sideplate fit question.

[l.carroll]

hey guys, just purchased a s&w model 15-2 last weekend.

i took off the grips and cleaned her up for the first time today.

when cleaning i noticed a rather large gap between the side

plate and frame inside the gun where the hammer rests.

is this normal? or is it suppossed to be snug like on the out

side of the gun?

i have a crappy pic taken with my cell phone, hope it helps...

after shooting the model 15 last weekend for the first time i'm

in love with this gun...and it would really depress me if it

turned out the frame was cracked

 

[diamonback68]

Not sure what you are referring to and can't really tell from the picture. Do you mean the gap under the rear sight in the picture? That's supposed to be there so the firing pin, which has movement, wont strike the frame there. The sideplate doesn't come up that far.

 

[l.carroll]

thanks for the reply diamondback,

looking closely at the upper inside of the frame where the right side of the hammer rides, you can see a half moon gap or crack between the sideplate and frame...also the sideplate below the gap dosn't attach to the back of the recoil shield but leaves a rectangular cutout between the back of the recoil shield and frame...hope i'm making myself clear...i'll try for some better pics tomorrow out in the daylight.

thanks for looking.

 

[l.carroll]

i guess what i'm asking is, on the inside of the hammer well where the sideplate and frame meet is the sideplate suppossed to flush both to the frame cutout and to the back of the recoil sheild?

if it is , then my 15-2 sideplate has a crack.

if it is a crack, will it hurt the function of the gun eventually at all?

it sure didn't hurt the accuracy of the revolver last weekend. it shot like a dream.

i guess the best way for me to put myself at ease, is to go to one of my favorite gun shops tomorrow and take a look at some old smiths, which isn't all bad, since i love to look at and fondle old smith and wessons

 

[Double-O-Dave]

I cannot tell anything from your photo. Are those live rounds in the cylinder?

Regards,

Dave

 

[diamonback68]

i guess what i'm asking is, on the inside of the hammer well where the sideplate and frame meet is the sideplate suppossed to flush both to the frame cutout and to the back of the recoil sheild?

To answer your question...................Absolutely!

Have you taken off the target grips and checked the sideplate screws? Are they tight?

 

[l.carroll]

no, those are snap caps.

and, yes, the sideplate screws are snug.

oh, well, there it is.

at some time in the past someone took off the sideplate and

buggered it up.

will this effect the function of the revolver?

and if this were your gun would you bring it back to where you

got it and get your money back, or not a big deal?

 

[diamonback68]

and if this were your gun would you bring it back to where you

got it and get your money back, or not a big deal?

If the sideplate is sticking out, you bet it's a big deal.

First, I would have a competent person, read that gunsmith, who knows guns check it out and voice an opinion. It's possible the sideplate has been sprung by someone prying it off with a screwdriver.
Once you know what's wrong with it, then you can make a decision. Good luck.

 

[l.carroll]

thanks diamondback,

i'll definitely have someone who knows what they're looking at examine the revolver before shooting it again.

well, if anything, i supplied a service to the forum for one more thing to look at when buying a used revolver...i would've never noticed this in a million years. the outside of the 15 is in almost brand new shape, as well as the bore and cylinder.

i did all of the function tests i learned from this great site before purchasing the revolver and considered myself lucky for acquiring such a fine piece of american workmanship.

well, live and learn. we will see how it turns out.

thanks for the help.

 

[Nightowl]

Its not unusual for the inside of the sideplate not to fit as well as the outside. If the outside mates up well with the frame, you are probably ok.

 

[l.carroll]

before i get too crazy, i'll take a look at some older smiths and then maybe to a smith to look at it and see what he says.

the outside sideplate fit looks perfect to me, i'm hesitant to show a pic 'cause this camera really sucks, but here goes.

btw, the gun does shoot really well with absolutely no problems...and since i bought it to be a shooter if its just a cosmetic issue than i really wouldn't mind...but if it's a structual problem than thats a horse of another color.

 

[Alk8944]

If you are talking about the roughly semi-circular recess in the frame just above the top edge of the sideplate, that is perfectly normal. It is the recess for the "hook" on the top of the sideplate which replaced the "5th screw" in the late 1950s.

You don't have to look at an old S&W for this, it is still that way in current production. Don't worry about a crack in that area of the frame, it ain't gonna happen. There is virtually no stress in that area.

If you mean something else I have no idea unless you mean the vertical slot in the sideplate, that's for the hammer block to ride in.

 

[l.carroll]

thank you very much, alk...

as charlie brown would exclaim, "thats it!"

it was the vertical slot in the sideplate that had me worried.

to the untrained eye (me) it looks like a pretty big crack in

the sideplate.

that's what i meant when i mentioned a rectangular cutout in

the sideplate before and the sideplate not being flush up

against the back of the recoil shield...now i know it's for the

hammer block to ride in...thank you very much

 

[arc2x4]

The vertical slot in the sideplate is for the hammer block to ride in.

That is normal. There is nothing wrong with your gun. Every S&W revolver since 1946, except centenials which do not have the hammer block, have this groove inside the sideplate.