Problem with new 629 Classic

[RichieC]

Hi!

I bought a new 629 Classic a few days ago. It is a beautiful gun with wooden grips and a six inch barrel. I loaded it up with 44 magnum snap caps and tested the trigger. Everything is OK. But now I can't open the cylinder. It still rotates and the trigger is fine. A little bit of searching on this forum indicates that my problem is probably the extractor rod becoming loose. Should I send it to S&W for warranty service? Or is there any way to fix the extractor rod myself? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Arkyvarminter]

Mine has done this before. Just tighten the rod with your fingers. The threads are left handed too. So to tighten turn the rod counter clockwise...This should do it. You may have to stick something under the rod and pry while releasing the cylinder to get it open so you can tighten it.

 

[scooter123]

There is an easy way to tighten the ejector rod with the cylinder closed. Slip a business card under the cylinder to depress the cylinder stop. Then pinch the knurling with a thumbnail and rotate the cylinder in a counterclockwise direction until you can no longer keep the ejector rod from spinning. That will get the ejector rod finger tight and you should then be able to open the cylinder.

To properly tighten the ejector rod will require field stripping the revolver so that you have the cylinder assembly loose in your hand. It will also require that you develop a "feel" to get it tight enough so that it won't shoot loose but isn't over tightened. In order to gain that particular skill it's best to work your way up to tight enough, just reefing it as tight as possible may end up by damaging some costly components.

First, fill the cylinder with fired casings to protect the extractor start. Take a bit of old leather belt and fold it over the knurling. Then grasp that with some household pliers to tighten it. The key is in the hand holding the cylinder because you'll want to use that as a "slip clutch". That will allow you to set a determined level of torque by how hard you squeeze the cylinder. As for how hard to squeeze, picture yourself shaking hands with a Marine Corps Line Officer, say a Captain some years under his belt. That will get you tight without being Stupid Tight.

 

[AveragEd]

Some time ago, I bought a Smith & Wesson gunsmithing tool kit and included in it is an extractor rod tool. It can best be described as a handheld clamp that attaches to the rod with two screws. Its results can probably be closely duplicated by 123's suggestion.

Ed

 

[RichieC]

Thank you very very much! The business card trick worked! That is a big relief. Now I don't have to send a brand new unfired (by me) gun back to S&W for repair. I just have to make sure it doesn't happen again!