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Cleaning S&W Revolvers?

AlphaMike11

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I am trying to assist a friend with cleaning his double action revolver.
It is pretty dirty and the cylinder action is not as loose as it should be (or was before).
In other words to pull the hammer back feels a bit tight. The double action trigger too...

He wants to lube the mechanism with CLP.
I advised against removing the side plate.
Any advice?
 
I have removed the side plate on S&W wheelguns, K and J frames, before.
I was gentle and careful to get it off without prying on it; later I learned there's a method of tapping the bare grip frame with a plastic-handled screwdriver to get the sideplate to pop off.

I have never taken out any of the internal parts that I see in there, but I like being able to take the side plate off and hose the lockworks down with some spray oil.
And I used grease in one gun-- A gun that I regularly take kayaking and which will end up getting splashed with water.
 
Even stripping one down to the bare frame isn't difficult. The only tricky part is putting the rebound slide and spring back in. There is a special tool for it, but I always use a screw driver, sometimes a small phillips, sometimes a small blade bit.

To disassemble the cylinder, use a drill chuck to grab the ejector rod and turn it. Depending on the age of the revolver, it could be righty-tighty OR lefty-tighty. DO NOT use pliers or vice grips to try to loosen or tighten the ejector rod, you WILL damage it.

eta: as lawguy mentioned, the grips have to come off, make sure to use a good fitting screw driver on the screw as well as the other screws on the gun.
 
I was uncomfortable taking the side plate off a S&W for a while, but once you do it once, it is not so bad. It is relatively simple. Here is the video that made me comfortable taking the side plate off a S&W revolver. It is long, but it is very thorough on how the steps are taken.
 
No need to in most cases - spray CLP or other cleaner liberally and blow clean with compressed air.

Revolver owner should be competent and comfort able enough to remove AND reinstall side plate IF necessary.

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk
 
when you put the screws back it, they don't need to "chowed down" on. That's what buggers the screws, and that's what ruins the value.

Personally, I soak any screw with Kroil before attempting to remove it.

S&W Revolver is actually pretty simple, but if you remove the side plate your greatly appreciate how ingenious it is that can successfully endure thousands of explosions and keep on working.

Personally, I'm in the no lube, and certainly no grease, camp.
 
If the cylinder is dragging check to see if there’s trash under the extractor star and then verify the extractor rod is tight. It is rarely an issue with the internal lockwork.
 
I have always Been able to apply REMOIL to the cylinder shaft and get them to loosen up. Just put a generous amount on, let it run down, spin it in both directions, and work the ejection a few times. Then oil up the cylinder locking parts that stick up from the action through the frame. It will get messy, but it will loosen up without removing the side plate.
 
Also, if you do not know: you can determine weather the action or the cylinder is dragging by pulling the trigger with the cylinder open. You simply open the cylinder, push and hold the unlatch button in the opposite direction that you normally push it, pull the trigger a few times.
 
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