Anyone ever see THIS?

J

Johnnu2

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I have two shooting buddies who have relatively new S&W revolvers (with the lock); one is a long barreled 9mm (yes revolver) and the other is a .45ACP (yes again). I believe they both are Performance Center guns (I know the .45 is). Now, here's what they found upon inspection. They took the 45 sideplate off because after several hundred (approx) rounds, it "didn't feel right". They found the .45 had a LOT of 'sand' inside that gun, apparently from bead-blasting was their guess. So the more knowledgeable guy who took the 45 apart for his friend, then took apart his 9mm and found the same thing: a large amount of a 'sandy' substance. My question is: has anyone else seen anything like this? I would guess it would be in a relatively new production gun as opposed to the older production guns....... (no, they didn't/wouldn't send them back to S&W for obvious reasons).
THANKS,
J
 
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Did you see this? It sounds improbable, but anyone who has ever been involved in manufacturing knows better than to say, "That can't happen!" :rolleyes:
 
All of my NEW Smith and Wessons have been sand free. Though I admit my newest purchase was about months ago

Did the shooting buddies that found the sand, document it any manner? Perhaps with photographs or video?

Is the sand what caused the issue of "didn't feel right"?

Or is there another problem that we don't know about yet?

Why would they not send them to Smith & Wesson? I apologize for asking, but their reasons are not obvious to me

As M29since14 says, anything can happen .

Smith & Wesson always tries to make things right. The lifetime warranty is there, why would you not use it?
 
I've found sand inside the interchangeable sight mount, on the front sights, every now and then. I've seen it.
It is possible.
Spray it out with some Remoil. Should be good to go.
 
Sure, it is possible given the production process. Compressed air, followed by lots of oil to capture the residual sand, followed by brake cleaner to flush out the sandy oil, then lightly re-lubricate. :)
 
How were the guns transported to the range? In a bag, case? What were the conditions like? How and where are they stored? I find it hard to believe that two different guns would have this same defect at the same time. To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical that this is a factory problem.
 
Sand in the action

Windageandelevation said:
Glass bead is literally tiny glass balls and are white in color, i use this almost daily in the aerospace repair industry. Sand and glass bead are entirely different .
Click to expand...

I maybe shoulda said 'sandy stuff'. Yes, they said that it was more like glass bead media. Both are quite skilled shooters and transport their guns in enclosed cases; no chance of getting the crud they found thru their own fault. The one who cleaned both guns is quite skilled in doing 'gun work'. They didn't want to send them back to S&W because a) the repair was easy and b) because they were so shocked to see the crud inside a Performance Center gun(s) that they didn't trust S&W handling their guns at that point. The 9mm rev. was functioning fine, the owner just took it apart after finding the crud in the other shooter's gun that was feeling problematic. I'm sure they'll recover from the 'shock' eventually. We all understand manufacturing processes these days.... heck, we are even getting used to MIM.... (well, maybe not me). Just curious to see if anyone else has inspected their newer guns and found anything like this....
 
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I picked up a new PC 629 a few weeks ago. Had the side plate off to install the plug. It was fairly nasty in there but no glass bead media. I cleaned it and relubed. The action is much smoother.

Klyde
 

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nasty stuff

KLYDE said:
I picked up a new PC 629 a few weeks ago. Had the side plate off to install the plug. It was fairly nasty in there but no glass bead media. I cleaned it and relubed. The action is much smoother.

Klyde
Click to expand...

Klyde, it would seem incongruous to me that any new gun would have any "nasty" stuff inside the action; and especially a PC gun which I've been told is supposed to receive special care in manufacture. I've owned and opened MANY S&Ws in my 70+ years, and never found any crud inside of a 'NIB' gun that I owned. Of course, I haven't purchased a new S&W in MANY years; certainly not since MIM or the 'lock'. Thanks for your reply... Will be interesting to see if anyone else has similar experiences.
 
I bought a new 642 last year that had a rough heavy trigger pull and had planned on a Wolf spring upgrade anyways and once the side plate was off I was amazed to find a "dirty" oil mix inside. Once cleaned up and reoiled the action was dramatically smoother. Not sure I'd call it sand or glass beads but it was some sort of gritty contaminant in the workings.The gun was purchased new in the box from a dealer.
 
Johnnu2 said:
Klyde, it would seem incongruous to me that any new gun would have any "nasty" stuff inside the action; and especially a PC gun which I've been told is supposed to receive special care in manufacture. I've owned and opened MANY S&Ws in my 70+ years, and never found any crud inside of a 'NIB' gun that I owned. Of course, I haven't purchased a new S&W in MANY years; certainly not since MIM or the 'lock'. Thanks for your reply... Will be interesting to see if anyone else has similar experiences.
Click to expand...

It was a heavy, oily, slurry mix. A strange substance almost like a grease, but not. After reading this thread I'd wager a guess that it was most likely some media mixed with oil. I didn't inspect it close enough to be positive.

A good cleaning and light lube and all is well.
Klyde
 
I wouldn't worry about it, things happen. Your friends should have sent them back to S&W for a good cleaning. S&W can't correct a problem with production if they don't know they have one.
 
I really find this difficult to rationalize how it got there. It is my understanding that the bead blasting takes place before final assembly, then tank immersed for cleaning before inner parts are installed.

I've had this one apart several times and found no evidence of anything that didn't belong there.

 
I would guess that your diagnosis is spot on.
I wouldn't send it back if all works after an intense cleaning and inspection.

Someone probably skipped a step somewhere, I would call them and let them know so that they may possibly associate those types of complaints with an event or person, either way you're on record.
 
Pound sand!

Yesterday I read this post about sand, and I'll admit I've seen a lot of things inside firearms but I had reservations about sand in a new revolver. Today I received my lock plug kit in the mail...and I cracked open my 4 day old never fired 329PD....and Lo and behold grit. If you wiped your finger on any surface inside the frame or sideplate and rubbed your fingers together it was undeniable..GRIT So I looked a little closer, it was on the hammer, in the double action sear and spring, the cylinder stop, the trigger under the rebound slide EVERYWHERE! On the hammer was the worst like little sand drifts in the crevices for the lock..like a sandy slurry in oil. I removed the cylinder and yoke from the frame and it was even inside the pivot hole..SICK!!what gives? The first day I had the revolver I loaded up snap caps and dryfired for about 15 min and was not impressed with the double action feel compared to many other revolvers I own. and I also found a bit of creep in single action. I chalked it up to new parts and really just wanted to get it out to the range to wring it out. So back to the solution, lots of Hoppes Elite spray cleaner, air at 90psi a bit of brushing and oil in the proper places, installed my plug from Original Precision and reassembled it. Let me tell you what, the trigger improved immensely! I know one thing, any revolver I buy from now on, new or used will get opened up before I even cycle the trigger one time. This is unacceptable.:eek:
 
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