Yes, I am the guy in the thread below bragging about my new acquisition. I did not pay attention to the binding in my short time playing with the gun. Today I wanted to do some serious shooting. The trigger pull is smooth and the gun is very accurate on 5 of the six cylinder holes, but the sixth binds terribly. It is always when the same hole is in firing position. Same with snap caps, live rounds, or empty. I have checked and cleaned under the star. I appreciate any help. Thanks
38/44 Cylinder Binding
- Thread starter tybochip
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Start with ejector rod. A little un-straight.
StrawHat
Member
I would suggest a thorough cleaning, specifically under the extractor star. It does not take a lot of gunk under there to jam up the works.
Kevin
Kevin
Where does the binding occur? At the beginning, middle or end of the trigger travel? Is the ejector rod tight? As suggested, check the ejector rod is straight. Also check yoke alignment.
Check the cylinder for forward/rearward play (endshake) in the fired position. If its noticeable, the face of the cylinder maybe binding on the rear of the barrel.
If so, its an easy fix for a S&W revolver armorer or a gunsmith with the right tools.
If so, its an easy fix for a S&W revolver armorer or a gunsmith with the right tools.
The binding begins at the start of the trigger pull. I pulled the cylinder and cleaned, polished, and used canned air to blow out debris. It will take a better man than me to get the knurled end off. To my untrained eye everything seems to be straight . I have not shot it since cleaning, but the trigger pull is smoother on all six holes.
Usually binding will be noticeable on more than one chamber if something is bent or not square in my experience. Maybe a burr on an extractor pad or something that could be one chamber only.
Isn't the knob part of the rod it self? Mine is. I use a half inch drill chuck which will get over the knob and clamp onto the rod.
Isn't the knob part of the rod it self? Mine is. I use a half inch drill chuck which will get over the knob and clamp onto the rod.
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After the cleaning and removing a burr on the star. Everything is smoother but still binds a little. If I wipe off cylider face and barrel after 2 cylinders it runs fine. Do I need to shim the front of the cylinder?
Possibly, but it depends upon how much forward and rearward play present when the cylinder is locked into the frame (end shake measurement). You need a set of feeler gauges to determine if there is excessive end shake.
With the cylinder locked into the frame, push the cylinder all the way to the rear and measure the clearance between the front of the cylinder and the barrel's forcing cone. Next, push the cylinder all the way forward and measure the clearance between the front of the cylinder and the forcing cone. The difference between the two is the amount of end shake. 0.001-0.002" end shake is ideal, any more can be corrected with a shim and an end shake greater than 0.004" definitely should be shimmed.
One caveat, make sure that adding shims does not force the cylinder too far to the rear, which will cause insufficient clearance between cartridge case heads and the frame at the area of the firing pin.
I cleaned and polished all the cylinder and yoke parts that I could. I ordered a pkg. of .002 shims from Midway and installed one in the cylinder. Ran 60 rounds through it this evening, and not a hint of binding. Thanks for everyone's help.
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