Model 53 Cylinders

[Murdock]

Rimfire cylinders for this 22 Jet revolver are essentially unobtanium.

Would it not be possible to convert a M19 cylinder to .22 LR by permanently filling the .357 cylinders with solid steel stock, then chambering these solid inserts in .22 LR or .22 WRM? Of course, a M17 or M48 rimfire ejector must then be fitted to allow simultaneous ejection of empties.

This wouldn't be cheap (what is?) but it would have to be cheaper than the $860 price for a factory rimfie cylinder recently seen on an internet auction.

 

[steelslaver]

I have thought about making a jet rim fire cylinder using a model 19 cylinder.
I would ream a model 19 cylinder out to just over 357 chamber size (25/64" or .390625). then take some 4140 round stock and turn some .391 pieces with 7/32 " (.21875) holes in center. I would make the inserts say 1/2" over length with a slight taper on one end. Then I would heat the cylinder to 400f and put the inserts on dry ice (-100f). This would shrink the inserts and expand the chambers. Then I would put in 2 inserts opposite of each other, heat the cylinder back up and to 2 more, then another cycle to finish. This would shrink fit them. You could also just make them slip in, tin each inset and each chamber hole then with the cylinder at about 550f, heat up each insert and stick them in and let it cool. Be there forever with a 22LR. That is how you line a barrel and now a lot of people just use good epoxy to fix the liner in the barrel. We shall see as I just drilled out an old Stevens Crackshot barrel and epoxied in a liner. Waiting for a 22 reamer to arrive from the Ukraine (Ya, I know. But it show as in transit)

Once the inserts were fixed in cylinder. I would machine off the extra insert material, ream with a 22LR reamer and fit a K22 extractor. I see no reason what so ever it would not work well.

I have a K frame 357 cylinder, a K 22 extractor and a model 53. But, I also have 4 K22s and a I frame 22 so that project is on a back burner. Maybe after I finish my 357 Smolt pinto

 

[Murdock]

You have clearly given this some thought. Let us know how it goes. I wonder how big the market woud be if somebody decided to make a bunch.