Cylinder fell out of my 629 while cleaning...

[Lone_Gunman]

I shot about 50 rounds of Winchester White Box 240g JSP's through my S&W 629 this afternoon. Everything went fine. Once home, I cleaned it. When I opened the cylinder latch, the crane and cylinder fell out of the gun. I then noticed a loose screw on the side of the frame opposite the cylinder... I put the crane back into the cylinder, and then into the gun, and tightened up the screw real good. Everything seems in order.

Do I have a problem, or just a loose screw?

 

[Ditchtiger]

Loose screw.
Did you use a gunsmithing screwdriver or an automotive screwdriver?

 

[Virginian]

I bet you know what that screw does now, right? And, you may also know what purple and/or blue Loctite is for now.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Did you use a gunsmithing screwdriver or an automotive screwdriver?

I was born at night, but not last night. Gunsmithing, of course!

 

[Ditchtiger]

Just asking, too many shooters don't know there is a difference.
Would hate to think you buggered up a gun.

 

[MCgunner]

That's common. Use blue loctite, it's your friend. Don't use the RED stuff if you ever want to take the gun apart again. The blue works great.

 

[KenWP]

I had to use blue Loctite to hold the frame screws into my Ruger Blackhawk. Up here its not allowed to use it on a gun used for metal target shooting. Thats how I got the gun so cheap as it was. Guy broke the one screw off on it and sold it as he couldn't figure out how to remove it and put a new screw back in.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

If the screw in question was to completely fall out during firing, with the cylinder closed, would the gun still fire OK? or would the force of recoil knock the cylinder and crane out of the gun?

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Also, does anyone know the name of the screw in question?

 

[StrawHat]

If the screw in question was to completely fall out during firing, with the cylinder closed, would the gun still fire OK?

Everthing would be fine until you went to eject the empties. I would not recomeend this be done as a normal thing, S&W probably put the screw there for a reason.

Also, does anyone know the name of the screw in question?

According to the schematic with my S&W revovlers, they call it a "Plate screw, crowned" part number "050490000".

Hope this helps.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

I would not fire it without the screw as a matter of course, just wanted to see if it would work or not if the screw fell out while I was shooting and did not realize it.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

I put a little purple Loc Tite on it... I didnt have any blue on hand. I think the purple is a little weaker than blue, we will see if that works. If not, i guess I need to buy some blue.

 

[Sport45]

If you ever take the sideplate screws out be sure to keep them in order. The one you tightened is a specific length to hold things in place without locking them up.

 

[Virginian]

I actually prefer the purple Loctite, now. I haven't had anything secured with it come loose on it's own yet, but if you want to take it apart it isn't as difficult to loosen as the blue.

 

[BCRider]

We learn something every day. I didn't know they had a purple lower strength Loctite. I'll have to pick up some o' dat. We often only need a slight helping hand to keep things in place and on the smaller screws this would be all that's needed.

LG, the front screw is more than just a plate screw even if the parts diagram only lists it as a plate screw. If you take it out all the way it should have an extension on the tip with no threads. At least that's how my older blued mode's are. The unthreaded tip fits into a groove in the crane's pivot pin to avoid it falling out on your foot when you pivot the cylinder out.

 

[Tequila Mockingbird]

Screws come loose periodically on all guns. That's why, rather than going the Loctite route, I check the screws on a regular basis to make sure they're tight. This is particularly important on single actions, since there are 5 or 6 screws that loosen up during shooting. I make a point of checking those after every shooting session.