S&W K22 5 screw maintenance

[whistlepig]

My late father-in-law gave me this pistol decades ago and I have kept it stored. I want to bring it out of retirement and give it a good cleaning. I am having difficulty finding books and/or links for disassembly and am hoping someone could point me in the right direction.

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Welcome to the forums from the cotton and peanut covered plains of the Wiregrass! It's simple. Remove the grips. Loosen or remove the lower forward sideplate screw and keep it secure so it goes back into the same hole. Then, open the cylinder and pull it and the yoke forward out of the frame. You can now clean the gun.

 

[JP@AK]

It's simple. Remove the grips. Loosen or remove the lower forward sideplate screw and keep it secure so it goes back into the same hole. Then, open the cylinder and pull it and the yoke forward out of the frame. You can now clean the gun.

whistlepig
Please notice that Guy said nothing about removing the sideplate (just the forward screw). I do not recommend removing the other three screws in the sideplate, hence removing the sideplate. First, it is rarely necessary for cleaning; Second, it can involve some tasks that most people are not ready to perform without some real experience and understanding of what you will encounter in that area of the gun. Clean the barrel, the cylinder and the frame inside the cylinder window. That is usually sufficient.

You might also want to remove the stocks and clean the grip frame with a cloth patch and gun solvent (such as Hoppe's #9). Try not to get solvent on the walnut stocks. It can cause discoloration of the wood.

Nice K-22 Masterpiece. Congrats!

 

[whistlepig]

I have removed the side plate screws and put them back in but not the side plate (yet). Chickened out. The pistol functions fine and nothing needs to be fixed. Can I remove the cylinder for easier cleaning and if so how? The OEM grips are off and this area has been cleaned. I have new target grips coming from Altamount Tuesday. I have big hands and the OEM grips are to small for me.

 

[Fullmetaljacket]

If you are determined to continue taking it apart (can't blame you) do yourself a favor and find the Smith & Wesson Shop Manual by Jerry Kuhnhausen. Great instruction on how to take it apart, inspect everything and put it back together again without leaving buggered screws and other disfigurement that you will regret later. For starters, do not pry the sideplate off now that you have removed the screws. Hold the gun by the barrel and rap the grip frame across the flat side with a wood hammer handle. The side plate will eventually lift off.

 

[whistlepig]

I won't bugger the screws. I have worked on many guns over the years and have the correct tools. But never a S&W revolver. So if I remove the side plate I am afraid springs will fly all over the garage floor. I will research the Kuhnhausen manual.

 

[USBP SW]

As wiregrassguy pointed out, you can accomplish all the cleaning required by simply removing one sideplate screw, the forward screw above the trigger, then open the cylinder and slide the cylinder/yoke assembly forward. The yoke slides out of the cylinder, if you want. The K22 is likely the finest .22 revolver I have ever shot and the most enjoyable.

 

[rct269]

There's only one spring that might/could end up on the garage floor----or up in the rafters somewhere----and it's a step or two beyond removing the sideplate. It's what one might call the trigger spring (rebound slide spring would be more like it). That requires a special tool to remove---also to replace. I used a S&W screwdriver for about 30 years. What's special about it is I cut a small notch in the blade. It worked fine for 50 years or so, but then along came what I'm pretty sure is referred to as the "Smithmaster", and I think/hope you'll come upon it at Smithmaster Tools. It's a bit more costly than pretty much any screwdriver you're likely to come across (other than a torque screwdriver) but if you're a tool junkie like me, you just gotta have one---maybe one for each hand!! It is a DELIGHT just to look at--and a true marvel to use---both times---taking out (with one end), and putting back in (with the other end). It's a wonder it took damn near 100 years for someone to think of it---much less make it!! Get one, and any and all who see you use it will INSTANTLY know you're someone who's "Been There and Done That!". It costs damn near $30, but that's less than a torque screwdriver---a good one at any rate. Like I said, there are those who need such tools, and then there are those who just gotta have it----just because it's there.

