I've done all my Smith 22's. These are excellent instructions. I am mostly mechanically inept but this worked well for me. Love the results.
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Finish reaming K22s, or, How To Solve Difficult Extraction In .22lr S&Ws
- Thread starter PzKfW5
- Start date
OP
PzKfW5
Member
It makes me happy to see so many frustrated rimfire smith owners finally get their excellent wheelguns going as they should have originally. Bravo, gentlemen!
Update - bought the Brownell's reamer. Did the Taurus. It was unusable, it now ejects very nicely. Two of the nine chambers had to be reamed twice. That makes no sense to me but it is true.
I did not destroy the Taurus, the Smith will be next.
OP
PzKfW5
Member
Most likely you just smoothed out the cylinder holes the second time you made the pass. If you don't progress very slowly with the procedure, the metal is taken away from the cylinder in a rougher fashion than it would otherwise be (because the bites per turn of the reamer are larger).
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I've got a 351C that I need to do this to. Just too frustrating to shoot in it's present state, plus I'm afraid I'm going to bend the darned ejector rod every time I have to hammer the spent shells out.
As stated, keeping the cuter "clean" (withdrawing it and wiping down, NEVER turning backward, frequently) is the key to a good ream out. That, and plenty of cutting oil.
Protocall_Design
Vendor
I just use an old toothbrush to clean the shavings out of the reamer, frequently, as stated above. If you let the chips build up, they will score the sides of the chamber. If you turn the reamer backwards (counter clockwise), it will dull the cutting edge.
H Richard went to great length to explain to me the process of reaming my pre 17 and 18 and I was considering doing it. A few weeks ago I thought I'd give my gunsmith a call and see what he would charge to do both for me at 60 buck per gun it just wasn't worth buying the reamer and doing the work myself so currently my gunsmith has them.
bigggbbruce
Member
My K22 extraction problem was solved by only using Federal or CCI ammo. One finger on the extraction rod and they drop right out.
cjwils
Member
Would this be advisable with the aluminum cylinder on a 317?
I tried numerous brands with my Taurus, it was horrific. I can sell it now with a pure heart.
My Model 18 is too tight but not a horror. I still think a reaming will help and now I have the tool.
I'm not a machinist. Seems like if the reamer will cut steel it will do a job on aluminum, but maybe some machinists will chime in?
Where's the fun in that? There is great satisfaction in learning to do minor gunsmithing on your own guns. With the resources available here and discretionary use of how-to videos on the yoo-toob, simple operations that you had to wait days or weeks for your local gunsmith to do are easily within reach. I say discretionary viewing because there are some real kitchen table bubba gunsmiths producing how-to videos out there, but a lot of good ones too.
algeciras
Member
k-22 mis-fire problem?????
the k-22 is also notorious for misfiring,,,,,,i did the reaming job on one of mine,and,now,,,,i have a constant misfire,,, its always on the very same chamber,,,, i marked the cylinder with a felt pen,and,sure enough,its always that cylinder that will not fire,,,,,before removing the cylinder,i did not have the problem with this particular gun,,,,it makes no sense to me,, but,the ony thing i can contribute it to,is the placement of the crane back into the frame of the gun,,, in fact,at times,when flipping the cylinder back in the gun,it actually is hitting somewhere,,, it does not flow back into the cradel as it did,,, i dont see any anjustments to be made,,,, can anybody shed some light on this problem? thanks in advance,,,,,,,
the k-22 is also notorious for misfiring,,,,,,i did the reaming job on one of mine,and,now,,,,i have a constant misfire,,, its always on the very same chamber,,,, i marked the cylinder with a felt pen,and,sure enough,its always that cylinder that will not fire,,,,,before removing the cylinder,i did not have the problem with this particular gun,,,,it makes no sense to me,, but,the ony thing i can contribute it to,is the placement of the crane back into the frame of the gun,,, in fact,at times,when flipping the cylinder back in the gun,it actually is hitting somewhere,,, it does not flow back into the cradel as it did,,, i dont see any anjustments to be made,,,, can anybody shed some light on this problem? thanks in advance,,,,,,,
Protocall_Design
Vendor
This may or may not be your problem, but I have found it helpful to put a small chamfer on the back of each chamber on rimfire guns because some ammo has a small radius in the corner between the rim and the body of the case. If the chamber has a sharp corner, the rim can't seat all the way down and it takes a lot harder hit to fire the cartridge.
The only way reaming itself could have caused this is if you reamed the recess of that chamber quite a bit deeper. It is important to stop reaming when the recess cutters touch the bottom of original recesses.
There is what Toolguy says. Make sure your cartridges are fully seating. If not fully seated the first part of energy from firing pin is used up slamming the case deeper and only the remainder of energy is left to crush rim and fire primer.
