i have had most of my 629 apart a few times. but i have never had the case ejector out of the cylinder. well, to make a long story short, i need to. from the schematic, it LOOKS like it pushes apart. i do not see a clip or anything threaded. does it? i do not want to start taping on it with a hammer, and mess something up!
629 disassembly ?
- Thread starter x_wrench
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
It is screwed together.
(Left hand threads)
http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=4999278&postcount=45
The center sleeve does not come out of the star itself.
Don't even consider that!
Why do you need to take it apart??
rc
(Left hand threads)
http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=4999278&postcount=45
The center sleeve does not come out of the star itself.
Don't even consider that!
Why do you need to take it apart??
rc
Last edited:
BCRider
Member
I find from shooting a lot of cast lead that the cylinder gums up from the fouling every 1000'ish rounds or so. As a result I'm a "frequent flyer" when it comes to pulling the crane and stripping down the cylinder and ejector.
In short the steps are;
In short the steps are;
- With an excellently fitting screw driver remove the front frame cover screw from the right side.
- Open and pull forward the crane and cylinder assembly.
- Insert a full load of spent brass before the next step.
- The knurled end of the ejector has to turn opposite as mentioned to unscrew it. In other words it loosens by turning the end clockwise so "rightly loosey" in this case. If needed pad the knurling with a fold of thick cardboard, or a patch of leather and use pliers or even a vise. If it seems tight then stop and study what you're doing and the direction of rotation.
- As the ejector unscrews do so carefully and with a good hold. There's a light spring in there but it's good enough to send the ejector shaft off into the dark.
- Lay all the parts out as the come out in a line oriented as they came out. TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS ! ! ! ! Until you've done it a couple of times you can mess things up easily if you're not careful.
- The ejector star has a fine groove and the cylinder has a matching key. Look for and identify. Be sure to line them up when you re-assemble or things get nasty. Also note the two small pins that fit into the holes in the star. These little pins and the key are what resists the shaft torque to tighten and loosen. Now you can understand why the empty casings are loaded up to aid in taking the torque instead of leaving it to those little bits.
There are very few situations in which simple soaking of the cylinder assembly in Kroil or some other penetrant and use of an old toothbrush won't handle dirt and gunk. Removing the cylinder from the crane is easy, but it will be better if the ejector rod is not removed from the cylinder.
Jim
Jim
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Zactly!!
S&W calls it a "Cylinder Assembly" for a very good reason.
You simply shouldn't take them apart, unless they are broke beyond fixing any other way.
Back in the day I maintained S&W K-38's for an Army AMU unit.
Those guns saw more use in a year then anyone else's except Jerry Miculek's guns.
We never ever took the cylinder assemblies apart for simple cleaning.
Spray cleaner or a solvent tank & air hose will clean them just as thourghly, with no chance of damage as taking them apart.
It simply isn't recommended by anyone, or necessary.
rc
S&W calls it a "Cylinder Assembly" for a very good reason.
You simply shouldn't take them apart, unless they are broke beyond fixing any other way.
Back in the day I maintained S&W K-38's for an Army AMU unit.
Those guns saw more use in a year then anyone else's except Jerry Miculek's guns.
We never ever took the cylinder assemblies apart for simple cleaning.
Spray cleaner or a solvent tank & air hose will clean them just as thourghly, with no chance of damage as taking them apart.
It simply isn't recommended by anyone, or necessary.
rc
788Ham
Member
I'd listen to those who've spoken here x, they know their stuff! Many pearls of wisdom.
GP100man
Member
It`s boolit lube being blown into the cyl then carbon stiks to that making a mess !!
Since it`s SS use Brakleen to blast it out & dry with compressed air ,even the little blow away cans at office depot will work ok if a compressor is`nt avaiable.
Be advised though , the blaster cleaner may remove blueing/paint or soften plastics ( acetones & butalenes) so devert from spraying these parts directly !
On the GPs I remove the grip & front site to "blast em" .
Also the Brakleen will strip any & all lubes off metal & that must be addressed ASAP.
Every S&W I ever removed the ejector rod from to clean it was shoot & titen/shoot & titen, the dang ejector rod would`nt stay titened unless I some of that thread locker back on & the threads were just too fine so I did`nt.
Since it`s SS use Brakleen to blast it out & dry with compressed air ,even the little blow away cans at office depot will work ok if a compressor is`nt avaiable.
Be advised though , the blaster cleaner may remove blueing/paint or soften plastics ( acetones & butalenes) so devert from spraying these parts directly !
On the GPs I remove the grip & front site to "blast em" .
Also the Brakleen will strip any & all lubes off metal & that must be addressed ASAP.
Every S&W I ever removed the ejector rod from to clean it was shoot & titen/shoot & titen, the dang ejector rod would`nt stay titened unless I some of that thread locker back on & the threads were just too fine so I did`nt.
well, i had an unfortunate turn of events. which were my fault. anyway, while shooting, i went to reload, and the cylinder assembly and crane, fell out of the gun (the screw came loose, and i did not notice). of course, they separated on the way down, and fell into fine sand. which i have had no luck washing out with brake cleaner and compressed air. so the only thing i can think of is to disassemble it to clean it out. i hate putting locktite on gun screws, but this may be one that i do.
Honestly, I'd whip up some Ed's Red (equal parts ATF, kerosine, & mineral spirits), pour some in a small container, drop the cylinder assembly in and flush the nasties. Pour off the solvent, pour in new, flush again. Repeat as needed.
As far as the assembly itself, did the ejector rod bend? If so, that'll need to be fixed or replaced.
