Cylinder sticking K 38

[Happyguy]

I have a K 38 that I have owned for a number of years, I bought it used it built in the 50's, anyway the cylinder has always started sticking after about 4 rounds. I checked the cylinder gap and I was unable to get a.006 feeler gauge in. I slowly started removing the metal from the crane for clearance and after going slowly for several hours it started to open up but not enough. I remember reading somewhere that the final fit for barrel was done by with a file at the factory so I looked at the barrel and yes it looked like it had been done with a wood rasp and the forcing cone/barrel nearest the backstrap was higher then the rest of the forcing cone/barrel. I used a fine file to lower the high edge and then an India stone to smooth everything. I now have a very nice .006 gap and when I took it out to test it I went through 100 rounds of 38 Special without any instance of cylinder sticking.

 

[armorer951]

Scared me when you said, " I started removing metal from the crane for clearance".

If the cylinder is contacting the barrel extension, there's always a possibility that there is room for an end shake shim on the yoke barrel to correct the improper front B/C gauge/clearance. This would likely be a better way to proceed than removing material from the barrel extension.

Is the rear gauge/headspace still in spec?

 

[Happyguy]

Everything else is good. It is now a delight to shoot. I still had to remove metal to square the barrel extension so that there was an even gap.

 

[chief38]

When smithin' I much prefer stones over a file. Stones remove metal at a slower pace (I prefer that as you can't put metal back on), leave a ultra smooth finished surface and are more precise and easier to control. I never have to finish with a stone because that is what I started with. I do have different grit stones, but my finishing stones are hard Arkansas stones. I also have quite a few different size stones so getting into small tight areas isn't hard to do. Two great sizes for smithin' are the 3/16 x 3/16 x 3" and the 1/4" x 1/4" x 4". I also have round shapes, triangular, square 1/2" x 1/2" and a plethora of flat stones.

When I do work on my guns I always take my time and will not start a job if I only have a limited amount of time to do what I need to get done. I could never make money as a GS as I am slow - but precise.

I leave files for the larger metal removing tasks.