Sticky Crane on an '05 4th Change .32-20

[WNC Seabee]

A good friend recently gave me a Model of 1905 4th Change in .32 WCF. No bluing loss, only the slightest hint of a turn line on the cylinder, stocks in outstanding shape, etc. etc.....very nice gun.

The problem is when swinging out the crane, it "sticks". Feels like I'm pulling through a bunch of gummed up old residue, which is probably exactly what it is. There are no problems with lock up or any other sign that the crane may be damaged at all.

So, my question is this. Do I risk buggering up the screws (appear untouched now) to remove the cylinder/crane for a good cleaning? Is there any other suggestion for cleaning out (what I assume to be) old gummy residue without taking it apart?

I do have proper gunsmithing screwdrivers, I just worry about messing up the screw heads. I don't think I'd risk removing the side plate as the action seems just fine.

Thanks y'all!

 

[A10]

As long as you are using the proper size screw driver and your handgun is not at risk of moving when loosening the screw you should be fine. Sounds like a hundred years of gunk to me!

 

[DCWilson]

Does it stick at the very beginning of its swing? Or do you feel resistance all the way through the 90-degree range?

Do you feel resistance to the thumb latch when you press it forward to release the cylinder?

It's possible you have an ejector rod that is slightly unthreaded. Tightening that would help the front end of the rod clear the front locking pin.

If that's not the problem, I would not hesitate to loosen the front sideplate screw (the "yoke screw") far enough to slide the yoke and cylinder out of the gun. Then you can further disassemble it if you want to, or just drizzle some penetrating oil down the front and rear of the center pin to see if that helps free up the motion.

IMPORTANT: Your gun may have a spring-loaded yoke stop: that's a little pin with a coil spring behind it that holds the yoke open while you are loading or cleaning the gun. Be careful when you slide the yoke out, or about 1/4 to 1/2 inch into its travel the spring will launch that little pin across the room. It's always wise to do this operation inside a shoebox or see-through plastic bag in case the pin gets away from you.

If you do decide to disassemble the yoke/cylinder group, remember to put some empty cases in the chambers before starting to turn the ejector rod; the ejector star needs the support. The ejector rod has fairly thin walls and can be crushed, so be careful how much pressure you put on it. Pad your pliers jaws with an old piece of leather to keep from marring the shaft. Don't grip the rod by the knob. Instead, grab the shaft near the face of the cylinder. On these prewar guns, it's tighten right and loosen left. Ejector rod threads were not reversed until about 1961.

I have heard it said that .32-20s can get pretty dirty inside, and the one I cleaned up a couple of years ago was certainly a mess. Even if you don't want to take the sideplate off, you might want to give the gun an overnight tune-up by squirting Kroil or BreakFree or some other approved penetrating oil down into the works, then letting the gun sit overnight on some absorbent material -- a lot of dissolved goo is going to leak out of it. Blow it out with canned air in the morning, and repeat if necessary. You have taken the stocks off before you do this of course.

Good luck with the project.

 

[WNC Seabee]

Thank you David! That is a wealth of good info.

The resistance is all the way through the 90* range, so I'm leaning toward gunk vs. loose ejector rod, but I will certainly double check.

With regard to the ejector star needing support. I do not have any .32 brass at the moment. Is there any suitable substitute or should I just hold off on this project until I can get a few pieces of brass?

Does it stick at the very beginning of its swing? Or do you feel resistance all the way through the 90-degree range?

Do you feel resistance to the thumb latch when you press it forward to release the cylinder?

It's possible you have an ejector rod that is slightly unthreaded. Tightening that would help the front end of the rod clear the front locking pin.

If that's not the problem, I would not hesitate to loosen the front sideplate screw (the "yoke screw") far enough to slide the yoke and cylinder out of the gun. Then you can further disassemble it if you want to, or just drizzle some penetrating oil down the front and rear of the center pin to see if that helps free up the motion.

IMPORTANT: Your gun may have a spring-loaded yoke stop: that's a little pin with a coil spring behind it that holds the yoke open while you are loading or cleaning the gun. Be careful when you slide the yoke out, or about 1/4 to 1/2 inch into its travel the spring will launch that little pin across the room. It's always wise to do this operation inside a shoebox or see-through plastic bag in case the pin gets away from you.

