Does my 642 need to go back for repair?

[frogger]

I picked up one of the new no-lock 642's on Friday. I was very excited and Monday evening, headed to the range to give it a try. I had limited time so I only firad 40 rounds through it (8 cylinders full). After firing the 6th cylinder full, I went to open the cylinder and extract the spent casings, but the cylinder would not open. I gave it a few tugs and finally got it open. I looked the gun over and it looked fine. I loaded it up again and it fired fine and opened fine. It was fine on the next and last cylinder too. I wrote this off to an ammo issue. The ammo I was firing was fairly old and a mixed bag of brands. I did make sure they were all marked .38 and NOT .357 though, so that was not the issue. I brought it home and cleaned it up. After cleaning it, I decided to give it a good once over to make sure no damage was done by whatever had happened. I noticed that if I held the gun up to the light and spun the cylinder very slowly I could tell that neither the front or back edge of the cylinder would completely flat. I could see a wobble on the edge as I turned the cylinder.

Now, I have very limitdd experience with S&W revolvers so I don't know if the edge of the cylinder should be perfect or this imperfection is normal. I also don't know if what I experienced with the 6th cylinder was an ammo issue or an issue with the gun. Since it only happened once, and the other 7 cylinders were fine, I'm inclined to think it was ammo. Would you give S&W a call over this and ask for an RMA or am I worrying about nothing?

UPDATE - I just tried something. I loaded up the gun with snap caps and pulled the trigger once and then tried to open the cylinder. I did this once per chamber to see if one chamber position would be harder to open than the others. I noticed nothing different between the 5 chambers. Then, I held the gun up to the light so that I could see the gap between the back of the snap cap and the frame. I noticed that one chamber has a much smaller gap than the others. I pulled the trigger 20 or so times and it all seemed fine. Then, when I opened the cylinder I noticed that one snap cap is scratched up on the top edge and the other 4 are fine. I have to assume that this is the c`amber that there was less light between the back of the snap cap and the frame. These were brand new snap caps before this experiment.

Also, if you notice in the pic, that snap cap and the one to the right of it received powerful enough firing pin strikes to leave a mark where as the other 3 are unmarked. This seems to be more evidence that this section of the cylinder is closer to the frame than the rest.

ANOTHER UPDATE - I am still unsure if there is really a problem. I swapped out the damaged snap cap with the 6th one in the set and pulled the trigger about 50 times. I noticed no damage. I'm wondering if that one had gotten scratched up in the box and I didn't notice before. However, I'm sure the gap between the cylinder and frame is inconsistent. I'm just not sure if it is a problem. I'd like to know from you guys if this is normal or not. Do you recommend a call to S&W or another trip to the range? I do have 50 more rounds of .38 I coul` use, but I hate to burn up the ammo and pay the range fees if you guys feel there is enough evidence to go ahead and send it back. I'd rather save that box for testing to make sure they fixed it if this does sound like a problem.

 

[frogger]

I picked up one of the new no-lock 642's on Friday. I was very excited and Monday evening, headed to the range to give it a try. I had limited time so I only fired 40 rounds through it (8 cylinders full). After firing the 6th cylinder full, I went to open the cylinder and extract the spent casings, but the cylinder would not open. I gave it a few tugs and finally got it open. I looked the gun over and it looked fine. I loaded it up again and it fired fine and opened fine. It was fine on the next and last cylinder too. I wrote this off to an ammo issue. The ammo I was firing was fairly old and a mixed bag of brands. I did make sure they were all marked .38 and NOT .357 though, so that was not the issue. I brought it home and cleaned it up. After cleaning it, I decided to give it a good once over to make sure no damage was done by whatever had happened. I noticed that if I held the gun up to the light and spun the cylinder very slowly I could tell that neither the front or back edge of the cylinder would completely flat. I could see a wobble on the edge as I turned the cylinder.

Now, I have very limited experience with S&W revolvers so I don't know if the edge of the cylinder should be perfect or this imperfection is normal. I also don't know if what I experienced with the 6th cylinder was an ammo issue or an issue with the gun. Since it only happened once, and the other 7 cylinders were fine, I'm inclined to think it was ammo. Would you give S&W a call over this and ask for an RMA or am I worrying about nothing?

UPDATE - I just tried something. I loaded up the gun with snap caps and pulled the trigger once and then tried to open the cylinder. I did this once per chamber to see if one chamber position would be harder to open than the others. I noticed nothing different between the 5 chambers. Then, I held the gun up to the light so that I could see the gap between the back of the snap cap and the frame. I noticed that one chamber has a much smaller gap than the others. I pulled the trigger 20 or so times and it all seemed fine. Then, when I opened the cylinder I noticed that one snap cap is scratched up on the top edge and the other 4 are fine. I have to assume that this is the chamber that there was less light between the back of the snap cap and the frame. These were brand new snap caps before this experiment.

Also, if you notice in the pic, that snap cap and the one to the right of it received powerful enough firing pin strikes to leave a mark where as the other 3 are unmarked. This seems to be more evidence that this section of the cylinder is closer to the frame than the rest.

