Unable to open cylinder on S&W .38Spl

[Jake Stevens]

Recently had a neighbor give me her father's old S&W .38 spl revolver. It was completely rusted up. After soaking in penetrating oil for a few days I was able to get to work seemingly perfect except I cannot get the cylinder to open. Tried the cure from this forum on using strip of plastic to hold down the cylinder release but this had no effect. The release works fine but the pin that extends from the end of the extractor seems frozen (?) What do I do now? NOT an experienced smith..

 

[armorer951]

Just a guess, if the thumbpiece won't move forward, the center pin may be frozen by oxidation inside the cylinder assembly. If you can, you could try soaking (submerging) the gun (minus the grip panels) in a compatible penetrating liquid for a few hours. That exposure may loosen the corrosion/oxidation in the assembly enough to move the thumbpiece and open the cylinder.

 

[jimmyj]

Have taken the side plate off and taken out inter parts ?
Possible the tit (tip) of the cylinder release has broken off, thus when the cylinder release is pushed the pin is not moved forward.

 

[Texas Star]

And be sure the ejector rod head is screwed in tight. If it loosens, it'll prevent the cylinder releasing. If loose, tighten with padded needle nose pliers. The padding is to avoid marring the gun's finish, but it seems as if this one's appearance is about shot, anyway.

I hope the gun isn't loaded?

 

[Jake Stevens]

NO, not loaded! The thumbpiece will not move forward. Have placed it in a container with penetrating oil again, will let it soak overnight. How do I tighten the ejector rod head. Understand the use of padded needlenose pliers. Is this the knurled end of the extractor tube beneath the barrel?

 

[Jake Stevens]

Attempted to tighten or loosen the knurled knob but will not turn either way.

 

[Texas Star]

NO, not loaded! The thumbpiece will not move forward. Have placed it in a container with penetrating oil again, will let it soak overnight. How do I tighten the ejector rod head. Understand the use of padded needlenose pliers. Is this the knurled end of the extractor tube beneath the barrel?

Yes. If it won't turn, it may be as tight as it should be. Or, just rusted in place.

Photos of the gun will help, but if soaking in oil doesn't work to loosen moving parts to where they function, you need a QUALIFIED gunsmith.

 

[Rudi]

Soak it for a few days. If that won't do it, off to a gunsmith. Sounds lie it may be a candidate for glass bead blasting and Parkerizing.

 

[oldbrownhat]

Attempted to tighten or loosen the knurled knob but will not turn either way.

Could be that the internal threads for the cylinder pin are rusted tight. I think most (?) are LH thread now but at some point they were RH. I'd use wider pliers (padded of course) than needle nose as they will provide more gripping area

Might take more than an overnight soaking. What are you soaking it in? (Please not WD40...). Kroil is great if you have it; 50/50 acetone and ATF is good, too (and cheap to make.)

"Tried the cure from this forum on using strip of plastic to hold down the cylinder release"

Do you mean where the pin goes into the recoil shield or where the front of it depresses a pin in the lug under the barrel? After another good soaking, try a bit of shim stock (feeler gauge) in both places. Gentle tapping with a brass hammer may also help to loosen the grunge underneath.

And once you get it freed and cleaned up a bit, pics and model # are mandatory

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Welcome aboard from Wyoming, Jake.

First -- patience!

If it's rusted badly, it's taken a long time to get that way. You can't reverse all that rust in a short period.

I use these photos often so the others probably have seen them. This Chiefs Special from 1953 was a mess. I soaked in in a 50-50 mixture of auto trans fluid and acetone for 30 days. Shake often to keep the solution mixed (it tends to separate).

Everything worked perfectly after all that time. I used bronze wool (far less abrasive that steel wool) to clean the revolver after it drip dried.

Best of luck with your project. Saving one can be most rewarding.

 

[Waveski]

Mr Stevens -

Look up "Ed's Red". Mix up a batch , immerse the gun in the mix , leave to soak for a couple of weeks , maybe a month. You cannot overdo the E.R. soak. Occasional stirring can't hurt. You'll feel a bit like a mad professor when uncovering and stirring , that's part of the fun. That's about the best means of freeing up stuck and corroded parts I know of.

