Revolver Timing

Yeah they can get out of time from parts wear I guess. That "thingy" is called the cylinder latch.
Call Dan Wesson first, if they are still in business. If they aren't call a couple gunsmiths and shop for prices. If you don't know a good one call a shop that sells and services police firearms. They generally have a qualified smith as opposed to gander mountain or whatever.

I have a few that I shoot occasionally, and I was shooting my Dan Wesson .44 this morning and had several trigger pulls where it didn't go bang.

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If you are lucky, this is what may have happened.

Sometimes the bolt (the part that sticks out of the frame and locks into the cylinder notch) sticks, meaning it does not freely move up and down, due to gummed up lube in old guns or seldom used guns.

Before taking your gun to a smith, I suggest spraying a thin gun lubricant into the internal spaces of the revolver's action through the hammer and trigger openings. As well, spray directly at the bolt. Let the lube work into the action then dry fire the gun to loosen the action.

This phenomenon occurred to one of my revolvers and the solution was this simple.

Perhaps the many other more knowledgeable THRs can chime in. rcmodel for one?

IMO, for a primer to fire, it has to be struck at the center, or close to it. A primer struck right at its edge will not fire, as you experienced.

This is because of its internal construction. In the primer cup is first laid the priming compound (most commonly a chemical called lead styphnate) in the form of a thin disc. Then an anvil, a metal piece that looks like a tiny boat propeller is pressed lightly on top of the priming compound.

When the primer is seated on the brass casing head, the anvil is pressed tight against the bottom of the case primer hole. The pressure of a firing pin striking the primer will cause the priming compound to undergo enough pressure against the anvil, causing the compound to ignite.

Because of the design and convex shape of the anvil, enough pressure will only be generated, therefore ignition will only occur, if the primer is struck at or near its center.

My M17-2 had a similar condition that was cured by a few squirts of G96 into its action. Once every thousand rounds, I also dunk my revolvers in a tank of Ed's Red for at least 8 hours, allow to dry then squirt G96. More meticulous shooters will disassemble the gun for a thorough clean and lube.

If after cleaning and lubing, or dunking and lubing, the problem persists, then you have a mechanical problem.

I'd say your revolver is out of time. Possibly from a botched trigger job. Some surfaces just aren't meant to be stoned because doing so will cause such a failure.

A gunsmith should be able to fix your revolver with little difficulty.

I vote "Cylinder Stop" for the name of the part that stops the cylinder
Part number 5357 at http://www.okiegunsmithshop.com/sw_19.jpg

I have my SP101 apart in front of me and the exploded diagram in the owners manual. The part that engages the notches in the cylinder is part #KW04501 and is called the cylinder latch. Maybe the manual is wrong, I don't know but that's what they call it. I have heard it called other names. Maybe other manufacturers call it something else. We are all talking about the same thing apparently.

Breakfree should work. Allow it to soak and do its job several minutes. With the cylinder open, work the "bolt" up and down till it is completely free.

Aside from the lube points you mentioned, squirt some into the slot where the "hand" comes out through the recoil shield. The "hand" is that part that engages and rotates the "star" or "rachet" at the rear of the cylinder.

Lube the cylinder shaft as well.

I like the spray can lube/cleaners because they can get the lube into the nooks and crannys better.

Cylinder latch?

Well...Ruger has had more than a few odd ideas.

The technical name for the part is the cylinder stop bolt...or just plain cylinder stop. Until now, I thought that's what it's always been called.

Learn somethin' new ever' blesset day, I reckon...

Anyways...

The problem is most likely due to a worn hand. If it does it on all chambers...there's your bug. The cure is fairly simple for a revolversmith, assuming that the part is available.

What about Breakfree Powder Blast, would it be better to spay this into these areas (the bolt, trigger, and hand), and then follow up with CLP?

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Even better.

You may wanna try mixing up some Ed's Red. I do not put in the acetone.
See link below. It's what I use in my dunk/soak tank.

http://home.comcast.net/~dsmjd/tux/dsmjd/tech/eds_red.htm

I sure hope clean/lube will do it for your DW. Before I bought my M17-2, it was soaking at the store for a day. The store owner said that the action was frozen solid. This piece always accompanies the 686/586/GP100/BH to the range.

CZ bought Dan Wesson and still services them. I would not shoot that gun again until it has been serviced.

For parts and service inquiries please call Dan Wesson manufacturing facility at 607-336-1174, fax them your request at 607-336-2730 or e-mail them at [email protected]

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That is from the CZ-USA Website.

you're right...Ruger does call it the cylinder latch, however...

Dan Wesson firearms calls it a "Bolt"...re:numurich arms schmatics: Dan Wesson

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Some of the new comers use cylinder stop or cylinder latch. Colt started the revolver craze in the late 1840's and called it a "bolt". Today, any of those terms well work.

Sorta back to the subject matter at hand. It sounds like your cylinder is not locking up, which means the bolt is not coming up far enough to engage the cylinder notches.
The bolt is spring powered and controled by other parts of the mechanizim. I agree that first things first ,and that means clean & lube to make sure the bolt is moving freely. If that doesn't do the trick you might want to take it to a pistol smith for service.

It is hard to tell just exactly what your problem is without having the gun in hand, but fix it before continuing to use it.

I had a similar problem with the cylinder locking bolt with my DW744. I sent it to the factory guys and they replaced the bolt. Works fine now.

If you are not knowledgeable in troubleshooting and repair of revolvers then I’d recommend letting a good gun smith handle the problem.

Definitely start with cleaning and lubrication. If that does not rectify the problem the repair will range from quitye simple(if new parts are available) to moderately difficult if existing parts require alteration. This is all within the abilities of mechanically inclined amateur and basic stuff for a professional pistolsmith. Once repaired it should serve for tens of thousands of rounds.

Try pushing down on that cylinder bolt that sticks up. Does it spring back each time you press it, or does it catch in the "downward" position?

Perhaps some lube in that "clyninder latch" opening while pressing it in the downward position to see if that frees it up.

If the lube does not work, then my guess is someone may have "fanned" the revolver (in other words, abused it the way it was not meant to be fired), used it in a way inconsistent with the operating instructions and/or excessive wear (possibly including, but not limited to excessively "hot" loads).

This does sound like the bolt is sticking. I doubt the bolt is worn out, as it's pretty big and heavy duty on a DW 44, so I'm betting it's just sticking. A good clean and lube is probably all it needs. My DW 44 was functionally perfect, but there was some sort of crud on the ejector, and it was very "sticky" until I put CLP on it and worked it a few times.

Make sure the slots in the cylinder aren't burred, and there isn't any crud in them, as it can make this happen. A friend bought a brand new S&W 629 and the cuts in the cylinder were burred and the cylinder only locked on 3 of the 6 positions. It was literally a 2 minute fix with an emery board to clean them up.

hemiram, good point on the cylinder slots and burrs. That "bolt" as we are calling it, must be able to set itself up into each and EVERY one of those cylinder notches.

That is easy enough to determine.