Swapping out a 7 shot cylinder for a 6 shot on a 686

[MuthaFunk]

I wouldn't want to be standing beside you on the firing line if you fired that pistol.

Years ago, a co-worker and I were shooting our duty S&W's at the range. The revolver he was shooting had it's timing out by just a fraction of an inch.

We were shooting +P .38 Special 158 gr. SP/SWC's.

He was standing to my left, and every time he fired I got a painful splash of lead on the left side of my face.

I could see it being an issue if I hadn't been wearing safety glasses and it had hit me in the eye.

FWIW, I've heard of fingers being severed by lead spray from poorly timed pistols, when the shooter had the fingers of their weak hand extending beside the cylinder gap.

I would agree with you but the OP said he was having a gunsmith fit the new cylinder to the existing gun. From what I can tell, he shouldn't have any problems doing that.

Although, once the bolt clicks into the cylinder the timing really can't be adjusted. It's the indents in the cylinder and the bolt latch on the frame that dictates the horizontal alignment to the cone. At least from a rotation perspective. The vertical alignment is chosen by the distance the chambers are drilled from the center of the cylinder which is not adjustable but rather milled to a tolerance from the factory.

The only fitting a gunsmith would do is perhaps adjust the cylinder gap, end shake, and ensure the hand rotates the cylinder enough to get the bolt to latch. If the cylinder gap was too large it's a big job to refit the barrel. End shake is easily adjusted.

S&W have virtually eliminated the competition in the revolver market by making revolvers that could easily be assembled at the factory with minimal fitting and minimal training but still perform exceptionally well.


Edit - in the case of your friends revolver spitting lead the only thing that would cause it to go out of time is the bolt wearing down and/or the cylinder receivers wearing down side to side. The gun smiths cure for this is to buy an oversized bolt that will fit in the worn cylinder receivers tighter. This takes some fitting to set properly.

I only mention this because in the case of the OP, if his bolt is still in good shape, a new cylinder would most likely drop right in and be within factory specs. There's not much to adjust there.

 

[maxman1]

Putting your fingers near the cylinder gap puts you at risk of severe powder burns from the escaping gases, regardless of the timing and lead splash. Larger calibres such as .460 and .500 S&W can even cause partial amputation.

Never put any fingers near the cylinder gap.

 

[MapleSugar]

I would agree with you but the OP said he was having a gunsmith fit the new cylinder to the existing gun. From what I can tell, he shouldn't have any problems doing that.

Although, once the bolt clicks into the cylinder the timing really can't be adjusted. It's the indents in the cylinder and the bolt latch on the frame that dictates the horizontal alignment to the cone. At least from a rotation perspective. The vertical alignment is chosen by the distance the chambers are drilled from the center of the cylinder which is not adjustable but rather milled to a tolerance from the factory.

The only fitting a gunsmith would do is perhaps adjust the cylinder gap, end shake, and ensure the hand rotates the cylinder enough to get the bolt to latch. If the cylinder gap was too large it's a big job to refit the barrel. End shake is easily adjusted.

S&W have virtually eliminated the competition in the revolver market by making revolvers that could easily be assembled at the factory with minimal fitting and minimal training but still perform exceptionally well.


Edit - in the case of your friends revolver spitting lead the only thing that would cause it to go out of time is the bolt wearing down and/or the cylinder receivers wearing down side to side. The gun smiths cure for this is to buy an oversized bolt that will fit in the worn cylinder receivers tighter. This takes some fitting to set properly.

I only mention this because in the case of the OP, if his bolt is still in good shape, a new cylinder would most likely drop right in and be within factory specs. There's not much to adjust there.

I wasn't referring to the OP though. I was referring to you swapping your pistol's cylinders at the range.

Having a gunsmith fit and time a cylinder is a lot different than building a Tuco special yourself.

I do hope that you never shoot it that way.

It was a company S&W revolver by the way that spit lead sideways. A fairly new stainless steel Model 64.

I suppose it got sold off a long time ago.

 

[MapleSugar]

Putting your fingers near the cylinder gap puts you at risk of severe powder burns from the escaping gases, regardless of the timing and lead splash. Larger calibres such as .460 and .500 S&W can even cause partial amputation.

Never put any fingers near the cylinder gap.

True. Thanks for pointing that out!

The gas blast alone IS enough to sever fingertips, or at least cause severe burns.

I should have added that in my original post.

 

[Wendell]

Well, this might be a moot point because Midway just got a shipment in, and I'll be ordering a new extractor from them. $40 or so with the shipping. At least we now know that it can be done, in theory. I'm going to send an email to S&W and ask them directly about this, for future reference. I'll post their reply here

Midway ships to Canada now?

Brownells does, and they sell a tool that will confirm (or deny) proper cylinder timing: <https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/handgun-tools/alignment-tools/range-rods/revolver-range-rods-prod655.aspx>

I'm guessing that the odds of Midway shipping to Canada are up there with the cylinder timing being acceptable.

 

[Wendell]

I just asked Midway: "Do you accept orders from Canada? Do you ship to Canada?"

Here was the answer:

Due to the variety of regulations controlling shipments outside the U.S., MidwayUSA is unable to process international orders and we cannot ship to any freight forwarding addresses. If you have attempted to place an order shipping to a freight forwarding address it will be cancelled. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

 

[fdc]

Midway does not ship north of their border. I have asked and been denied. Too bad, good selection.

 

[Northern Amateur]

Swapping out the guts would be required to keep the timing right. Smith's are easy to work on. I don't see this being a difficult job if you have all the parts.

 

[MuthaFunk]

Swapping out the guts would be required to keep the timing right. Smith's are easy to work on. I don't see this being a difficult job if you have all the parts.

This just isn’t true. The only thing that may need adjustment would be the Hand and / or cylinder latch (bolt). From what I saw the only reason one of those would need to be changed was if they were worn down from excessive use.

 

[Melnibonean]

Midway ships to Canada now?

Brownells does, and they sell a tool that will confirm (or deny) proper cylinder timing: <https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/handgun-tools/alignment-tools/range-rods/revolver-range-rods-prod655.aspx>

I'm guessing that the odds of Midway shipping to Canada are up there with the cylinder timing being acceptable.

I just asked Midway: "Do you accept orders from Canada? Do you ship to Canada?"

Here was the answer:

Midway does not ship north of their border. I have asked and been denied. Too bad, good selection.

You are all correct. Midway doesn't ship to Canada. But I have a residence in the US (where I'm moving to and where the revolver now resides), so no issues

 

[maxman1]

You may want to ask the gurus on smith-wessonforum.com as well.