Cleaning revolver lockwork...

brit84

brit84

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I have been thinking about opening up my smith and wessons to look at the lockwork and clean if necessary. Is this something one can do with common sense and patience or more gunsmith work? Basically I want to know if a million little springs will fly out once I take off the side plate!

thanks!
 
Hey Andrew :)

A few things on taking off the sideplate:

Use the right size hollow ground screwdriver so you don't bugger the slots

Keep track of which screw goes where as they are mated

Once you get the plate off spend some time gently cycling the action so you can see how it works and what activates what

After that they are very easy to disassemble and put back together

A good schematic helps

Have fun

John
 
Thanks John, I usually take pics as I go when disassembling something so I can see what went where. Afternoon project!
 
Although I've never done it, I've read that the sideplate is not pried off (since that will warp it) but popped off by rapping on the opposite side with something like a rubber mallet.
 
First of all, the Jerry Kuhnhausen shop manual is highly recommended.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/sid=...HNHAUSEN_S_W_REVOLVER_SHOP_MANUAL?mc_id=50000

Make sure you use correctly fitting hollow ground screwdrivers on the screws. Do not attempt to pry the sideplate; tap the butt portion of the frame with a non-marring tool, such as a rubber or brass hammer to loosen it once the screws are removed.

There are a couple of things to watch when you put ti back together. The trigger rebound spring and slide can be tricky to put back into place; Brownells sells a tool that makes it easier:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=774/Product/S_W_REBOUND_SLIDE_SPRING_TOOL

Don't forget the hammer block; it sits loose inside a groove milled into the sideplate. If yours rattles, covering it with grease will stop it.

Also, make sure that each screw goes into the same hole it came out of.
 
Been there, my recomendations;
-Buy Jerry's book, it's worth every penny-plus some.
-Don't underestimate the prior suggestions on the correct screwdriver. Trust me.
-A revolver is a very interesting mechanical device. Like many others it only comes apart right one way and only goes together one way.
-Remember where everything goes.
-For the love of every S&W, DON'T pry the side cover off. It has a very specific fit and a notch. Take the screws out, flip it over in your hand so you catch everything and whack the grip area of the gun with the wooden handle of a hammer, a light quick rap works fine. The sideplate will fall out along with the connector bar, everything else will stay in the gun at this point.
-When dissassembling the rest be carefull on the force you use and what you pry against as you don't want to damage anything or bend any of the pins.
-Did I mention to buy the book? (Brownells)
 
Revolver Work

This is some very good advice! I had to replace some internals on a Colt Trooper and was directed to Jerry's books (Colt & S&W). If I had not read about how to remove the side panel on the Trooper (similar to below), it would have been ruined. Got the book from Brownell's, some parts from Colt Parts and now the gun runs like new!
Geoff


RUPZUK said:
Been there, my recomendations;
-Buy Jerry's book, it's worth every penny-plus some.
-Don't underestimate the prior suggestions on the correct screwdriver. Trust me.
-A revolver is a very interesting mechanical device. Like many others it only comes apart right one way and only goes together one way.
-Remember where everything goes.
-For the love of every S&W, DON'T pry the side cover off. It has a very specific fit and a notch. Take the screws out, flip it over in your hand so you catch everything and whack the grip area of the gun with the wooden handle of a hammer, a light quick rap works fine. The sideplate will fall out along with the connector bar, everything else will stay in the gun at this point.
-When dissassembling the rest be carefull on the force you use and what you pry against as you don't want to damage anything or bend any of the pins.
-Did I mention to buy the book? (Brownells)
Click to expand...
 
Good advice above.

Hardly any reason to open the sideplate, though. Did that only twice, both times to replace the trigger return springs with lighter Wolff pieces to match the Wolff main springs.

If I feel the need to clean the internals, I remove the grips and dunk the whole revolver in Ed's Red for 24 hours, then allow to drip and wipe off excess. Learned that process from the smith I bought my 17-3 from.

