Why are revolver cylinders fluted?

joe-nwt

joe-nwt

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
72   0   0
Location
home
I have a 629 with an unfluted cylinder. I think it looks better than the fluted ones. Is there any reason other than weight reduction to flute a cylinder?

I realize that not everyone's tastes are the same, but surely there must be more people that like the unfluted cylinders. I would have thought that one less machining procedure would make for a slightly cheaper gun and that there would be more available.

Plus, the unfluted one's are easier too clean.:rolleyes:
 
I happen to like the fluted cylinders better than the unfluted, but it's certainly a matter of personal taste.

I can appreciate that they are easier to clean and easier to manufacture. There also may be a slight advantage for the unfluted cylinders in strength with the more powerful chamberings out there, but just like the flutes on a barrel, the advantages/disadvantages are debateable, and probably will be for years ;).
 
I believe that from a functional standpoint, it's just reducing the weight where they can. Aside from that, I'd say it's purely an aesthetic choice.
 
As I understand it back in the days of single-shot revolvers flutes were added to make it easier to move the cylinder when loading.
 
I was told that it was also a mechanism to prevent a backward blow up if the cylinder explodes... the design makes the cylinder explode "out" not back at the shooter.
 
Cap and ball revolvers were unfluted, and fluted cylinders did not appear until the advent of cartridge guns. My bet is that it was a weight saving measure, or perhaps just cosmetic. I too prefer the looks of a fluted cylinder, and the unfluted cylinder of the SBH detracted from an otherwise handsome revolver. It all comes down to personal preference except in the case of extremely powerful revolvers that require unfluted cylinders for additional strength.
 
I don't have reference material on all of Colt's revolvers, but I don't recall ever seeing a Colt revolver with a fluted cylinder and no top strap. The Pattersons were unfluted, as was the Walker, 1848 Baby Dragoon, 1848 Pocket Colt, the .36 Navy, 3rd Model Dragoon, 1849 Pocket Colt, 1851 Navy, 1855 Colt, 1860 Army Colt, and 1861 Navy. Colt's first cartridge guns, the 1871 and 1872 models like the C&B's were made with no top strap and an unfluted cylinder. In 1873 the Colt Single Action Army came on the scene with 200 made, and remained in continuous production until the Second World War. I believe, although I may stand to be corrected, this was the first revolver Colt made with a top strap and fluted cylinder.
 
8ball said:
Fluted cylinder makes lighter a gun an it is easyer to draw the gun from a holster.
Click to expand...

Really? How does fluting at the front of the cylinder do that?:confused:

SWModel629004.jpg
 
The flutes may make the whole gun lighter but it's the mass reduction of the cylinder itself that's important. Reduced cylinder mass helps to make a lighter double action trigger pull.
 
Weight reduction, pure and simple.

Remember, in their intended market, revolvers are carried more than they are shot.

Cutting flutes on a cylinder reduces the weight appreciably, and as Dragoon says, improves the action.

This is also why the new scandium framed 357's are so popular in the States.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom