Very depressed, need help, revolver disassembly

[Broadside]

So I just called my local gunsmith to make arrangements to drop off my new to me Model 640-1 for cleaning and I discovered that he is no longer local. Last month he moved from Virginia to Alabama. This is a major bummer for me.

Any how, I guess it is time that I learn how to do my own cleaning on an S&W revolver. Can anyone give me the correct screwdriver sizes to disassemble a J-frame and a K-frame? I'm looking for the Brownell's Magna-tip sizes to remove the sideplate and the cylinder l thumb latch.

Also, if anyone can recommend any other tools I should have on hand, please do.

One last thing, I think I've seen a recommendation for a video on Smith & Wesson revolvers. If someone could tell me where to find it I would be most appreciative.

Thank you!

 

[65kaiser]

Question, why do you think you need to take off the sideplate to clean it?

 

[ken158]

Where are you in VA?

 

[MichiganScott]

Buy the whole Magna-tip set. You will end up throwing out all your cheap screwdrivers.

 

[Tyrod]

Just a warning. Brownell's sells a Magnatip set for S&W revolvers. It's magnetic magnatip handle with 4 tips in the handle. While the tips are of the proper width for the screws, they are far too thin and bend easily.

 

[Broadside]

ken158 - I'm up in the Northern part of Virginia, Fairfax County.

65kaiser - The revolver is used. I don't know the history. I always have a new-to-me used revolver disassembled, cleaned, inspected and lubricated so I have a starting point on maintenace. It's preventive maintenance. I have no idea what the previous owner(s) may have done.

MichiganScott - I don't want to use any cheap screwdrivers on my firearms. That's why I'm asking. I want to make sure that I'm using the right tool for the job.

Tyrod - I saw that Brownells offerred a specific set for S&W revolvers, but I'm suspect of it as I beleive that the sideplate has two different sized screws.

 

[What the]

The side plate depending on model can have 3 different screws I believe.
If the gun cycles fine there is no reason to take it off, however get a set of Smith&Wesson specific screwdrivers if you really want to learn.

It's not rocket science and there are many you-tube videos that show the procedure step by step. Make sure you put the screws back in the same hole you took them out of. Good luck and enjoy your new revolver.

 

[special44]

Just buy the big Magna-Tip set @ Brownell's. You'll find you
will have a screw driver for about any kind of gun, that is
properly ground, and they are warrented.

 

[MichiganScott]

MichiganScott - I don't want to use any cheap screwdrivers on my firearms. That's why I'm asking. I want to make sure that I'm using the right tool for the job.

Broadside - I meant all your screwdrivers, including the ones you use on your car, to fix the table in the dining room, etc. By asking for help, I already figured that you knew cheap screwdrivers will drive down the value of your guns faster than anything else except maybe rust

 

[Smithhound]

Wheeler makes a mid sized screwdriver set with about all sizes you'll need, but if your serious the large size kit is way better, one tool it has is a rebound spring insertion tool, to completely take apart a Smith you have to take tension off the mainspring and then remove the rebound slide, this has a spring inside under alot of tension. Taking it out is easy enough but getting it back in can cause fits, this tool makes it much simpler. I can't remember how many times I launched that spring across the room before I got this tool kit, now I don't know how i got along without it.
Good tools aren't cheap and I personally have a seperate set for working on guns, they aren't for anythng else around the house and certainly not for working on cars, I can't keep up with sockets let alone bits when working on a vehicle, so mine are gun room specific.
I learned by trial and error long before the internet, I bought a book back in the early '80's by Bob Milek, 'Centerfire Revolvers', read it from cover to cover and dove in. If I can do it, you can. It's not that hard.
The first time you take the side plate off take a close up picture of the innards, then spend a few minutes working the action to familiarize yourself with how it all fits together and works when cocking and firing (dry firing- I shouldn't have to say 'make sure it's unloaded'), you'll gain an appreciation for what a finely made mechanical tool a Smith&Wesson really is.
Good luck, go slow and learn.
RD

 

[kennyb]

smith revolvers are built and designed for anyone to clean and maintain them...no screwdrivers involved...leave the side plate on...i have a LOT of S&W revolvers spanning all of the calibers...i have never had a need to pull the sideplate to clean it...just saying

 

[robertrwalsh]

I pull the side plate off of any new (used) revolver I buy on general principle. Once I found fungus growing in a model 10. it isn't that hard. there are plenty of good instructional videos out there. all you really need is a good set of screwdrivers and a babbit of some sort, to whack the grip frame to pop the side plate. A special tool for the return spring helps, but it not strictly necessary. Brownells is the way to go.

 

[Beemer-mark]

You can also but an ultrasonic cleaner for less than $70 from Harbor Freight that will clean the internals better than anything. Take the grips off. After a couple of baths in the cleaner use compressed air to blow all the water out of it. Oil per the manual. Your done. Any hardened internal grease is long gone.