If that does not work it's gunsmith time.
Keep us posted.

 

[notsofast]

I'd hit it with a hammer, yep I sure would. Not hard but I'd be firm. After several days of being submerged in penetrating oil I'd put a flat tipped punch against the back of the cyl thumb latch and tap it with a ball peen hammer. You hit only hard enough to provide a shock to jar the frozen parts free. You won't want to hit with enough force to drive it forward just enough to shock it free. I wouldn't doubt that most people are going to advise strongly against this, but I couldn't send a rusted & frozen, poor condition gun off for what might be a costly repair without giving it a good whack.

 

[BC38]

FWIW, rather than a punch and hammer I'd try a plastic-faced hammer.
They make them with replaceable plastic pieces with different levels of hardness.
Like this one from Harbor Freight

4-in-1 Quick Change Multi Head Hammer
That would provide all the impact "shock value" without the potential for marring and damage of metal on metal.

 

[cowboy4evr]

My uncle was an antique tractor collector . When he got a tractor with a " stuck " motor , froze up tight . He would remove the head and pour diesel in the cylinders . It always loosened up the motor so it would turn over . If it was mine , I would first trying removing the grips and submerge the whole item in a pan filled with diesel fuel for several days first before I started whacking on anything with a hammer . Good Luck , Paul

 

[Vbk76]

Hardest part of a rusted smith is the sideplate screws. If the screws dont turn, soak the whole thing minus grips. If the do, it's easy. Remove sideplate , remove guts, remove cylinder release, you'll see the rod..push it forward, (May have to tap a hammer and punch lightly) done

 

[mm93]

May need to get more aggressive with your soaking. I'd mix up 60%-40% mix of acetone and ATF. 60% being acetone. Then put the gun in the mix and put a lid on it to ensure the acetone doesn't evaporate off. Let that soak for a few days, and then see if the latch moves.
If you have a small brass drift punch, you can clamp the gun in a padded vise and use the punch to lightly tap the rear of the cylinder latch. Don't pound on it, but light tapping can jar the rusted or stuck pin loose.

 

[Jake Stevens]

Wow....what a great bunch of folks!! OK, let me start with what I have done based on the responses.
1. Side plate screws are too tight to remove. Had correct size tip but did not want to damage screw heads.
2. The advise for the feeler gauge was for releasing the cyl. That was not an issue as I have the gun working correctly, just won't let me open cyl.
3. Tried all of the fixes until 2am, unable to give up the fun! Even tried the punch with a plastic hammer similar to the one shown. Not even 1/millionth movement.
4. Right now it is soaking in a solution of 50/50 kerosene and power steering fluid. I use this on old bicycle seat posts that have rusted to the frame with good results. Another is to pour Coke or Pepsi into the seat post from the bottom bracket end. Not sure if that would work on a gun.

5. May well require a Smith but I have plenty of time to let it soak. Do I need to change the soak to the acetone/ATF?

6. I can't figure out how to attach a photo, keeps asking for URL and I have it on the computer. Won't allow copy/paste.

 

[armorer951]

For the photo, if you "go advanced", you'll see a paper clip logo at the top of the message space. If you click on the paper clip, you can load your JPG photo from a file on your computer. It will ask you to "browse", then select your file and click "upload". (photo size is restricted, so don't try to load huge files)

 

[oldbrownhat]

...Another is to pour Coke or Pepsi into the seat post from the bottom bracket end. Not sure if that would work on a gun...

COKE OR PEPSI?? Duuuuuuuuude..... NO. Simply... no! I mean, once you got all the other fluids out it might "work" but... aaarrrggghhhhhh.... That stuff will dissolve teeth, causes cancer in laboratory alligators... etc., etc.

OK... deep breaths... Simply put: I would not advise this, sir. Stick with ATF/kero/acetone, patience and the occasional tap and all will eventually be as well as it can be.

 

[steelslaver]

ATF/Kerosene/Acetone and time time time. Another thing that can be stuck it the piece in the lug under the barrel. I would put it in a red bath and leave it for a week, in a warm place if possible. If that don't work spray it off with hot soapy water, then stick it in the oven for 30 minutes at sat 350f then take it outside and drunk it into the ATF mixture,