I fixed the sticky cylinder on my S&W Model 15!

[rainbowbob]

I am as giddy a little girl!

My new to me S&W K-frame Model 15-3 "Combat Masterpiece" had developed a sticky cylinder that was hanging up when I pulled the trigger and preventing it from spinning freely.

Good Old Fuff took me under his wing and convinced this neophyte that I could take care of it myself. He provided me with the Brownell's order numbers for the screwdrivers, shop manual, and other tools I needed to work on it.

I was able to successfully remove the yoke and cylinder and found a pile of tough crud (lead?) on the yoke barrel under the flange. At first I thought the metal was malformed and distorted somehow. When I got to working on it with a nylon bristle brush and some cleaner/lubricant, I could see it was just all fouled up.

I wasn't sure how aggressively to go after it, since the brush wasn't getting it, and decided to use the bronze bore brush and my fingernail. That got it. I cleaned everything up and put it back together.

What a difference! The cylinder spins freely, and the trigger is much smoother (I guess because it doesn't have to push the cylinder around that pile of crud).

One note: I wasn't able to remove the yoke "by the book". The instructions say to hold the cylinder in place and pull the yoke out of the frame and the cylinder at the same time. The yoke came out of the frame easily, but wanted to take the cylinder with it due to the crud. So I went with the flow and then pulled the cylinder off the yoke barrel. The book says this often results in scratching things up, but I didn't have that problem. In fact, I don't understand how that would be a problem doing it the way I did?

Thanks Old Fuff for convincing this green-pea I could do it - along with your technical support. It's amazing what the right screw-driver can do.

I will also add that the excellent sticky on the Model 10 disassembly with fantastic step-by-step photos by Sylvan-Forge was also very helpful.

A couple of questions:

Is there a better tool than a bore brush to use for tough fouling on parts?

Is that crud I encountered likely the result of firing unjacketed lead ammo?

Is it "normal" for that crud to build up under the yoke flange, and how often should it be cleaned?

 

[Walkalong]

Excellent. Congrats.

 

[Old Fuff]

Is there a better tool than a bore brush to use for tough fouling on parts?

Brownells has what looks like a toothbrush, but has (soft) stainless steel bristles. Be aware it can also scrub off blue too but it won’t hurt the steel.

Is that crud I encountered likely the result of firing unjacketed lead ammo?

Very likely, but lead bullets are less expensive and easier on the barrel’s bore.

Is it "normal" for that crud to build up under the yoke flange, and how often should it be cleaned?

Yup, you can get leading and fouling - as you discovered, and I suspected the case would be. Clean it when the cylinder gets sticky again (if it does) or before an important match.

 

[jfh]

and, a silly segue:

Old Fuff, What is the difference between a yoke and a crane?

Is it only the brand of firearm?

Jim H.

 

[Old Fuff]

Yoke = Smith & Wesson talk...

Crane = Is what Colt and Ruger call the same part.

 

[jfh]

That's what I thought, Old Fuff. Thank you.

And now, back to the topic at hand: Cleaning the yoke shaft and cylinder yoke bore...

In the course of developing those (lead) 'replica reloads' for the GDSB 38+P, I had a sticking cylinder early on. Using Kuehnhausen's (sp?) manual, I started doing what rainbowbob has done. It was necessary on an M&P340, which appeared to have tighter tolerances than the 640 or M60, after as little as 50-70 rounds.

At least some of the reason for this was simply the use of lead bullets and AA#5--but the recipe being developed was to meet very specific 'subjective recoil' standards, as opposed to more typical criteria (such as accuracy, POA, etc.).

Now, I clean the yoke and cylinder after virtually every range session--certainly after more than 100 rounds. It has become a routine part of the cleanup, along with cylinder face lead removal with lead removal cloth.

Is there any not to do this routinely?

Jim H.

 

[Walkalong]

I have a model 14 that needs to be done, but I have just been too lazy so far. Maybe this thread will inspire me to git r done this weekend.

 

[BCRider]

A smooth spinning revolver makes the day a little bit sunnier and birdsong a little bit sweeter....

I'd probably be inclined to use some home made soft brass or aluminium scrapers along with a brass bristle cleanup "tooth" brush. They are just like the ones Old Fuff mentioned but use the softer brass bristles. The home made scrapers made from 3/16 or 1/4 diameter rod filed to a blunt D or screwdriver shape at the end would be good for "chipping" or scraping away heavy buildups without risk of marking the blueing. But hopefully now that you know about the issue you'll be cleaning it more often and the brass toothbrush should do just fine for the lighter buildups that you'll catch before they grow to a problem.

 

[Old Fuff]

Is there any not to do this routinely?

As long as you're removing lead and not steel there won't be any problems.