Need advice and help - Centennial Airweight cylinder gap problem

Break in period?

If it was a semi-auto and you saw wear marks inside, you would just assume it was breaking in (wearing in).

Hard to imagine it being a problem when you do not feel resistance at trigger or turning the cylinder a little with fingers.
And you have checked end shake.

You really should shoot it awhile with lead bullets and check the lead and burned powder marks on barrel and cylinder at that point. Lead bullets will eventually coat the top strap a little, unless you get fussy and scrape it off.

All machines have break in periods.
 
Trivia

If he cylinder is locking up solid each time trigger is pulled. And nothing is obstructing the barrel, shoot it.

Many years ago I read an article about early attempts to seal the flash gap each time as revolver fired. Basically it was more trouble and expense than it was worth.

And when revolvers were compared to semi auto, one writer shrugged off the flash gap saying "just put a little more powder in the revolver" for same velocity.

In early automobiles the exhaust valves and the tires, and most everything else wore out really fast. Materials got better and better.

Modern handguns have really good steel, alloys, and polymers. And some types of wood still make great grips.

My wife thinks I should wear out at least one of my guns before buying another. There was a time that could be done fairly easily. Dad said the old shotguns with hammers would eventually smash down the steel around the firing pin locking the pin up. Years ago it was easy to get little metal volcano's around firing pin holes that then needed filing. Springs got weak easier. Really hard to wear or break anything on modern guns unless you shoot really regular.

If you shoot it and it eventually starts binding a little, then take a fine stone or file to it.

If it ain't broke please do not have it fixed.
 
Thank you

Bye the way thank you for this subject. I just found a better article on end shake.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-smithing/174803-end-shake.html

(note that it is one reason for cylinder touching barrel)

And I found a u-tube video on how it is repaired. I needed this. I once dumped a .22 revolver on my brother because the cylinder would bind after a box or so. I just sent him an email confessing and listing the links.
 
If you're sure it's not an endshake issue it's fixed with a file. As ralph7 posted, mark the barrel surface, a sharpie works well, tape or put a piece of shim stock against the top strap so you don't mar it and carefully file. Apply pressure so you only remove metal from the high area.

It's the same thing S&W would do, except maybe not being so carefull to not mar the top strap.

Removing .005" or so doesn't take much filing.
 
Is cylinder level?

I also stumbled on an article that mentioned "make sure your cylinder is level".

But it was the middle of the night and I did not bookmark it?

If memory serves (?) he was checking the cylinder front to back against top strap.

(Sounds like a serious item to consider before touching barrel forcing cone area with a file?) (I really hope a gunsmith will jump in here. I had been reading about the front spacer end shake shim and a possible grove (?) I will try to find it again).
 
I'm with fishinfool and ralf7, if you do not "see" light and there is rubbing (finish coming off the face of the cylinder), top edge or near center, your gap is too close, and either "square up" the rear of the barrel, or set back the cylinder just a tad ( stretch the upper crane leg) please NO bearing washers or that ****, do it RIGHT..........very simple and easy to 'fix'..If you were nearby ,you could stop in and we'd fix it in a jiffy...used to see that on many of them older revolvers.
 
Good Samaritan rule

It's over 60 years old and has a defect. He should sell it to me cheap.

I also accept 60 year old cars, with minor defects, if cheap enough.
 
I'm going to send the gun back to Springfield.

It appears the forcing cone wasn't squared off correctly. Like many guns, this one was carried a lot more than it was shot. There is very little wear on the recoil shield, barrel bore and cylinder charging holes. There's no end shake problem. There's really not that much high edge wear either.
It wouldn't surprise me if it's had this minor defect since it left the factory. I don't want to hand file it myself. If I screwed it up the gun would be pretty much worthless as a self defense gun or a collectable.
 
Malysh said:
I'm going to send the gun back to Springfield.

It appears the forcing cone wasn't squared off correctly. Like many guns, this one was carried a lot more than it was shot. There is very little wear on the recoil shield, barrel bore and cylinder charging holes. There's no end shake problem. There's really not that much high edge wear either.
It wouldn't surprise me if it's had this minor defect since it left the factory. I don't want to hand file it myself. If I screwed it up the gun would be pretty much worthless as a self defense gun or a collectable.
Click to expand...

Hopefully you meant sending it back to Smith & Wesson.
 
Last post on this subject

From what I have read on this subject, I have learned a lot that I should have learned long ago. So again I thank you for bringing this subject up for discussion. The modern internet is amazing.

However I still think there is a small possibility it might not be touching when the shells are in the cylinder. And you have not yet said if you have pulled back on the cylinder and looked at the gap.

You really should also put empty shells in the cylinder and then pull back on the cylinder, and look at the gap again.

And you should follow through with your intent to buy a flat valve gauge set at auto parts store. (Feeler Gauge). They are cheap and are at any auto parts store. If anyone knows of something better please jump in.
Amazon.com: K-D Tools 163 Valve Tappet Feeler Gauge: Automotive@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31Lg7jWWuSL.@@AMEPARAM@@31Lg7jWWuSL

It is possible you will not read any difference in the gap when cylinder pushed forward and pulled back? When shells are in the cylinder and when cylinder empty. But it is probably nice to put as much as possible in your note to Smith & Wesson, if anything unusual found. No matter, they have seen everything that can go wrong with a revolver and will quickly determine the correct repairs if needed.
 
I just thought i would throw this in there . Not all cracked frames are due to over torque if the range is off chamber to bore alighnment it can put overdue stress on the forcing cone and stress crack the frame! Some times the crack isnt even noticable . Is there any sign of slap peening on the cylinder locking notches or little burs? I would grab a yoke alignment tool straighten that and the ejector rod and see where your at
Malysh said:
Delos, thanks. I mentioned I looked for endshake in the first post. I don't think the gun has endshake problems. But without tools I'm just whistling in the dark.

sandwtrader, no, no cracked frame. I think the instances of cracked Airweight J frames due to barrel overtorque is out of perspective. I don't think it's a common problem. It has occurred enough that it bears mentioning. We have to remember that everyone who has a cracked Airweight is going to start a thread or a post and mention it. Nobody is going to start a thread "My Airweight Frame Isn't Cracked" and we don't have any idea how many owners of good ones are out there. So we have no sense of perspective to calculate a percentage of the total number of Airweights made vs. the ones that sustained frame cracks. I bet it's a relatively small number.
But I thank you for mentioning it!

I have always taken a flashlight and a magnifying glass to look at any Airweight I buy. If it's an internet sale I make sure I send the seller good pics of what it looks like and where to look and I have the seller check it before I bid and buy. I won't bid on "as is" auctions and I rarely buy Airweights with anything but a CC. I also tell them if I get the gun and it has a crack in the frame, it's not acceptable.

Frame cracking wasn't a problem necessarily with early Centennials any more than the other Airweight models. It occurred with Chiefs Special Airweights, Bodyguard Airweights, Centennial Airweights and M&P 2" Airweights here and there throughout Airweight production, up to and including some specimens I've seen right on this forum from the 1990s.

All I know for sure is that the cylinder face is definitely making contact with the forcing cone at the 6 O'Clock position, but that the gun's timing seems to be fine - for now.
Click to expand...
 
Why are you reading a six year old post then? I just thought as it was still active someone may read it, and ta da, here we are.:D
 
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