Ejector Rod Alignment

[jesseatamez]

Hey All,

I was shooting my 1955 vintage K22 yesterday and as I was finishing up I noticed that the ejector rod isn't exactly parallel with with the barrel locking point. It ejects fine, shoots fine, and the crane fits perfectly with the yoke. However, I'm wondering is this is something I should have my gunsmith look at. The "bolt" on the barrel does go into the end of the ejector rod just fine, but again it's not perfectly parallel. It's off by maybe a millimeter. Am I being neurotic here?

Regards, Jesse

 

[climbcut25]

No, you are not being neurotic. Either send it off to your smith or sell it to me (On the cheap, of course... Bend rod and all)

Not a tough fix. (Darn!! I have got to learn to haggle better!!)

 

[jesseatamez]

.

Climbcut,

I guess I'll have the gunsmith look at it then, my impression with ejector rod issues was that they always present with a symptom of some sort (i.e. problematic ejection, difficulty seating cases) but as I said I've had none of that. I suppose ignoring it will make the symptoms worse when they do appear however. Just out of curiosity, what is the fix? Something one could easily do at home?

Thanks, Jesse

 

[climbcut25]

Jesse,

1st things 1st. You have to have a semblance of mechanical skill. I"m not talking "master mechanic", but you do have to be able to reason how things go together.

Remove yoke from frame. Remove cyl from yoke. Be SURE to have at least 3 empty cases in cly. Unscrew ejector. (Being a 5 screw I am unsure as to the "hand" of your thread. Mine is a "left hand" thread. 17-3.) Once disassembled, inspect all parts. You can roll them on a "known" flat surface, (ie: table saw, joiner, or a simple piece of glass.) If they go "bump, bump, bump... they are bent. Fix is: re-bend to suit. If you have a drill press and an indicator it is a fairly simple set-up. (I'm guessing that one is a "no". If I'm wrong, (Which I am frequently.) pm me for details.

Keith

 

[jesseatamez]

.

Climbcut,

I do pretty well with mechanical devices of simple to moderate complexity. David Wilson once told me that all pre 1961 guns had right hand threaded ejector rods, so there's that bit of information. So, in order to remove the yoke and cylinder I must remove the forwardmost sideplate screw correct? Then what's next?

Also, your assumption was correct, I have neither drill press nor indicator.

Thanks, Jesse

 

[DCWilson]

Jesse, you can check run-out easily without removing a piece from the gun. Swing out the cylinder and lay the gun flat on its right side. Then place the tip of one finger lightly in on the end of the ejector rod and spin the cylinder with the other hand. If the ejector rod is bent, you will feel it in your test finger. Alternatively, dry fire the gun six times with the cylinder closed and see if the end of the ejector rod seems to swing in a small circle around the front locking pin.

Sometimes when you seem to have an out-of-alignment ejector rod, it's just that the barred is under tightened or overtightened. Usually people with an overclocked barrel will see that the front sight is a little off axis. But the front locking lug is exactly 180 off from the front sight, and it will be out of vertical as well as the sight.

Take a look at the ribbed barrel on your gun and see if the ribbed groove bed aligns properly with the channel on the frame top or the foot of the rear sight. Usually you can see if they are not in perfect alignment.

 

[jesseatamez]

.

David,

Thank you for saving me from an unnecessary disassembly haha! With it being a K22 wouldn't the dryfiring peen the chambers? I'll perform the other test you recommended as well as a visual inspection and report back on the issue sometime in the next few days. As always I greatly appreciate a replay from you!

Regards, Jesse

 

[haggis]

With it being a K22 wouldn't the dryfiring peen the chambers?

Get some #4-6 plastic wall anchors to use for snap caps. They work better than actual .22 snap caps. The material is a flexible plastic that will take multiple indents, whereas most snap caps are hard plastic and should not be impacted more than once in a given location.

Cost is ~ $4 per 100.

Buck

 

[jesseatamez]

.