ANOTHER UPDATE - I am still unsure if there is really a problem. I swapped out the damaged snap cap with the 6th one in the set and pulled the trigger about 50 times. I noticed no damage. I'm wondering if that one had gotten scratched up in the box and I didn't notice before. However, I'm sure the gap between the cylinder and frame is inconsistent. I'm just not sure if it is a problem. I'd like to know from you guys if this is normal or not. Do you recommend a call to S&W or another trip to the range? I do have 50 more rounds of .38 I could use, but I hate to burn up the ammo and pay the range fees if you guys feel there is enough evidence to go ahead and send it back. I'd rather save that box for testing to make sure they fixed it if this does sound like a problem.

 

[panamajack310]

Hey,
I would call S&W and let them know what your concern is..They will probably tell you to send it to them and they will look it over really really good...They will fix what ever problem there is and ship it back to you...there is my 2 cents

 

[HEADKNOCKER]

Frogger before Calling S&W..
Make sure there's no unburned powder residue under the extractor star..
Also make sure the ejector rod is fully tight, if it unscrews slightly it can also make the cylinder hard to open, on the newer gun the threads will be Left Handed or Counter Clockwise to Tighten..You can remove the cylinder by removing the most forward sideplate screw = End Shake Screw, then slide the Yolk Out & the Cylinder will come off, Some use a padded vise or a drill chuck to tighten the ejector rod, Try an tighten the tool, beit chuck or vise as close to the cylinder as possible, Do Not overtighten or strip the threads out..
Also while you have it apart, Cylinder off the yolk clean & lubricate the yolk with CLP, It'll make the cylinder turn smoother..
Good Luck, Let us know how it turns out..
Gary/Hk

 

[machinisttx]

Well, it's possible that the gun has a bent yoke. I'm hoping you don't snap the cylinder shut like the cool guys on TV, and that whoever handled it before you bought it didn't either. This will bend the yoke and cause problems such as you describe.

It's also possible that the cylinder faces were not machined perpendicular to the axis. They could be dished or have other manufacturing defects. If the gun was in my hands I could tell you exactly what the problem was, it isn't, so I suggest calling S&W to get a return tag.

Something to check is the barrel to cylinder gap, which requires a set of leaf type feeler gages available at your local autoparts store or Sears. If it varies much between chambers, it's one of the problems above.

 

[frogger]

Well, I called S&W this afternoon and explained what I was experiencing. The tech on the phone walked me through a few things and we found the problem. The problem is I'm an idiot. When I cleaned under the extraction star, I cleaned the cylinder side, but forgot to clean under the star. There was a small amount of carbon under there. I cleaned it thoroughly and took it back to the range. It worked perfect. I guess you learn something new every day. If you need me, I'll be in the corner with a dunce hat on.

 

[shawn mccarver]

Originally posted by frogger:
Well, I called S&W this afternoon and explained what I was experiencing. The tech on the phone walked me through a few things and we found the problem. The problem is I'm an idiot. When I cleaned under the extraction star, I cleaned the cylinder side, but forgot to clean under the star. There was a small amount of carbon under there. I cleaned it thoroughly and took it back to the range. It worked perfect. I guess you learn something new every day. If you need me, I'll be in the corner with a dunce hat on.

You are too hard on yourself. Whoever has not had a "duh" experience is free to cast the first stone, to paraphrase someone really important.

 

[frogger]

Originally posted by shawn mccarver:

Originally posted by frogger:
Well, I called S&W this afternoon and explained what I was experiencing. The tech on the phone walked me through a few things and we found the problem. The problem is I'm an idiot. When I cleaned under the extraction star, I cleaned the cylinder side, but forgot to clean under the star. There was a small amount of carbon under there. I cleaned it thoroughly and took it back to the range. It worked perfect. I guess you learn something new every day. If you need me, I'll be in the corner with a dunce hat on.

You are too hard on yourself. Whoever has not had a "duh" experience is free to cast the first stone, to paraphrase someone really important.

Most of that was tongue in cheek, but I do feel kinda stupid right now. I'm just glad it works and I didn't get a faulty gun.

 

[donaldw870]

I'd say just make sure that you keep it super-clean and put a bunch of rounds through it before returning it. It still sounds to me like after shooting 40 rounds, you shouldn't have experienced that problem, unless you didn't clean it at all before making your first trip to the range.

Here's what I would suggest. Clean it really well and shoot 200 rounds without cleaning. Repeat that three times or so and if you don't have any problems, don't worry any more. If you still have problems, send it back.

My opinion, which is worth exactly what you paid for it.

Donald

 

[Dot_mdb]

I think if it was binding and now it is not than you have found the problem. It is not unusual for revolvers to experience that type of malfunction. Maybe that is why they say 6 for sure because after reloading you can't be so sure! Seriously one way to lessen the possibility of getting powder grains and debris from getting stuck under the star is to make sure the gun is verticle when you extract the spent rounds. It also helps to not get too much oil under the extractor.

Bill

 

[HEADKNOCKER]

Glad To Hear it Frogger!!
Read My First Reply to Your Thread..
I scrub that area with an old tooth brush & use no oil there, & just a tad on the rod..
Could have been a loose ejector rod or a bent yolk too..
Be Glad you scored one of these 642-1s, There a Great carry gun, Get a Pocket Holster & Carry Away..
Enjoy Sir!!
Gary/Hk

 

[WJR]

All's well that ends well, Frogger.

I was getting a little worried that the QC was poor on the new 642s.

WJR

 

[captqc]

Hold the phone! Ya mean we got to clean these things!

Gary