Model 25 cylinder.

[gunslinger_h]

Hi all. I have an older model 25 that I bought in 1971, and I wanted to be able to shoot .45 long colt ammo in it. I bought an old 38-44 cylinder and my gunsmith rechambered it for .45 Colt. We fitted it and two of the cylinders were sticking. I did not realize at that precise moment that my friend was dying of cancer, as he did not speak of such things. He passed and I just put the cylinder up. This was 25 years ago.

I was digging around in my reloading room yesterday and came across it and put it back in the gun for memory sake. My question is, is there any way that I can smooth or polish this cylinder to make it workable, or should I just put it up in the memory section and forget about it? I would like to make it work, and four of the six are perfect. Any suggestions on getting the other two chambers workable would be appreciated. Thanks, Hank.

 

[gunslinger_h]

Hi all. I have an older model 25 that I bought in 1971, and I wanted to be able to shoot .45 long colt ammo in it. I bought an old 38-44 cylinder and my gunsmith rechambered it for .45 Colt. We fitted it and two of the cylinders were sticking. I did not realize at that precise moment that my friend was dying of cancer, as he did not speak of such things. He passed and I just put the cylinder up. This was 25 years ago.

I was digging around in my reloading room yesterday and came across it and put it back in the gun for memory sake. My question is, is there any way that I can smooth or polish this cylinder to make it workable, or should I just put it up in the memory section and forget about it? I would like to make it work, and four of the six are perfect. Any suggestions on getting the other two chambers workable would be appreciated. Thanks, Hank.

 

[AzShooter]

Contact Brownells and order a cylinder reamer. It's about $80 and you can do it your self pretty easily.

 

[john traveler]

If two of the chambers cause difficult extraction, you may have a rough internal finish. Examining the inside of the chambers will confirm this. You c probably see annular rings around the inside of the rough chambers.

The chamber bores can be polished out carefully using a piece of wooden dowel and a strip of 600 grit wet or dry sanding paper. Hacksaw a 2" long slit into a 6" long piece of 3/8" dowel and wrap a strip of the wet or dry paper around the end. MANUALLY, polish the chambers using a twirling motion, while staying away from the chamber throats. I would fit a taped marker around the dowel and go no deeper than a cartridge case. Just a minute or two of polishing will do the trick. Thoroughly clean the chambers afterward, and reassemble the cylinder to the gun.

Done this way, you are not likely to enlarge or damage the bores d make extraction worse.

 

[gunslinger_h]

Thanks John and Az. I will try the dowel. Do you recommend wet or dry sandpaper, or does it matter? There are rings inside of two of the chambers, and one other that I thought was perfect is also ringed, but not as badly. I shoot much better than I fix, but will give it a try and will remember the tape. Will give you a report on how a fumble fingered mechanical dummy fixed a Smith.lol Be well and shoot straight. Hank.

 

[john traveler]

The abrasive paper is called "wet or dry" and is available at hardware stores and auto supply stores for sanding down paint primer and finishes. Use it dry. As long as you use the 600 grit or (finer) there is not much chance of enlarging the chamber and making the sticky extraction worse. That is why I did not recommend to use a power drill or drill press to polish.

The suggestion to run a new chamber reamer into the chambers is a bit riskier besides being much more exensive. The only real reason for resorting to a reamer is if the chamber was cut significantly undersize with a reamer that had been sharpened too many times. Even perfectly cut chambers should be polished as I described.

Let us know how it works out for you.

 

[gunslinger_h]

I will let you know. It is my next project. Right now I am fitting two sets of aftermarket brass grips to a pair of three screw 4 5/8 inch .22 Ruger single sixes. That ought not to take me more than a century. Maybe I ought to do the cylinder first, get a sense of accomplishment.lol Anyway, thanks very much John. Will be in touch soon, Hank.