Algeciras, disassemble your cylinder, make sure there is no crud or reamer chips in the hole the yoke tube rides in, that the back side of extractor is completely clean. A small piece of material between tube end and the cylinder could effect this. Also the center pin may be sticky and causing your hitting something feeling.
Another thing. Look hard at that chamber if you ever dry fired it, there maybe a bit of a mar where firing pin struck edge of chamber, moving a bit of metal into the recess area and causing your case not to fully seat.
Another thing I would check on a misfiring 22 rimfire is endshake. If there is excess endshake some of the inertia from hammer is used up moving cylinder forward.
There is what Toolguy says. Make sure your cartridges are fully seating. If not fully seated the first part of energy from firing pin is used up slamming the case deeper and only the remainder of energy is left to crush rim and fire primer.
Algeciras, disassemble your cylinder, make sure there is no crud or reamer chips in the hole the yoke tube rides in, that the back side of extractor is completely clean. A small piece of material between tube end and the cylinder could effect this. Also the center pin may be sticky and causing your hitting something feeling.
Another thing. Look hard at that chamber if you ever dry fired it, there maybe a bit of a mar where firing pin struck edge of chamber, moving a bit of metal into the recess area and causing your case not to fully seat.
Another thing I would check on a misfiring 22 rimfire is endshake. If there is excess endshake some of the inertia from hammer is used up moving cylinder forward.
one eye joe
US Veteran
Got tired of the ridiculously tight chambers which were essentially non-functional on my K22. After one cylinder required a hammer or a bloody hand. See my other threads on chamber measurement.
So, I purchased a finish reamer from Brownells and went to work.
EXTREMELY PLEASED with the results!
Observations.
1. This is EASY and CHEAP to do.
2. This completely fixes the ejection problem these guns are known for.
3. There will still be a significant "tight" area ahead of the base of the chamber after reaming. See pic below.
4. Leave the extractor in while reaming. Mine certainly benefited from the chamber reamer as several charging hole cuts were off, and several weren't actually flush with the cylinder recess. Primer strikes are better than they were, now, as all cartridge rims are actually sitting flush with extractor and cylinder recess.
Pics.
You can see here where the reamer finished in the bottom left chamber. The tighter area ahead of the now correctly-sized chamber will swage down the bullet to the same diameter as the original S&W chambering, before it leaves the cylinder... and the shells will now actually eject and don't require a hammer. Oh, and fired casings from the pre-reamer shooting sessions (which drew blood) drop in perfectly, with no wiggle... before I couldn't even get fired shells to seat in the chamber...
Really tight chambers... perhaps the final finishing method they used on centerfire revolver chamberings was carried over to rimfire, but with unintended consequences. Unknown if the super tight chambering was fine in olden days, but it doesn't work with today's ammo, match, CCI, or otherwise. I had a 60s vintage M41 that had exactly the same problem. Made the gun unusable and I sold it. Anyways, this is the metal removed after 3 chambers were done.
And after all were done... this doesn't show the full amount of metal actually, as some ended up on towels I used to wipe the reamer off...
All in all, I'm tickled pink. And, now I have an extra original, unmodified complete M17 cylinder assembly that I'm considering selling or having fitted to the gun and reamed to WMR or other caliber...
WITH PERSISTENCE AND PATIENCE, YOU DID A SUPERB JOB......
I HAD A RUGER CHAMBERED IN .30 CAL CARBINE, THAT HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, WITH MILSURP AMMO, FORCING ME TO SELL IT.......
IMHO, REAMING YOUR SPARE CYLINDER TO .22WMR, AND HAVING IT FITTED TO YOUR REVOLVER, IS AN EXCELLENT IDEA ! ! !
ITS AKIN TO OWNING 2 GUNS THAT YOU CAN CARRY, WITHOUT HAVING TO PURCHASE ANOTHER HOLSTER......
ACORN
Member
How easy is it to mess up? I'm the type that could break ball bearing with a rubber mallet. My 8 shot 63 has tight extraction issues.
Protocall_Design
Vendor
To anyone who wants to ream a .22 LR cylinder to a .22 WRM - don't do it on a 10 shot cylinder! I did mine, then found out that the .22 WRM rims overlap. Then you can only use it as a 5 shot, loading a round in every other chamber. A 6 shot cylinder works fine, there is lots of room between them.
You always pay for your education one way or another. I'm hoping to save others the cost of a cylinder with my tuition.
You always pay for your education one way or another. I'm hoping to save others the cost of a cylinder with my tuition.
You would need to be either really careless or a total clutz.