Eight years ago, while looking for a gun to give myself for Christmas, I walked into Smoking Gun FX in POCO. Kelly said he just got in a 17-3 but still soaking in the dunk tank since the action was stuck tight, all gummed up. Came back next day and picked up my 17-3, best 250 bucks
I spent on a gun.

If you are still curious what goes on under the sideplate, go ahead and do it. Your gun, you gotta be happy.
 
easyrider604 said:
...If I feel the need to clean the internals, I remove the grips and dunk the whole revolver in Ed's Red for 24 hours, then allow to drip and wipe off excess. Learned that process from the smith I bought my 17-3 from....
Click to expand...

I like that idea too.

Another way is to remove the grips and hose down the innards through the openings around the top of the mainspring and through the openings around where the trigger sprouts from the frame with brake cleaner. That'll totally strip the oil away so then shoot in some of the Ed's Red mix or a solvent and gun oil "soup" where the solvent will dry away and leave a light oil film.

I've had all of mine apart but only for installing new Wolff spring kits. The rest of the time the ONLY screw that occasionally comes out is the front one that locks the crane assembly in place. When the cylinder doesn't respond well to a drop or two of CLP to clear the fouling that jams it on the axle then it's time to pull out the whole crane and cylinder and strip the ejector assembly down for a proper cleaning..... Although I must admit that I haven't tried a dunk in a bucket of Ed's Red yet. I don't keep it in a big enough container to allow for that... :D
 
I am shooting black powder revolvers which are somewhat simpler than modern guns but need to be dis-assembled and cleaned on a regular basis, I didn't realize how much crud would wind up in the trigger/hammer area and impair normal operation. A trigger spring broke so I reluctantly took the gun apart and fixed it, not a problem. Modern guns may be more difficult to work on I don't know.
 
Skinny, I've got some C&B revolvers as well and you're right. They do need to be fully stripped pretty much every hundred rounds fired as the back flash from the nipples shoots residue into the action. It's certainly not as bad as with cylinder, barrel and forward part of the frame so a light coating of oil protects from the corrosive effects of the fouling. But about 100 shots fired seems to be the limit for this and then the action needs fully stripping and cleaning. And really for these guns that's the best way since proper cleaning involves warm water with a bit of soap added and a scrubbing. And it's a lot easier to dry the parts fully using a hair dryer or toaster oven on the lowest setting when they are all apart.

Or if I were shooting black powder cartridge I suspect that the actions would not see the same amount of fouling as occurs with the C&B guns. The casings contain and direct all the gases and fouling out the barrel and cylinder gap. That should be far enough away that it should be possible to avoid fully stripping the action on those guns for a good 200 to 300 rounds fired. But when it is time for them again a full strip to allow washing and scrubbing and FULL DRYING would be needed since we need to use warm soapy water to do the job.

The good news is that the old SAA and earlier C&B Colt pattern guns are made to be taken apart and re-assembled easily. There's no big surprises inside once you've done it a couple of times.

Such isn't the issue with S&W and Ruger DA hand ejector models though. On those guns shooting smokeless the fouling responds well to regular cleaning solvents. I've had my own S&W's apart often enough that I can strip and reassemble them fully without any manual now. But there really isn't a need to do this for purposes of cleaning and lubing when there's other options that are so easy and equally as effective.
 
Nothing you can't do yourself if you are carefull and have the right skills. Just don't PRY anything off, pop the sideplate out by rapping it with a soft non marring hammer... AGI has a video on S&W pistols that shows this stuff pretty clearly, and there are lots of books and information on the net that will help.

There isn't really a need to do this frequently or in many cases at all, unless you are doing a trigger job or other work, or just like to see whats going on. Generally revolver maintenance certainly doesn't involve this.

I generally only do this on new purchases as part of the post buy inspection, and to perform a trigger job, other than that, mabye once in a blue moon if the feeling grabs me and I am bored.
 
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