19-3 Question

[Vigo]

I bought a somewhat well-used 19-3 at a fairly low price. The gun dates to the mid-1970s. The price is partly reflected in the condition when I got it. The gun functions but has a couple issues.

I measured the endshake at .008 or so. I think this could be corrected with one or two bearing discs.

What is more concerning to me is a cylinder rub line I've not seen before:

When open and spun, the cylinder is able to rub its side on that worn area of the frame. If the cylinder is pushed forward while open, or the gun held muzzle-down, it does not rub. It rubs if the crane/cylinder is pushed back while open and the cylinder spun.

My question is, is this normal and the result of somebody clowning with the cylinder (spinning it over and over) while open, or is this the result of something wrong with crane?

(Edit: I just thought of this- perhaps an ill-fitting crane screw? Tightening down nice and hard on that crane screw took a lot of the motion out of the crane and seems to prevent the cylinder from rubbing in that side spot).

The gun and action function, aside from needing some endshake adjustment. I have not shot this gun yet. I am going over it before shooting it.

 

[bruner1981]

It sounds to me like that odd running you're experiencing could be a result of the endshake. If it has play while the cylinder is closed, it has play while it's open. I'd try correcting the endshake and see if the rubbing goes away. Someone else with more experience may chime in too

 

[Ashlander]

There's supposed to be a tiny bit of day light between the open cylinder and the frame. Something's out of whack with your gun (though I suppose you guessed that).

 

[scooter123]

That cylinder rub you are seeing at the rear face of the cylinder is normal for a revolver with a recessed cylinder. Because on models with a recessed cylinder the clearance between the frame and cylinder is much less. Note, this can also happen with a non recessed cylinder but due to the much larger clearance it requires holding the barrel straight up for it to become noticeable.

The end shake you are observing may also be a product of the vintage of your revolver. I would suggest that you remove the cylinder from the yoke and install just the yoke in the frame. Then test to see how much movement there is front to back for the yoke alone when it's closed. If that movement equals that 0.008 inch end shake you have observed it indicates that the truly proper way to correct your end shake condition is to install a new Yoke Screw. Because I suspect that your present Yoke Screw may have enough wear on the tip to allow the Yoke to slide forward in the frame. Note, this is best described as Yoke Shake and is typically a result of the cylinder having been opened and closed many times with the barrel pointed downwards. This will in time lead to a flat getting worn into the tip of the Yoke Screw because we normally tighten these screws to a repeating position of rotation when we install them to a preferred tightness. One way of testing for this particular type of wear is to loosen the yoke screw by about 1/8 turn and see if doing that reduces the Yoke Shake.

 

[srgvaz]

-result of somebody clowning with the cylinder (spinning it over and over) while open?

--ill-fitting crane screw? Tightening down nice and hard

QUOTE]

-Yes very possible as that contact point is only made when spun and open, and while aiming up.


--No gun screws are meant to be over tight. Never overtighten any screw. That screw and the one to the left of it are similar. One should be angled/scraped/more worn on the end, and that should be the fitted one that belongs to the yoke. It allows yoke movement even when tight. If gun has been over used/played with you may need a new screw fitted. The yoke should have smooth movement, but not overly loose per say.

Some people/kids play with guns sometimes. Dry firing endlessly is common. Spinning and slamming the cylinder closed while still spinning to hear the zipping sound is one of the biggest... (you get me)

Its nice to have a similar gun to make comparisons. I would verify that the timing/carry-up are good, clean, shoot, enjoy.

 

[g8rb8]

What is more concerning to me is a cylinder rub line..............

When open and spun, the cylinder is able to rub its side on that worn area of the frame. If the cylinder is pushed forward while open, or the gun held muzzle-down, it does not rub. It rubs if the crane/cylinder is pushed back while open and the cylinder spun.

My question is, is this normal and the result of somebody clowning with the cylinder (spinning it over and over) while open, or is this the result of something wrong with crane?

(Edit: I just thought of this- perhaps an ill-fitting crane screw? Tightening down nice and hard on that crane screw took a lot of the motion out of the crane and seems to prevent the cylinder from rubbing in that side spot).

The gun and action function, aside from needing some endshake adjustment. I have not shot this gun yet. I am going over it before shooting it.

It sounds as if you possibly have a culmination of 3 likely events leading to your observation of the cylinder rubbing on the frame.
1. A loose crane screw seems to be part of the problem and tightening it may have solved the entire problem or enough of the problem to make the revolver acceptably functional.
2. Possibly a minor bend of the crane. The further back the cylinder the more this would be accentuated. You might check the cylinder to forcing cone gap on the left and right side and if different it might mean a slightly bent crane or it could mean a forcing cone that is not square.
3. End shake which you have already assessed.

It sounds as if the revolver is acceptably functional at this point so I'd probably enjoy shooting it at this point.

 

[M29since14]

Fixing the end- and/or yoke-shake is easy enough but you may have a gun that has been seriously abused. If you are not able to do so yourself I would take that gun to a gunsmith and ask him to measure your cylinder - particularly in the area of the bolt notches. It may be toast.

 

[Vigo]

I would say this gun has a fair bit of life left in it. It does appear to have had marginal treatment in the past, but it's shaping up OK.

The yoke screw adjustment went a long way to resolving that cylinder rub on the frame. The yoke screw has a fair bit of wear on the tip. I have a new yoke screw on the way, in case I decide to fit it and just replace the old one. But so far it is going OK.

I touched up the bluing a bit in that rubbed area of the cylinder and frame. It came out nicely and is presentable.

I'm going to check the yokeshake/endshake issue again this week. I have some bearing discs I can use if I need to.

I shot the gun twice this weekend with a couple light handloads (.38 and .357 Trail Boss, LSWC loads). It appears to have had a trigger job. The trigger is actually quite nice on it. Timing seems OK. It groups reasonably well.

 

[Vigo]

Yoke turned out to be alright, but it did have a bit of endshake (.004-5). A single .004 bearing disc tightened it right up. Gun shoots pretty well. Trigger is nice.

 

[Vigo]

Neglected to add a couple pictures: gun cleaned up relatively well. The cylinder bluing loss issue I mentioned earlier is visible under a photo flash, but isn't really visible in normal light after some cold blue touch up. Good enough for me, I suppose. It's quite fun to shoot.