Don't get heavy handed. Let the reamer work itself in under very light pressure. If it starts to bind stop and take it out turning slowly to the right. Don't ever turn it backwards. Clean it and chamber with spray solvent, then give cutter a coat of cutting oil and start over. Don't put any side pressure on it. The pilot and cutting flutes will stay aligned easily. Use a good tap handle. Not vise grips or pliers or a crescent wrench. A padded vise to hold the cylinder is needed to hold the cylinder steady at the same angle. All this helps keep it all aligned. When the little step in the reamer that cuts the recess touches the bottom of recesses. Stop , your done.
Thing about re reaming the chambers is you only removing a tiny bit of material. Cutter shouldn't turn hard unless you jam it in hard or put side pressure on it.
Don't get heavy handed. Let the reamer work itself in under very light pressure. If it starts to bind stop and take it out turning slowly to the right. Don't ever turn it backwards. Clean it and chamber with spray solvent, then give cutter a coat of cutting oil and start over. Don't put any side pressure on it. The pilot and cutting flutes will stay aligned easily. Use a good tap handle. Not vise grips or pliers or a crescent wrench. A padded vise to hold the cylinder is needed to hold the cylinder steady at the same angle. All this helps keep it all aligned. When the little step in the reamer that cuts the recess touches the bottom of recesses. Stop , your done.
Thing about re reaming the chambers is you only removing a tiny bit of material. Cutter shouldn't turn hard unless you jam it in hard or put side pressure on it.
Whoops. Sorry too hear that you messed up. But, if you never make any mistakes your probably not doing very much. That one is pretty hard to fix.
Protocall_Design
Vendor
Experience is what you get right after you need it. I have lots of experience.
I have a lot of spare parts and have ruined my share over the years finding out just where the limits are, doing all kinds of experiments. I know a lot more about S&W revos than most people as a result. There are a few others on this forum that have put in their time and paid their dues as well. Everyone gets a lot of benefit from these knowledgeable people.
I have a lot of spare parts and have ruined my share over the years finding out just where the limits are, doing all kinds of experiments. I know a lot more about S&W revos than most people as a result. There are a few others on this forum that have put in their time and paid their dues as well. Everyone gets a lot of benefit from these knowledgeable people.
Big Cholla
Member
Same Reamer, Different Cutting Oil
While cutting oil with sulfur will work on aluminum with slow and shallow cuts, a much better cutting oil specifically for aluminum is available and should be used.
While cutting oil with sulfur will work on aluminum with slow and shallow cuts, a much better cutting oil specifically for aluminum is available and should be used.
Big Cholla
Member
You Are Not Alone
I made the same mistake, but caught it after reaming the first of ten chambers to 22 WRM. I went ahead and reamed every other cylinder with the mag reamer so now I have a five shot mag and a five shot LR in the same handgun. It is BANG, bang, BANG, bang... etc, you get the idea. It is fun to watch the puzzlement on fellow shooters on the firing range. I told one guy that I was reloading 22 LR to magnum level and was just comparing my reloads to standard 22 LR. He believed me.
I made the same mistake, but caught it after reaming the first of ten chambers to 22 WRM. I went ahead and reamed every other cylinder with the mag reamer so now I have a five shot mag and a five shot LR in the same handgun. It is BANG, bang, BANG, bang... etc, you get the idea. It is fun to watch the puzzlement on fellow shooters on the firing range. I told one guy that I was reloading 22 LR to magnum level and was just comparing my reloads to standard 22 LR. He believed me.
Protocall_Design
Vendor
The best cutting fluid of all for aluminum is Tap Magic for Aluminum. Nothing else is even a close second. There is another Tap Magic for everything else. The formula for aluminum is also best for any nonferrous metal, such as brass, copper, bronze, etc.
A bump to the top so others may learn.
max503
Member
That reamer is now out of stock, and the price went up to $65.
Any body know another source, or have one they would sell?
Any body know another source, or have one they would sell?
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max503
Member
I've been brushing the cylinders of my model 34 with a 30 caliber bore brush. It does wonders for about 18-24 shots, then I got to brush again. I also have a 5-screw K-22 that is pretty much a safe queen. I would love to do the cylinders on the 34, and maybe do the ones on the K frame. Guess I'll keep an eye on Brownell's website to see if they get more of those reamers in, then bite the bullet and send them $65+ (ouch) for a reamer.
Protocall_Design
Vendor
Try Manson Reamers. Dave Manson Precision Reamers | Buy the Best to Build the Best.
max503
Member
Ordered a reamer for my 2 S&W 22 revolvers. I'm gonna ream 'em then shoot 'em. Now that 22 ammo is cheap I might as well take advantage of the situation and have some good, clean fun.
Do I need Brownell's cutting fluid, or would something else work?
Do I need Brownell's cutting fluid, or would something else work?
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