Haggis,

I thought David actually meant to just dryfire it. I've yet to try the wall anchors, but I'm going to get some eventually, as I've just been shooting it with real ammo since I got it!

Regards, Jesse

 

[climbcut25]

David has a better solution than me. Once again proving: I tend to take things too far in annalizing them. Gotta forgive me... I was potty trained at gun-point. Dry wall anchors are slicker then cat snot on linoleum.

 

[DCWilson]

Sorry, Jesse, I read right past the fact this was a K-22. I would not dry fire a rimfire revolver, but in this case you don't need to let the hammer drop. Just put a thumb on the hammer and lower it gently when the sear releases. It is the cocking action that will display the circular motion at the end of the ejector rod if the rod is in fact bent.

 

[jesseatamez]

.

David,

Did the finger/cylinder rotation test over a ruler and it shows a variance when rotated. So, now, should I seek new parts or get this rod straightened?

Regards, Jesse

 

[DCWilson]

Fixing is always cheaper than replacing. The first thing you need to do is determine if it just the rod that is bent, or if the center pin is also tweaked (it may be). In either case, you need to take the cylinder off the gun and disassemble it to see where the bend occurs. Straightening it is just a matter of rolling it on a flat surface is up and then tapping it on the bend until it lies down; put a bamboo shish-kebab skewer down to center to support it while you are tapping. Then do the same thing with the pin and put it all back together. Be careful unscrewing the ejector rod if you use padded pliers to release it. That's thin metal and it can be crushed. Brownell's makes a circular tool that is designed to do the job properly. Remember the empty shells to support the ejector star when you start rotating.

If you haven't had a cylinder assembly apart before, pay attention to the direction of the center pin and the order of the two coil springs you will find. Nothing will work if you put them back together the wrong way.

Ifyou decide you need a new rod and center pin (the springs will probably be OK), make sure you mention the year of manufacture to your supplier; the Masterpiece cylinder design changed in its long history, and the newer center pins won't work on the older guns. You already know about the thread direction.

Good luck!

 

[haggis]

It depends on where the out-of-round condition originates. If the problem is a bent forward ejector rod, then replacing that part will fix the problem. It has been my experience that the problem usually lies in distorted threads at the junction of the forward ejector rod and the rear part with the extractor star on it. Replacing both parts will usually fix the out-of round problem, but it leaves you with the problem of fitting the extractor ratchets, something most folks don't want to attempt. That leaves straightening the rod as part of the cylinder assembly. With the cylinder open and the revolver fixed in position on its right side, rotate the cylinder until the ejector rod end is at its largest position away from the gun. Gently tap the rod end down with a non-marring hammer (rawhide or plastic). Don't try to fix the out-of-round all at once - easy does it. Check again to see where and how much the rod end has moved, and repeat the process. If you can get the Total Indicated Runout (TIR) down to about 0.003"-0.005", the gun will function fine. Be aware that you can wind up chasing your tail on this. As a reference, I once fixed a 625 that was initially giving 0.025" TIR, and that was enough to increase trigger pull on three adjacent chambers by 1½-2 pounds.

Here's a link to a discussion of this.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-smithing/123519-bent-ejector-rod.html


Or, you can get a gunsmith to fix it.

Buck

 

[jesseatamez]

.

Haggis,

I grabbed a rubber mallet and gave what you said a try. Eyeballing it, the condition is better, but the true test will be shooting it which I'll try to do tomorrow. I think if this doesn't work I'm going to just go with a gunsmith haha!

Regards, Jesse

 

[jesseatamez]

.

Well,

I can still feel that it's not perfectly aligned after shooting it. I called Smith & Wesson yesterday and spoke with Vito in the performance center. I explained the situation to him, and how I would much rather have the factory work on my gun than any random gunsmith. Vito said if it was just a bent ejector rod and required no obsolete parts to fix then it would be fine to send it in to the factory. So I'm going to let the factory repair it, which I'm quite happy about!

Regards, Jesse