BTW, are you certain the cylinder assembly fell out because the yoke screw was loose? Is your 629 a new-ish model, with a spring-loaded plunger at the end of the yoke screw? If so, it's possible the yoke didn't fall out soley because of a loose screw, but rather the yoke groove over ran the plunger. Look closely at the yoke groove to see if a small perpendicular groove got cut. If so, it was cut by that plunger. Unfortunately, it'll make it much easier for the cylinder assembly to fall off again. If this is the case, I'd contact S&W for the repair, since it'd require a new yoke to be fitted. If the ejector rod bent, they ought to fix or replace that as well.
As far as the assembly itself, did the ejector rod bend? If so, that'll need to be fixed or replaced.
BTW, are you certain the cylinder assembly fell out because the yoke screw was loose? Is your 629 a new-ish model, with a spring-loaded plunger at the end of the yoke screw? If so, it's possible the yoke didn't fall out soley because of a loose screw, but rather the yoke groove over ran the plunger. Look closely at the yoke groove to see if a small perpendicular groove got cut. If so, it was cut by that plunger. Unfortunately, it'll make it much easier for the cylinder assembly to fall off again. If this is the case, I'd contact S&W for the repair, since it'd require a new yoke to be fitted. If the ejector rod bent, they ought to fix or replace that as well.
I have more than 15,000 rounds through a S&W 617 (the 22LR is a notoroiuosly dirty cartridge) and I have never taken the cylinder assembly apart nor do I ever intend to do so. Several CF revolvers have ca 25,000 roinds through them without ever touching the cylinder assembly. I clean the guns after every match or 300 rouinds whichever comes first.
well, that was not so tough. you guys had me worried. it almost sounded as tough as brain surgery. it came right apart, and went back together with ease. thank you BCRider for the EXCELLENT instructions. they helped immensely. Mr Borland, the ejector rod did not get bent, and yes, it was the screw came loose, i figured that one out as soon as it fell apart. i hate it when i do stupid things, like forgetting to check for loose screws. there is a plunger, but the screw was less than 1/2 turn from falling out! and the reason it pushed apart was i used a push to release speed loader. when i pushed, is when everything fell apart. no wear in the groove. thanks for the heads up though. i will keep my eye open for wear. i have done a lot of small intricate work on transmissions. especially European models, they are really different. but i really enjoyed the privilege of being exposed to their engineering. they were time consuming, and at times very difficult. but anything that is different from what you normally work on is that way. flat rate, not even close. but very interesting. that is part of my enthusiasm for tinkering with guns. if i were younger, i would go to school. but i am not. so unless they come out with a way to reverse aging, i will just tinker.
x_wrench said:
Yes, for this very reason, I presumed you were using a push release speed loader.
I'm gonna also go out on a limb and guess you (assuming you're a rightie) use your left to inject the rounds while maintaining your strong hand grip. Just an FYI that this is very hard on the cylinder assembly, as it leaves the cylinder assembly unsupported against a good forward force. If your current problem wasn't an issue with the plunger, you were lucky, but be aware that you may develop the problem eventually. The plunger might simply bend, in which case you can simply replace the screw. But if the yoke over runs the plunger and gets gouged, you may end up needing to replace the yoke. Either way, your gun's out of commission until fixed.
IMO, the yoke screw (particularly the plunger types) is one of S&W's weak links, and for this reason, I recommend a strong hand reload when using speedloaders, since the weak hand supports the cylinder.
BCRider
Member
I'm a bit surprised at those of you that feel it's going to mess something up by fully stripping down the assembly. The only issue I can see would be if I, or some other soul doing the same thing, were to over tighten and strip out the fine threads of the ejector rod. Otherwise everthing else is fairly sloppy and there's certainly no harm being done since there simply are no precision fits that I can see.
As for those threads it's a case of hand tighten. If, like me, I/you can't tighten the ejector rod quite hard enough then it's time to pad the knurling with a patch of leather or a folded U of soft aluminium and very lightly pinch it just a hair tighter than I/you can manage by hand. And that's all it takes.
As for the frame cover screw that retains the crane it only takes the equivalent of a two finger gentle pinch of the screw driver to get it tight enough to never or at least take a LONG time to come loose. I say "equivalent of a two finger gentle pinch" since it's not good for support of the screwdriver in the slot to hold it with only two fingers.
Done with some sensitivity the threads on the screw, frame and ejector will last far longer than I will despite my stripping and cleaning the cylinders like this about once to twice a year depending on the gun and how often it goes to the range with me.
EDIT- FWIW I use MrBorlands left hand to support the cylinder when using my own Safariland speed loaders too. It's much faster when the primary skills hand is doing the fine motor skills portion of stuffing the bullet noses into the chambers and then shaking loose any rounds which don't fall in directly.
As for those threads it's a case of hand tighten. If, like me, I/you can't tighten the ejector rod quite hard enough then it's time to pad the knurling with a patch of leather or a folded U of soft aluminium and very lightly pinch it just a hair tighter than I/you can manage by hand. And that's all it takes.
As for the frame cover screw that retains the crane it only takes the equivalent of a two finger gentle pinch of the screw driver to get it tight enough to never or at least take a LONG time to come loose. I say "equivalent of a two finger gentle pinch" since it's not good for support of the screwdriver in the slot to hold it with only two fingers.
Done with some sensitivity the threads on the screw, frame and ejector will last far longer than I will despite my stripping and cleaning the cylinders like this about once to twice a year depending on the gun and how often it goes to the range with me.
EDIT- FWIW I use MrBorlands left hand to support the cylinder when using my own Safariland speed loaders too. It's much faster when the primary skills hand is doing the fine motor skills portion of stuffing the bullet noses into the chambers and then shaking loose any rounds which don't fall in directly.
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