How freely should S&W cylinder spin?

[dav]

My dad just gave me his S&W 38 Special. I am a 1911 guy, this is my first revolver. He hasn't used it since the 40's. It's in fine shape, but was kind of gummed up from storage.

It tests out real well using the "how to check a revolver" thread tips.

But how freely should the cylinder spin when it is open? I don't consider this either a safety or accuracy issue, I'm just curious.

If I flick it with a finger, it revolves perhaps once. Flick hard, maybe two revolutions. But it slows and stops quickly. I would have expected it to spin more freely.

And how in the world can I figure out it's model name? It's a K frame (6 shots of .38), but what model?

Oh, and how many of its serial numbers should match? It has at least 4 numbers stamped in various places.

Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

[Coronach]

Open up the cylinder and look at the area of the frame now exposed, just under the barrel. The model number is often engraved there.

If its a K-frame .38 and blued, it is probably a Model 10, 14 or 15, or a pre-model.

Also, I'm not an expert (I just play one on the Internet), but we have a bunch of them here. One will be along shortly.

Mike

 

[Coronach]

Actually, if its from the '40s...my whole post is probably moot.

Mike (reading carefully is good)

 

[Nick96]

I've never owned a S&W revolver - but the various Rugers & others have will spin fast enough where you can barely see the cylinder holes. In other words, if you only get a couple of rotations with a light flick of the finger, then something is gummed up. Usually a good cleaning and some quality light weigth gun oil lubrication will take care of it. If not, a trip to the gunsmith is indicated.

No problem with function, but the double action pull will likely be unusually heavy until you get it fixed.

 

[Jim March]

It sounds like there's old oil in the cylinder's "axle" area. Mind you, it's not really bad as is; as long as the gumminess isn't bad enough to hose the trigger pull and otherwise checks out it's quite safe to shoot it that way.

However: first chance you get, either get one of the better books on taking about S&Ws and do a full detail-strip and cleaning, or have a gunsmith do it. There's going to be old crudded-up oil throughout and that really needs dealing with, if possible before you shoot it and for certain before shooting (or dry-firing with snap-caps) much.

 

[Brian Williams]

Do a search for Ed's Red, Make some, take off the grips (store them) and drop the whole thing in. Let it soak and It will clean the whole Kit and Kaboodle Or soak it in Mineral spirits like Mike Irwin is for his 32-20

 

[Mike Irwin]

And then use brake cleaner to flush out all of the old dried oil once it's taken a swim in mineral spirits.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I'd soak it in a sealed container of mineral spirits for a few days, strip it all the way to the frame, and go over every square skosh with a soft Nylon-bristled brush for awhile, then dry, oil, reassemble, and enjoy the way the cylinder spins and keeps on spinning. You might be surprised to discover its trigger is pretty good, too. Might even prove to be a heck of a shooter.

 

[George Hill]

I'd rather go the Ed's Red route.
You soak the gun in Mineral spririts and flush it with break cleaner - yeah - you will get all the gunk out... but you will also strip out every bit of protection from the nekked metal. You have to be nice and careful about giving it all a nice coat of a protectant after you do that... on all the little parts to prevent any possible rust in there. Ed's Red won't strip it down, but will clean the gunk out.
I don't know about you guys, but when I strip a gun, before I assemble it again, I examine each part under a glass and wipe it down with CLP or FP-10.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"strip out every bit of protection..."

Given that the gun hasn't been used since the 1940s, any "protective" value of dried and varnished oil is minimal, at best.

Given that it's also apparently interfering with the smooth operation of the gun, stripping all of the old out is a lot more prudent than leaving it in, where it will simply continue to cause problems.

 

[Jim March]

My concern is that the old "oil" will have picked up contaminants which are now being ground in. The "oil" may now be acting more like a grit compound than any real lubricant.

 

[dav]

Thanks, guys!

I love this place.

 

[Jim K]

I suggest removing the cylinder for a more thorough cleaning. To do so, remove the front sideplate screw (the one just above the front of the trigger guard on the right side). Then carefully open the cylinder and slide the crane (the part that holds the cylinder) forward.

If the ejector rod does not have a large head at the front, you can slide the crane all the way off. If it does, just leave the crane there and don't remove the ejector rod.

Either way, this will allow whichever cleaner you are using to get into the inside of the cylinder and in/on the cylinder arbor. Operate the ejector rod several times while the cylinder is in the cleaner to get crud out of it also.

Then let things dry, oil the arbor and the inside of the cylinder, oil the ejector rod at the rear and under the ejector (only a few drops are needed), and oil the crane arbor where it fits into the frame. Replace the crane and cylinder and screw the sideplate screw back in.

Jim

 

[TonyB]

I just went thru this with my Ruger...while the take down is different,I would take the cylinder off the "axle" and clean and lube it.That's what I did w/ my sp101(and aside from taking WAY longer to put back together than it should have because a spring went"boing" )the cylinder spins like crazy...it did lighten the trigger too.......I just used a buddy's trigger guage and it's a 2.14lbSA and 9.30lbDA pull.......and smooooth(I had work done on it)..good luckalso dry fire the crap out of it....

 

[Traveler]

Actually the best way to clean this is to diassemble the entire assembly. In that manner you can also relube the spring (which is internal) and check it for wear. A gunsmith should also look for anything on the yoke or the inside of the cylinder that would increase drag. That includes rough or improperly cut surfaces on all mating surfaces.

I usually face and chamfer the yoke, and polish the bearing surfaces.

The cylinder should spin "freely" with little or no drag. It should spin "like a top". The more drag on the cylinder, the heavier the trigger pull.

 

[Kentucky Rifle]

dav...

The guys are right. Since this fine old piece hasn't seen any action since the '40's, It pretty much needs an "all over" lube job.
Re: your question about how freely the cylinder should spin. ~I've lubed all my S&W cylinders with Militec-1. Naturally, other members have their favorites too.
However, I'm pretty pleased with Militec. If I unload any of the S&W's I own and then reload one chamber, the weight of that one cartridge makes the cylinder revolve until the *one cartridge is at the six o'clock position. I think this is pretty neat because it happens even with my lightest weight cartridges, the .32 H&R magnum. A .38 Special cartridge "spins" to the six pretty quickly.

KR
Hope I've made some sense here with my reply. I'm working on more than 3 days without sleep. (Dying family member.)

 

[CMcDermott]

I'll come down on the side of this revolver should be detail stripped and cleaned, then re-oiled. It's the only way to ensure that all of the old gunk is removed, and that the gun is then readied for service again.

As far as which S&W model you have, if it's from the 40's or before it's a pre-model era gun; and would have a name instead of a model number. So a 38 Special K frame with fixed sights would be a Model of 1905 M&P (pre-model 10), if it has adjustable sights and a 6" ribbed barrel then it's a K-38 Masterpiece (pre-model 14), with adjustable sights but without a ribbed barrel it would be a Model of 1905 Target model.
All of the serial numbers should match, but S&W also stamped "assembly" numbers in the frame's in the crane area and on the crane to keep these fitted parts together during manufacture. The real serial number is always stamped on the bottom of the butt - your gun should also have the same serial number stamped on the back of the cylinder, on the cylinder side of the extractor star (push it out all the way and look for very small stamped numbers), on the cylinder side of the crane where you have to remove the cylinder to see it and on the bottom of the barrel where the flat is machined to clear the extractor rod. This serial number may also be stamped or written on the inside of the original wood grips.