As an aside, whoever recommended the Kuhnhausen shop manual is also one who's Been There and Done That---more than once! It's very likely you could make your own S&W from scratch with the knowledge contained in that book----and it's likely your homemade version would be better than a real one---if that's possible. You name it, and that book tells you how to do it----and that beats the hell out of figuring it out for yourself----also know as "trial and error"---which is all well and good---except for that error part. Those cost you----BIG TIME!!

Ralph Tremaine

And by the by, there are those who pry sideplates off, rather than using the proper technique as described above. They can be seen crying in their beer after they bend one----and can't come up with another one----or just use duct tape to cover up the hole.

S&W products are precision products. Treat them properly or suffer.

 

[Ray]

See if this works.It´s from GunBlue 490.Not a K 22 but it will apply Regards Ray

How to Disassemble and Care for a S&W Revolver ~ Learn from a Factory Trained Armorer! - YouTube

 

[Retired W4]

I won't bugger the screws. I have worked on many guns over the years and have the correct tools. But never a S&W revolver. So if I remove the side plate I am afraid springs will fly all over the garage floor. I will research the Kuhnhausen manual.

Don't worry, it's not a Colt.

One tip concerning the sliding hammer block safety. Place something under the trigger guard/grip frame so gravity keeps the safety in the proper position while replacing the side plate.

 

[rct269]

"Don't worry, it's not a Colt."

Those words have been spoken by one who's been there and done that. I had one Colt---an Officers Model .38. The reason I had it was because it had spent some time at Walter Roper's shop, where his lads had their way with it---grips/sights/action job---and some cosmetics-----a "Roper Colt".

I took it to my gunsmith---just to show off. He sat there on his three legged stool, wearing his leather apron, and puffing on his pipe. He ooohed and awed at all the right times and places, and then said, "You know, I hate these effing Colts; but whoever did that action job really knew what they were doing!"

I was happy with that stamp of approval---even after I'd given it its welcome bath and put it back together-----never mind I had to put it back together twice before it worked right again.

You live and learn---sooner or later.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[CajunBass]

And by the by, there are those who pry sideplates off, rather than using the proper technique as described above. They can be seen crying in their beer after they bend one----and can't come up with another one----or just use duct tape to cover up the hole.

S&W products are precision products. Treat them properly or suffer.

Somewhere out there is a Model 19 with a little chip out of the sideplate, right where that top screw used to go. It got there, when someone who didn't know what he was doing thought it would be a good idea to pry the sideplate off with a screwdriver without reading the instructions (no internet in those days of course). You can bet that's never happened again.

 

[MajorD]

My way of treating revolvers is this-
Older used guns that come into my possession get the side plate removed and an interior cleaning.

After that they get buttoned up and never opened again. I have owned revolvers that I fired in excess of 100 thousand rounds out of, that have not had the side plate off but that one time.

For rounding cleaning, I don't take them apart. Open cylinder brush each chamber. Then patch each chamber. Then do the same for the barrel.
Clean under the ejector and wipe off what you can on the exterior of cylinder and frame.
Confirm ejector rod is tight, a drop of oil on the extractor rod, one spread over the cylinder notches, one on the bolt and hand and done.
Removing the cylinder from the frame really doesn't make it any easier to clean the cylinder. And I don't feel cylinder disassembly is going to help either.

 

[alwslate]

My first S&W that I bought new in 1966 and still own is a 28-2 6" .357. It still functions perfectly without the side plate ever being removed. I did once remove the front screw and take the cyl assembly off to clean and lube the ejector rod when it began to be a bit resistant to easily rotate. That's it.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Between the answers you got on that other forum and this one, I'd say you're good to proceed on whatever path you think is best. Just because I believe in not fixing what isn't broken doesn't mean that others need to feel the same.

