Removing cylinder fromS&W.357 for cleaning?
- Thread starter Brianma65
- Start date
You can do it either way but I find the cylinder much easier to manipulate if you take it off the frame. I usually will take my S&W and Webley cylinders off for cleaning but will often clean with the cylinder on the frame on some of my older Colts with the figure 8 type 2 part screw/plunger (much more finicky to get off and on)
Removing the cylinder is easy...just handle it carefully, preferably low over a soft surface and never force anything. Use a quality screwdriver that fits well in the screw slot....you do _not_ want to mess up that screw or the socket threads.
OTOH, removing the sideplate is rarely necessary and can cause more difficulty than any good it might do. I would strongly advise against it.
OTOH, removing the sideplate is rarely necessary and can cause more difficulty than any good it might do. I would strongly advise against it.
Cocked&Locked
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S. Ontario
it would be a good idea to remove it based on your other thread. It would be easier to manipulate it for cleaning the crud rings out. Or to give it a good soak in solvent. As mentioned get a properly sized screw driver.
It's my buddies older model that's having issues , so I told him he can remove it, his call. My new Smith , on the other hand is working perfectly fine as I don't use the girly rnds 
JK... I think I don't have to remove my cylinder. But is mighty tempting , just for curiosity
JK... I think I don't have to remove my cylinder. But is mighty tempting , just for curiosity 
Completely not required, almost ever.
Although IMHO, every S&W owner should learn how to detail strip one. It's really not as difficult as you think, after a few times and a few flying springs, lol.
Invest in the book by Jerry Kuhnhausen, then you can work on them yourself.
Although IMHO, every S&W owner should learn how to detail strip one. It's really not as difficult as you think, after a few times and a few flying springs, lol.
Invest in the book by Jerry Kuhnhausen, then you can work on them yourself.
- Location
- West Quebec
Smith 617 , Smith 14-38, RUGER 38 spl No,No and yes
Cocked&Locked
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S. Ontario
You need to clean the crane/extractor star assembly. Best way is to pull the cylinder and disassemble, though ultrasonic can work well assuming it's just carbon and not lead build up. Then a bit of persistent lube and it'll probably move better then when it was new, as now the high spots are gone and it's broken in.
I see this reply show up pretty often. But I do find that the cylinder and ejector gums up from fouling over time. I suppose the whole gun could be dunked or half a can of brake cleaner used to hose it out but I find it easier to just remove the crane retention screw and pull the ejector and star assembly apart for cleaning.
I clean my S&W revolvers after about 300 to 400 rounds. And every third cleaning I find that the cylinder is gummed up enough to justify removing the crane and cylinder for detail cleaning. It's usually pretty gotty in there by that time.
I also use a proper fitting screwdriver and don't torque the nuts off that poor little screw. So there's no longer term harm being done.
OK, I've decided I want to remove mine, just because I gotsta know
Ah, the age old question.
With these small screws it's more common to find them too tight than not tight enough. The problem is that after they sit for a while they take a "set" in the hole. So we'll find that it takes quite a twist and they come loose with quite the "CRACK". But if you tighten the screw to something similar to what it took to break it loose then you're seriously over tightening the screw. And next time after it takes a set you'll need a breaker bar to snap it loose. And if you tighten it to THAT much torque then..... well, it just gets worse until the head cracks off.
The proper torque for a screw of this size is only a few inch pounds. And that means that with a more or less regular screw driver handle that you can correctly torque it with just your thumb and forefinger and not even need to "white knuckle" it to get there.
Now this is all fine but it's for illustration. I don't recommend that you tighten the screw with just two fingers. Too much risk of the screwdriver jumping and skittering over the gun. I offer that "picture" to give you an idea that these screws only need a light pinch to arrive at the 5 to 8 inch pounds of torque needed to tighten them correctly. And that amount of torque is probably about what we use when we twist a door knob.
If in doubt I like to suggest you guess on the lower side and monitor the screw over the next few sessions. And bring along the screw driver in your kit. If you find it comes loose re-tighten with a bit more of a pinch than you used the first time. If it comes loose again then pinch it a bit tighter again. But generally I think you'll find that you'll guess right the first time or at worse you need to up it a bit on the second try.
Cocked&Locked
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S. Ontario
yep it's loctite. Factory puts thread locker on as a matter of course anymore. Probably not "name brand" loctite as red would make those little screws dang near permanent if it was put on clean and oil free. It won't hurt anything and helps keep em from walking out.
