geronimotwo
Member
i just purchased a smith 66-1 with 6 inch barrel. it was advertised on auction arms by martin b retting inc who has a great feedback rating. i paid what i consider a premium price for it at $490 plus $15 shipping, and $30 ffl. i paid this as it is exactly the gun i wanted and it was advertised as "LNIB" with a hint of "storage" on the bottom of the trigger guard. when i received the pistol it all looked good except the bottom of the trigger guard looked as if it had been buffed with a fine wire wheel. i did the revolver checkout, and all the cylinders locked and timed fine. the bore and chambers were all good.
this past weekend i took the gun out and shot a box of 50 through it. i really enjoyed shooting it, except for the right grip would shift occasionally during firing.
when cleaning the gun it suddenly became apparent that it was not locking up on every cylinder. it would lock up fine randomly from 4-11 advances in a row, then would not lock for 1 to 3 times. upon further inspection i found the cylinder stop was binding. i tried a touch of solvent/lubricant which solved nothing. at this point i stopped so i could call alex at retting during the week. he suggested using break free, and also opening the side plate if that didn't work, to look for gummed up grease (which he assured me would be the likely problem in a revolver that had barely been fired).
so i take off the plate, and am able to determine that there is no gunk at all inside the gun. period. no lubrication of any kind, or gunk of any kind.
while checking the cylinder stop, i noticed a number of things i would like your comments on:
i found the rear of the stop to be barely rubbing on the frame, as if it were a hair long. this appears to be what is causing the binding.
i noticed the hand was rubbing on the left side of the slot, to the point of binding if it were seated all the way against the trigger assembly.
there are a number of course machining marks inside the cover plate, and on the hand.
there are two five digit assembly numbers, one on each side of the butt. one of which matches the cover plate.
while assembling, i noticed the rear most plate screw was slightly out of center in the plate hole. although it was close enough to seat itself. also, this screw was shorter than the rest but still had more than enough bottom clearance for a full screw to fit.
things that make you go hmmmmm.
do you feel these are consistent with a gun advertised as like new in box?
i wouldn't be so critical if i didn't have the lockup problem.
this past weekend i took the gun out and shot a box of 50 through it. i really enjoyed shooting it, except for the right grip would shift occasionally during firing.
when cleaning the gun it suddenly became apparent that it was not locking up on every cylinder. it would lock up fine randomly from 4-11 advances in a row, then would not lock for 1 to 3 times. upon further inspection i found the cylinder stop was binding. i tried a touch of solvent/lubricant which solved nothing. at this point i stopped so i could call alex at retting during the week. he suggested using break free, and also opening the side plate if that didn't work, to look for gummed up grease (which he assured me would be the likely problem in a revolver that had barely been fired).
so i take off the plate, and am able to determine that there is no gunk at all inside the gun. period. no lubrication of any kind, or gunk of any kind.
while checking the cylinder stop, i noticed a number of things i would like your comments on:
i found the rear of the stop to be barely rubbing on the frame, as if it were a hair long. this appears to be what is causing the binding.
i noticed the hand was rubbing on the left side of the slot, to the point of binding if it were seated all the way against the trigger assembly.
there are a number of course machining marks inside the cover plate, and on the hand.
there are two five digit assembly numbers, one on each side of the butt. one of which matches the cover plate.
while assembling, i noticed the rear most plate screw was slightly out of center in the plate hole. although it was close enough to seat itself. also, this screw was shorter than the rest but still had more than enough bottom clearance for a full screw to fit.
things that make you go hmmmmm.
do you feel these are consistent with a gun advertised as like new in box?
i wouldn't be so critical if i didn't have the lockup problem.
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