 

[brucev]

I do not understand the seemingly inexplicable need to "pull the sideplate" on a S&W revolver and "clean it." Perhaps it reflects a mentality rooted in the use of current semi-auto pistols whose users routinely talk about tearing those firearms down to the smallest parts for what they suppose is a needed thorough cleaning with emphasis on concerns about reliability and how well that particular pistol "runs."

In the 30 years that I've been owning and using S&W revolvers, I've not ever had a revolver that needed the sideplate to be "pulled" so that the already factory fitted parts can be cleaned, fiddled with, etc. It's about like the average owner/user of a car watching some U-Tube instructional videos, buying some nice Craftsman wrenches and then "pulling the top" on their motor for inspection and cleaning, etc. They might get away with it. More than likely they'd have a expensive learning experience. When finely fitted jeweled watches were the norm, the average user did not unscrew the back and play with the various parts all in the name of reliable function, etc. One normally took such watches to a man qualified to work on such instruments. One might make a similar comparison to a average computer user deciding to go into the "box" of their computer and do a little tuning to make it run more efficiently.

I just don't understand why anyone with no experience or training in such things would expect to "pop the sideplate" on a S&W revolver to do a bit of cleaning, etc., and then be surprised that things were a little complicated.

 

[arc2x4]

The first time you take the side plate off take a close up picture of the innards, then spend a few minutes working the action to familiarize yourself with how it all fits together and works when cocking and firing (dry firing- I shouldn't have to say 'make sure it's unloaded'), you'll gain an appreciation for what a finely made mechanical tool a Smith&Wesson really is.
.

Please do not cycle the action with the sidpate off. This is an excellent way to break or bend the hammer stud (requiring a trip to S&W to replace it), the sideplate supports one end of the stud.

 

[cerberus65]

If you're determined to take the sideplate off I highly recommend Jerry Kuhnhausen's shop manual on S&W revolvers. And the value of quality screwdrivers that fit cannot be underestimated!

While it's very true that there's no "need" to take the sideplate off for cleaning, some of us are tinkerers by nature and like to know how things work. That's why most of mine have been opened up. One that was having trouble got fixed and that's pretty satisfying. But I never opened the first one until I had read Kuhnhausen's book and had acquired the proper screwdrivers.

 

[Harrison]

One reason for removing the side plate of an older S&W revolver is to clean out the petrified grease and oil that accumulates there. Internal cleaning of S&W revolvers is not rocket science. They are mechanicaly pretty simple, even simpler than many semi-autos. Why pay bunches of money for someone else to do something you can do yourself for free. Notice I said cleaning and lubing. I did not say anything about doing major modifications of the innards.

 

[airman]

I want to see the internals of a revolver. so I bought a good set of screwdrivers, carefully fitted the right one and put that on the desk. I found a soft hammer and popped the side plate. And took pictures. I read how to lock the mainspring. Then I took evrything out, piece by piece, sometimes two three times, to learn how it fits and works. Springs are always a worry, they'll disappear and I wonder where they came from. I polished every surface that rubs against another surface. Then I lightly oiled them all and reassembled the gun. Oh, yes, it works smoother now. I'm satisfied that the gun is good and I know how everything works. Next thing to do is wear it out shooting it.

 

[H Richard]

I am an advocate of being able to remove the side plate and totally disassemble a S&W revolver. Since most of my S&W purchases are from 20 to 150 years old, you never know what is behind the side plate. I found one 15-2 that had been packed full of some kind of white grease, which was collecting grit and residue every time it had been used, (took me an hour to clean it all out).

The video S&W disassemble and Trigger Job by Jerry Miculek are excellent, and available from Midway, probably Brownells, and AGI. Well worth the price. Imperative is a correct set of screwdrivers. I have the full Wheeler Engineering set, which includes the S&W rebound tool, and it is an excellent investment. Do Not, I repeat Do Not attempt to remove the side plate until you fully understand the correct way to remove the side plate, you can damage it and it is only factory fitted (properly). Also, once you are in it, there is normally no reason to remove the hand from the trigger, it can be tricky to put it back together.

Watch a video a couple times, and you will be able to accomplish it.

I just did a trigger job on a friends Ruger 10/22, and it had been 20 years since I had done one, so I just Googled 10/22 trigger job on the internet and got a You Tube video with a step by step video. (Wish I would have had this the first time I did one). Took it from a gritty 7 lbs to a smooth as silk 3 1/4 lbs.

I'm pretty sure you can find a You Tube video on S&W disassembly also.

Good Luck.

 

[Ed45]

Jerry Miculek's "trigger job" video is very good and a handy reference if you get the urge to do more than just clean!