly how to make this adjustment but they seem to be getting rare these days. If it were me, I'd try ordering a new center pin and seeing if I could get it working that way. It may fit right away or it maybe like the hand where they come a bit long and have to be hand fitted. More guessing. At least with a new pin to work with I wouldn't mess up any original parts.

 

[SuperSapper]

Hi Everyone!

First, I want to thank everyone for the help and suggestions. A HUGE shout out to sndbggr1484 for sending me the Target hammer, target trigger and the centerpin (he also sent several other internals too -- Thanks much!!). Tomorrow will be the test fire to see if I got it back together correctly. For the record, I am liking the .500 hammer and trigger. Can't wait to try this thing out in a competition.

Just for future posterity and in case someone else ever has this issue, I'll outline the fix below:

So the first swap out was the center pin. That alone fixed the opening issue. Seems that sndbggr1484's center pin was about .05" longer than mine, and it did the job. It also solved the jerky trigger, since with the old center pin, the thumb release was far enough forward to interfere with the hammer drawing back. There was a few thousandths interference where there should be none.

The question of why it was too short is almost unanswerable, but I have two theories:

1. Wear and tear. It's a 19-3, so it's probably on the order of 60 years old. Possibly all of the opening and closing over time caused the end of the center pin (where it rubs against the locking bolt in the shroud up front) to have enough wear that it simply became too short.

2. It's a replacement. This seems incredulous, since there is no way this would have left a quality armorer's workshop, but the previous owner did send it to an "armorer" who apparently monkeyed around with it. He also replaced parts from another, older model. Others here noted that it was a "fishhook" hammer from a Model 15, which is consistent with what the previous owner said about the parts coming from a Model 15.

In any event, moral of the story:

1. If the cyliner does not open easily and the firearm is older, try a longer center pin and see if it alleviates the issue.

2. Make sure the armorer knows what (s)he's doing, especially if they're installing other used parts from another gun. They don't always fit.

3. I have NEVER disassembled a revolver prior to this, so I was worried I would be the same kind of monkey. I found a great video by a qualified armorer (linked above) and did it step by step. It really was not that hard after all. Research can be a powerful thing and Youtube is your friend.

Now I just need to find a good set of wood grips, and I'm set!

Hope everyone's Memorial Day was excellent!

Mark

 

[steelslaver]

The ejector rod and center pin are actually fitted parts and their length is adjusted according to the final length when the barrel is adjusted to tighten up and have front sight at 12:00. Sometimes to do this shoulder on barrel is shorten slightly to make this happen. Under lug to extractor rod fit happens after barrel is installed and cylinder is being fitted. So, length varies from gun to gun. I have had the rod actually strike the lug body and needed to trim the whole thing. In fact the lug tooth that moves back and forth under the barrel sometimes requires some adjustment, by removing and filing the shoulder of its flat a bit to allow a bit more movement one way or the other

The guns of this era where not just assembled, but final fitted during assembly. As you have just learned even minor differences in one part can cause several problems