Adjusting the timing

[bountyhunter]

I have guns that carry up very fast, and others that are slower. Watching both the bottom of the cylinder, and the hand interaction through the back of the window it would seem the ones that carry up slower provide the greatest benefit as there is less friction all around.

Overall a slower timed gun just seems like a more ideal 'tune'.

Done correctly, you can get an early carry up and also have very little friction. Key words "DONE CORRECTLY".

 

[Tom S.]

Not really, just that much closer to being worn out and DNCU -- "does not carry up".

Also, tuning ratchets properly is one of the the most involved jobs there is on a S&W revolver; highly unadvised for the untrained or those without proper tools.

If the revolver carries up properly and smoothly on each charge hole, strongly suggest leaving well enough alone.

Exactly! Even though I have a lot of time logged under the side plates of S&W revolvers, I won't go near a timing issue and leave it for those with more experience. That's not to say I wouldn't like to learn how, but it's not something I'd try to learn via self teaching, even with Mr. Kuhnhausen's excellent manual.

 

[armorer951]

This has been suggested before, both by me and others, but keep in mind that non-invasive, incremental changes can be made in the timing by simply substituting a slightly thinner hand. (.001")

This allows evaluation of a perceived need for a change in a ratchet without making a modification that cannot be reversed. Once filing has commenced, and material has been removed, the surface cannot be restored.

 

[DocB]

I wouldn't mess with a Smith & Wesson. . .never had or seen one with a real timing problem. Now, with Colt it's a different story. It seems like half of all the old Colt revolvers I see at the LGS have a timing problem. I don't mess with those either. . .just leave them for other people who seem to enjoy problem guns.

 

[Nightowl]

I very much dislike filing ratchets. It takes very little effort to file them a bit too much. One thousandth of an inch is a lot on one of those. As above, installing larger or smaller hands to check carry up to where you want it is easier and better. Taking metal off is shortening the life of the ratchet.
I like an early carry up with a smooth hand/ratchet transition, like most of the old 50s guns I have. Besides, if you shoot double action with the left hand, a lot of smiths will time slow. Getting one to time equally with both hands is a mystery to me! But, I have sent guns back to the factory with that request and they have done it.

 

[Fastbolt]

... I can't understand why they call it timing if there's no such thing as too early. *shrug*...

Whenever I hear someone call it "timing", when talking about a S&W revolver, I usually suspect that they may not really understand what's involved in making a S&W revolver properly function.

You've been given the benefit of the experience of some experienced folks in this thread, including some experienced S&W revolver armorers. Not the typical "they" to whom you're probably referring.

Like other S&W revolver shooters, I strongly prefer quicker carry up and cylinder stop engagement.

I've only been through a S&W revolver armorer class once (more than 10 years ago), so I'm a pretty junior revolver armorer compared to a lot of guys on this forum.

However, the head armorer for whom I used to work was a revolver armorer who worked on both S&W and Colt revolvers (we used to issue S&W's and Pythons in the 70's), and he spent a lot of time trying to hammer revolver knowledge into my head at our bench.

Also, the factory guy who taught the revolver armorer class I eventually attended had previously worked for another gun company, where he made custom revolvers, and nowadays he's an engineering tech at S&W. I tended to carefully listen to what he taught during the revolver class, and during other armorer classes he taught.

I'd never consider trying to adjust ratchets on the extractor to "slow" carry up. Weird. Normal wear & tear eventually causes that sort of thing, and there's no practical reason to intentionally create a condition of accelerated wear & tear that will risk requiring repair sooner.

 

[Fastbolt]

I very much dislike filing ratchets. It takes very little effort to file them a bit too much. One thousandth of an inch is a lot on one of those. As above, installing larger or smaller hands to check carry up to where you want it is easier and better. Taking metal off is shortening the life of the ratchet.
I like an early carry up with a smooth hand/ratchet transition, like most of the old 50s guns I have. Besides, if you shoot double action with the left hand, a lot of smiths will time slow. Getting one to time equally with both hands is a mystery to me! But, I have sent guns back to the factory with that request and they have done it.

Kind of like checking "sing" while alternating pressing each side of the trigger face, and then in the center.

Pursuit of perfection, I suppose.

 

[les.b]

Pdxrealtor:

I attended my first armorers school at the S&W factory in 1977. Redid the class at field schools a few time after that. I understand the yearning to tinker with the mechanisms of the things we love. But my advice echoes that of my fellow, and probably much more experienced, armorers above:
Try to resist the temptation to tinker. The ratchet is a relatively tiny mechanism, and just a file stroke here and there can "throw a monkey wrench" in the delicately balanced line between too early and too late. And as someone else noted, once the metal is gone, you can't replace it, peening notwithstanding.

Of course it's your revolver, so do what you will, but even with my training and experience, I stay away from that particular operation, unless I absolutely have to intervene for some reason, and that would be very rarely. And I have a lot of revolvers.

Best Regards, Les