Got a new 442! Not impressed...

[dbarale]

Finally got a brand new 442 no lock to replace my old Charter Undercover as my back up/off duty gun. Checked it over at the gunsmith's when it arrived: no crack under the barrel, nice finish without scratches, decent trigger. I was happy... Until last night.

I decided to see if I could help smooth out the trigger pull some more by dry-firing it a few times. I went to put some snap caps in it and the cylinder would not open freely. No big deal, just shorten the front sideplate screw a bit.
Then the trigger pull was way heavy and felt awful. I realized the firing pin was dragging against the caps and not retracting fully. So, open the sideplate, remove the alloy shavings from the firing pin hole and give the guts a light lube as they were bone dry.
While I was in there I took a look at the main spring rod and the stamping was so bad that the top of it did not rest flat in its notch in the hammer... After a little time with some stones and some polishing it now looks much better. Trigger is now great (though heavy, but it's a duty gun so no spring swap on this one).
Finally I re-assemble and decide to put a little orange paint on the front sight. Takes a minute, and when I look at the new and improved sight picture I realized that the barrel is canted to the right quite a bit!

Called S&W this morning and they're sending a shipping label. I know this is not a top of the line gun for them, but for me it is a big purchase and something I've been wanting for a while. It's just frustrating.

I guess they should put a warning on the box "some assembly required" or sell them as kits like the old black powder DYI from the 80's...

Rant off, thanks for listening.

 

[Ashlander]

Amen, brother. I hear you. Anymore when I buy a S&W revolver, I give it all but an anal exam. The good ones are good -- but you have to get a good one.

 

[hsmith9491]

So troubleling to hear so many problems with
new smith-wessons. This will eventually be their down fall
in years to come.

 

[snubbiefan]

Sounds more like a Taurus procedure. I have owned quite a few NIB Taurus revolvers and it's common knowledge that the first thing you do is crack it open, dump out the mill-shavings and floor-sweepings, remove the cosmoline and polish all the moving parts. I have a few very good Taurus shooters and I don't bash them, but you have to follow the cleaning and inspection routine they forgot at the factory.

I have not purchased a new Smith in over 25-years....too many good used ones out there that were made when people cared.

 

[UDR2]

I know this is not a top of the line gun for them, but for me it is a big purchase and something I've been wanting for a while. It's just frustrating.

When a company stops producing product as though each and every item is "top of the line," they sew the seeds of their own destruction.

This is very dis-heartening. I'm sorry you had to experience that. Please let us know how it all plays out.

 

[Edmo]

Sorry about the troubles with your 442...

I've got a "post-lock" 642CT coming this week to replace a BG38 which they couldn't fix after sending it to them twice...

While I'm waiting for this gun to arrive, do you think I should preemptively call S&W to order a return FEDEX label?

Edmo

 

[Maximumbob54]

When it comes back, I would check that part of the frame in the yoke area under the barrel again.

 

[GF]

When it comes back, I would check that part of the frame in the yoke area under the barrel again.

My thoughts too.
We've had posts about cracked frames AFTER revolvers returned from factory service.

I have a 642 that has performed well so far, I have not had the issues the OP or some other forum members have had with new revolvers.

GF

 

[allglock]

Sorry about the troubles with your 442...

I've got a "post-lock" 642CT coming this week to replace a BG38 which they couldn't fix after sending it to them twice...

While I'm waiting for this gun to arrive, do you think I should preemptively call S&W to order a return FEDEX label?

Edmo

LOL...... Too funny!

 

[dbarale]

When it comes back, I would check that part of the frame in the yoke area under the barrel again.

Yep, that's my big fear right now. We'll see...

 

[jrs70]

I'm finding more all the time I have to check out the things I buy, new or used. It is not just guns. So far I have not had any problems with the new smith's I have got.

 

[moxie]

You're awfully patient. I'd have been on the phone to S&W as soon as I encountered the cylinder opening difficulty. Hope it works out.

 

[Boge]

I just bought a 442-1 "no lock" and it was perfect. I did however lube the guts, chamfer the forcing cone, switched to a Wilson mainspring & added Ahrends Boot Grips. Shoots a ragged hole dead nuts POA at 7 yds. with quality defense loads, e.g., Speer 135 gr. +p & Corbon DPX.

dbarale, I would have at least shot the gun to see how it worked before calling S&W. However, that's just me.

 

[rilkil23]

I'm not going to question what you did I'm just wondering why the guns are being shipped without going through a quality control process.

 

[old bear]

Even Rolls Royce's and Rollex's have to be sent in for repairs.

Totally correct, yet neither the Rolls or Rolex was designed and marketed as a potential life saving tool. With all do respect there is a big difference.

 

[Tyrod]

I'm not going to question what you did I'm just wondering why the guns are being shipped without going through a quality control process.

There's a simple answer to that. In the broad spectrum of manufacturing there are value added processes and non-value added processes. Each value added process contributes some measureable amount of worth to the end product. For example, suppose the product is at the part of the process where the barrel is attached to the frame. The frame has a calculatable value at that point, whereas, the barrel is just a part that has value but has yet to contribute to the worth of the product as a whole. Once the barrel is attached to the frame the value of barrel is added to worth of accumulated value of the frame.

In a non-value added process, such as an inspection, no value is added to a part or accumulated whole which passes inspection. In a factory that proclaims to use the 3 sigma manufacturing standards, enough inspections along with statistical process control should be "built in" to ensure that the end product would rarely fail. And that is where S&W is dropping the ball. Some inspections can be built into the manufacturing process such as precision measurement performed by a CNC milling machine post operation that only add seconds to the process. Some inspections require that a human being examine and measure parts or the whole. These human inspections are costly and contribute little to nothing to the value of the product. At least from a bean counter point of view.

S&W claims to be a 3 sigma manufacturer, in fact, they produce a line of semi auto pistols named SIGMA to commemorate the fact. Right now it appears that for whatever the reason S&W is under utilizing the inspection process to the detriment of the end product. the 3 sigma method nor statistical process control will help any if the limits are set too wide. It's common during lean times for management to justify processes that don't add value. I suspect that inspection personel have been moved from the inspection process to value added processes to keep up with the huge demand for guns right now. S&W is playing a dangerous game here. If their reputation gets damaged enough, eventually, the lack of quality control will cost them far more in lost sales than those frivolous inspection processes.

 

[AKsRule]

I bought a nib 442 no lock moonclip a few weeks ago.

Looks Great , Works Great.
.

 

[dbarale]

dbarale, I would have at least shot the gun to see how it worked before calling S&W. However, that's just me.

I thought about it and I was fine with what I found all the way up to the canted barrel. I cannot fix that myself and, being a perfectionistic freak, it would bother me everytime I look at the sight picture. I also need to qualify with it in three weeks and figured I should ship it ASAP to get it back on time.

I understand that it is a production item and that quality control cannot catch it all. Like I said, this is just frustrating on something that I have been waiting to get for a while...

 

[Tyrod]

quality control cannot catch it all

Why not? At least on the canted barrels there is 30 year old camera based technology that could easily catch these errors. This is an inspection process that wouldn't even take a human to operate. It seems evident that S&W knows these problems are occuring and simply doesn't care or is willing to let the customer suffer the consequences, knowing that 90% of the customer base would never realize the problem or, if they did, the customers themselves wouldn't care. Sort of like car manufacturing in the 70s & 80s and we all know what happened then.

 

[Edmo]

Check the Stain Screw.

???

Edmo