If you do decide to disassemble the yoke/cylinder group, remember to put some empty cases in the chambers before starting to turn the ejector rod; the ejector star needs the support. The ejector rod has fairly thin walls and can be crushed, so be careful how much pressure you put on it. Pad your pliers jaws with an old piece of leather to keep from marring the shaft. Don't grip the rod by the knob. Instead, grab the shaft near the face of the cylinder. On these prewar guns, it's tighten right and loosen left. Ejector rod threads were not reversed until about 1961.

I have heard it said that .32-20s can get pretty dirty inside, and the one I cleaned up a couple of years ago was certainly a mess. Even if you don't want to take the sideplate off, you might want to give the gun an overnight tune-up by squirting Kroil or BreakFree or some other approved penetrating oil down into the works, then letting the gun sit overnight on some absorbent material -- a lot of dissolved goo is going to leak out of it. Blow it out with canned air in the morning, and repeat if necessary. You have taken the stocks off before you do this of course.

Good luck with the project.

 

[DCWilson]

If you could get (or make) some tapered dowels that you could push tightly into at least three of the chambers, that would probably give enough support. You just need to make sure that at least part of the ejector star is bearing on the support piece before you start putting torque on the ejector rod.

A tight swing-out sometimes indicates that the wrong screw was placed in the yoke screw position. If you back the yoke screw out a turn and the swing-out motion gets easier, that is a real possibility. Pull the three small-head sideplate screws and check them out. The yoke screw should be slightly shorter than the other two, and may have a relieved, unthreaded portion right at the tip. The other two are interchangeable (or were at the time your gun was made).

If loosening or changing the yoke screw does not improve the draggy feeling on opening, it's pretty likely you have a sludge problem around the yoke shaft. I would actually start there before tearing down the cylinder assembly. It may be that all you need to do is clean and lube the yoke shaft and its channel in the frame.

 

[Smithhound]

PM me your address and I'll be glad to send a couple of empty .32-20 brass for your use.
Russ Donegan

 

[Smithhound]

One other thing on disassembly, when you are loosening or tightening the yoke screw, using the proberly fitting driver, kind of 'pinch' your thumb and forefinger around the tip of the driver with your off hand while rotating the screwdriver, this will give you some stability at the screw head. A few drops of penetrating oil applied for awhile around the screw head for a few minutes will help also, wipe up any excess before loosening for a better friction fit of the driver. You may also want to take a small dental pick or toothpick and pick out any crud built up in the screw slot as well.
RD

 

[WNC Seabee]

PM me your address and I'll be glad to send a couple of empty .32-20 brass for your use.
Russ Donegan

Thank you! PM on the way.

I have the yoke/cylinder out and have the innards flooded with CLP. The amount of sticky black goo pouring out is impressive!

 

[Elroy]

Ejector rod threads were not reversed until about 1961.

Is this the transition date from right to left hand ejector rod threads??

What obvious details would one look for to identify which hand threads a particular unit has with out decoding the serial number??

Are there any external features on the rod proper identifying the hand??

 

[WNC Seabee]

An overnight soak in CLP was all it took. I did not take apart the cylinder assembly, just used a pipe cleaner to clear out the channel and let her sit overnight. Back to new! Thanks y'all.

 

[wheelgun610]

Is this the transition date from right to left hand ejector rod threads??

What obvious details would one look for to identify which hand threads a particular unit has with out decoding the serial number??

Are there any external features on the rod proper identifying the hand??

On S&W's the mile post for the change from right-hand to left-hand threads is the '-1' model suffix. I believe some guns even had the letter 'L' stamped on the rear of the cylinder to indicate the direction of the threads. But, as with most everything else in S&W land, there may be an occasional oddball that appears to break that rule.

In other words, you should feel safe assuming that any gun that was in production back when model numbers were first assigned became '-1' models when left-hand threads were introduced. For example, the Model 17 became the 17-1, but the Model 57 was introduced about three years after left-hand threads were first used, and hence all Model 57's would (or at least should) have left-hand threads.

For the most part, '-1' models are considered scarce as the '-2' suffix came about shortly afterward and signaled the engineering change that eliminated the so-called 4th screw just ahead of the trigger guard.

Hope that wasn't too confusing,

Mark

 

[Elroy]

On S&W's the mile post for the change from right-hand to left-hand threads is the '-1' model suffix.............

Thank you for the clarification.