Cylinder does not open on S&W 357?

[MrMex]

Hey guys, hope this is the right place for my ?

I recently borrowed my dads old revolver he hasnt used in years. Its an older S&W .357 w/wood grips. Cant find a model number on it anywhere.

The problem is that the cylinder doesnt flip open. DA and SA work and looks like timing is on. Now I have done a fair amount of work on auto loaders but have no experiance with revolvers. Is there anything I can do or do i need the expertise of a gunsmith?

thanks

 

[ARTiger]

Could be a lot of things, but my guess since you are saying it's been stored a long time is corrosion in the hinge and/or latch. Maybe give it a dose of a good penetrating gun oil at the hinge and latch - let it sit for a while then try to open again. If that doesn't work it probably wouldn't hurt to have a good 'smith look 'er over rather than trying to work on it yourself.

 

[mnrivrat]

The most frequent cause of your problem is the ejector rod loosening up so that even when the cylinder latch is pushed the front lock will not completely clear the front of the ejector rod tube.

Holding the ejector rod while turning the cylinder should tighten the rod enough to allow the cylinder to be swung out .

 

[MrMex]

Ok, Ive hit it with some oil and letting it set. I cant rotate the cylinder so is there any other way to tighten the ejector rod?

 

[MrMex]

Let me clarify, the cylinder rotates when trigger is cocked but will not spin when ejector is pressed.

 

[MrMex]

Update, I got it open!!!! I know I know, hold the applause please.

But how do I tighten the ejector now?

Also, I took off the grips and found all kinds of numbers. Its a model 66-1, and found a K so im assuming its a K-frame? what are all the other numbers ?

 

[clang]

put a couple of pieces of brass in a couple cylinders, hold on the the cylinder and tighten the extractor by spinning. I believe it is reverse thread.

Good Luck...

 

[mnrivrat]

Model 66 is a stainless steel K-frame .

Been awhile for me so I don't remember if the ejector rod has right or left had threads . If you can hand unscrew the ejector rod then clean the threads, apply a drop of blue loctite (just a small drop - and make sure it is blue loctite) to the threads and re-install the rod ,tightening it with moderate pressure. You can use a little piece of leather between the jaws of a plier.

The loctite is a medium hold and will keep it from loosening again but won't lock it so tight it can't be taken apart if need be in the future. In a pinch, I small drop of fingernail polish works pretty well also.

PS: Yes , put the empty brass into the cylinder to keep from bending the locator pin on the extraction star.

 

[warwagon]

It should be left hand thread, red loctite will not prevent disasembly down the road, but will take a little more effort. Clean everything well, and loctite the ejector, and enjoy!

Best,

Blair