cracked frame 686-5

[dutch1]

Hello guys, today i noticed these tiny little cracks in the topstrap of the frame, on the inside of the bridge is nothing to see, i have this revolver now for about 3 weeks i bought it used but it is in new condition and the previous owner said he only fired factory .38 wadcutter ammo with it, i myself have fired since in my possesion about 200 HBSWC rounds with it.
I cannot find any story's about cracks like these on the net only the well known forcing cone cracks, What do you think?,
Is the revolver done or isnt it something to worrie about?

regards.

 

[Revolver-time]

Are you sure that is a crack? I would see if it is just a scratch. See if it polishes out.

 

[dutch1]

No no its definitely not a scratch it will not polish out, i tried that, its a tiny little haircrack.

 

[texagun]

Send the photos to S&W and see what they say. I'm betting they will say that is normal and will not affect the use of the gun.

 

[RV4driver]

I'm just guessing here, but it looks like someone over-stressed the frame with some excessive loads and then pretended they only shot mouse-fart loads, then unloaded the gun before it came apart. The 686 is an extremely robust revolver. This doesn't look normal.

 

[andyo5]

At the very minimum, I would ask a competent gunsmith to exmine it and offer an opinion. My preference would be to call S&W and arrange for them to examine it. If it really is a crack, it could be dangerous to continue shooting it (especially with handloads).

 

[sw282]

Using alligator clip leads and a 9 volt battery,connect one lead to the barrel. 0ther to grip frame. Sprinkle some iron filings on the crack. lf they line up on each side of flaw, you have a crack...

Poor man's ''magna flux'' test

 

[old bear]

Dutch, I would contact S&W to request an inspection, save any correspondence they send you., I would not mention shooting reloads. Finally I would delete this post.

 

[papajohn428]

It looks more like a void than a crack or any kind of stress fracture, and if the gun was stressed by hot loads that is NOT where I would expect the damage to show up! You should at least have some obvious etching under the topstrap if the gun was fired with full-power ammo.

 

[scooter123]

IMO it's an Inclusion in the raw steel stock. It happens sometimes when steel bar stock is hot rolled, a tiny bit on contamination gets trapped within the steel and gets rolled out into a thin flaw like that seen here. How extensive that particular flaw is can be extremely independent, what you see could be a remainder of a flaw that is only 1/32 deep or it could go almost all the way through the top strap. One way of finding that out would be to have the frame magnafluxed, something that a high end automotive machine shop can do for a small fee. If you have any friends into car racing or rallying ask about a machine shop that can do magnafluxing and take it from there. By the response to the magnaflux test they will be able to tell you the extent of that defect. BTW, the reason you want to pay someone to do this test formally is you are in part paying for the experience of the operator to determine the severity of the defect, that is something you won't get with some Home Brew mockup. As for sending it back to the US from Holland, with all the various laws about transfer of firearms between nations I think it's rather predictable that is an ordeal you don't want to attempt.

 

[Buckey08]

I can't help but think that if that is a flaw in the frame from the factory, S&W won't chance their name to what amounts to a small $$$$$ fix. S&W is very well aware of how news travels on the internet!

 

[dutch1]

Well thanks so far for all the info on this problem, today i called the previous owner and told him about my findings and he is going get a hold on the person he bought the gun from..the original buyer, he's gonna ask him for the original bill/invoice, that was a member from the same gunclub they where in, and that guy he told also only shot .38 wadcutters, never heavy loads, i have no reason to believe im being lied to, especially since the guy i bought it from was the chairman of that club, furthermore they had a rule that forbid the use of handloads at that club since years ago when it wasnt forbidden to use them there was an incident with someone who had a bullet that got stuck in the barrel, a squib i believe it is called,. and that got them so scared that they forbid the use of handloads from that moment on. so with all that in mind i believe that the topstrap cracks are indeed a void or some other material inperfection that happend during the manufacturing process.
im going to take this step by step, beginning with the first owner see if he maybe has the Original bill, doesnt matter if he has it but it could make things easyer, then i contact the importer firm and Smith And Wesson itself, magnaflux research can i do in a later stadium, first the official channels.
I added a couple more pics that shows that this revolver is in great shape and is practically in new condition and shows no signs of abuse, theres barely a turnline visible.
Feel free to give me any more info or your thoughts about this issue, i appreciate it.
i keep you posted.

regards.

 

[sureshot66]

Had seen another 686 recently on a Canadian forum that was being sold with a cracked frame-wished I had looked at it closely when it was advertised.

 

[andyo5]

I copied one of your photos, brightened and enlarged it. It does look like a crack, but I am wondering whether it may be a deep scratch instead.
Place a little bit of thin oil on it and see if the crack soaks it in.

 

[dutch1]

Today the previous owner went to the gunshop were the revolver was bought and showed them the pics, judging the pics they said they had never seen a defect like that at that particular spot, offcourse the shop wants to see the gun live so in the next couple days or next week she takes a trip up north to the shop and from there on the dealer at the shop will take her to the Dutch S&W importer for examination.
Lets see what happens, i keep you posted.