work needed on my new to me 686-1

[duckloads]

I recently aquired a 686-1, 8-3/8. For the most part the gun is in great shape. The internals all look as new, the carry-up on all 6 is great, and the single action trigger is light and crisp. The double action ain't to bad either. the gun is a pleasure to shoot, and the wooden stocks are beautiful.

Well, now for the bad. The cylinder has 0.010 end shake. I measure .006 with the cyl pushed forward and .016 pushed back. That's a huge freaking gap. From reading all the info on this board, it seems as though the fix is to shim or stretch the crane so the cyl is back at the .016 spot. Then, the barrel will need to be turned to tighten the B/C gap back up.

I called S&W and this is considered wear and tear. I don't really want to spend all the extra $ sending it back to the mother ship. Does anybody know of a S&W smith around Huntsville, or North Alabama?

This is the model with the adjustable front sights. I'm willing to spend some $ getting it back to the shape that it should be in. Any ideas on the cost of such an operation? I'd rather not spend $75 on shipping to fix a $150? problem.


Thanks

 

[haggis]

I'd try S&W again. Offer to pay for the work with them paying the shipping. They may consider this to be normal wear, but if that gun left the factory with no end shake and a 0.016" B/C gap, it was not right to start with. Pointing that out to them might induce them to accept the compromise I suggested above.

Good luck,

Buck

 

[magnum12pm]

I have a 686-1, I went to a S&W days at the gun store/range, where they had a S&W master gunsmith from the company. He checked it out and did the crane stretch thing for free. If you can catch an event like that near you that would be your cheapest option.

 

[bountyhunter]

I recently aquired a 686-1, 8-3/8. For the most part the gun is in great shape. The internals all look as new, the carry-up on all 6 is great, and the single action trigger is light and crisp. The double action ain't to bad either. the gun is a pleasure to shoot, and the wooden stocks are beautiful.

Well, now for the bad. The cylinder has 0.010 end shake. I measure .006 with the cyl pushed forward and .016 pushed back. That's a huge freaking gap. From reading all the info on this board, it seems as though the fix is to shim or stretch the crane so the cyl is back at the .016 spot. Then, the barrel will need to be turned to tighten the B/C gap back up.

I called S&W and this is considered wear and tear. I don't really want to spend all the extra $ sending it back to the mother ship. Does anybody know of a S&W smith around Huntsville, or North Alabama?

This is the model with the adjustable front sights. I'm willing to spend some $ getting it back to the shape that it should be in. Any ideas on the cost of such an operation? I'd rather not spend $75 on shipping to fix a $150? problem.


Thanks

I'm not sure I would try to shim out an .010" gap. That's five shims.... I think it needs a new crane. As for "normal" wear? I don't think so, I've never seen one wear that far and I have a couple that I have shot the lights out of.

 

[duckloads]

The surprise was on me when the guy at S&W said, "normal wear and tear". He added that the gun was probably older than the lifetime warranty date.

B'hunter, you mentioned a new crane. You might be right. Someone in the past has buggered-up the slot in the crane were the side plate screw holds the crane in place. This might be a multi-level problem best left to the mother ship to sort out.

 

[Nightowl]

If you have a .016 B/C gap, then the gun needs to go back to the factory. The endshake needs to be corrected first and then the barrel set back to correct the gap problem. If they charge you for the repair, be sure to specify the gap you want. I specified .004 on the one I had set back, and it was right on the money. If you don't specify, you might get an .008, which they still feel is within specs. Whatever you can negotiate with customer service, it still needs to be fixed.