 

[Walter Rego]

I have to agree with MajorD. I have become skilled enough over the years to remove sideplates without damage and detail strip the actions of S&W revolvers. The OP has a revolver that's probably 70 years old and has been in storage for a long time.

Whenever I bought a used revolver I always removed the sideplate and at minimum, the hammer, trigger and rebound slide assembly. And then gave them a thorough cleaning and lube with modern oil. The rest of the gun was hosed with GunScrubber. The runoff from the GunScrubber often looked like the spill from the Exxon Valdez.

Who knows what kind of old varnished sewing machine oil or WD40 you will find in the actions. I once opened one up that was full of that black graphite Gunslik stuff that used to come in the Outers cleaning kits. I of course have a set of Brownells Magnatip gunsmith screwdrivers and am extremely careful during the whole process.

Once those old classic guns are well cleaned and lubed with modern oils, you will appreciate even more just how finely they were made and assembled.

 

[rct269]

From one extreme to another--------------------------

Each one of the 200 or so hand ejectors that lived here over the years has had the sideplate off. Actually they have been COMPLETELY disassembled--except for barrels and action studs. Same goes for the few top-breaks included.

Then they've been soaked (Mineral Spirits), scrubbed to within an inch of their lives, slathered and soaked with CorrosionX (then blown off as much as will come off), and stuffed back together. (The remaining CorrosionX on the exterior is removed with Hoppes #9, then dried/polished, because blue guns with oil stains are ugly). Then they find a place in the display case---where some spent over 30 years with NO further attention---other than an occasional vacuuming (maybe twice a year) to remove the dust (because the display case wasn't air tight).

There are clean guns, and then there are CLEAN guns---squeaky CLEAN guns!

I expect there's some sort of obsessive compulsive disorder applicable to folks like me---but it hasn't cost me anything-----yet.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[chief38]

If you are somewhat mechanically inclined, can understand how mechanical mechanism's work, have the desire and patience.... get the book written by J. Kuhnhausen, " S&W Revolver Shop Manual". It will give you everything you need to know and how to repair and maintain your S&W Revolvers.

There are also a few descent Youtube videos however you MUST be sure you are not watching one done by a Bubba! For every good one out there, there are probably 3 bad ones.

To take apart a S&W revolver, the only tools you need are a Hollow Ground Gunsmith's screwdriver handle and a few bits, a nylon or rubber faced hammer and tweezers. That's pretty much the extent of it and if you go for it you will learn as you go. The good thing about S&W revolvers is that they are all basically very similar, regardless of Frame size and model. Yes, there are a few differences and procedures on specific models, but nothing too hard to figure out. In the near future, sending out guns will be either extremely expensive, hard to comply with or illegal. The great GS's will command such high prices, ridiculously long wait times, and poor communications you will be glad you can at least perform basic jobs, cleanings and parts swap outs. Coming are the times for self reliance - not just on guns!

 

[whistlepig]

Thanks for everyone's help. I have the yoke and cylinder off now and also the side plate. No damage done. The lube on all the moving parts under the side plate (what little there is of it) has hardened and basically these parts are dry. The screw in front of the trigger guard isn't budging. What does this screw do? The moving internals need to come out, be cleaned, and re-lubed. Until I watch some videos and/or get the J. Kuhnhausen manual chief38 suggested (which I just ordered) that's as far as I am going on the internals. At least with the cylinder out I can give the frame a good cleaning. My father-in-law nor his sons were gun people and this pistol needs a little catch up maintenance. I love the gun. It's a piece of precision that seems to be hard to find these days.

 

[rct269]

The cranky screw (in front of the trigger guard) plugs the hole containing a small coil spring which powers the cylinder stop---seems like there's a small pin/rod in there too.

Kroil, or similar---but Kroil's the best I know of will loosen things up after bit. Then there's my gunsmith's explanation of the cure for such irritations: "It's amazing what a little heat will do!"

Ralph Tremaine