Need assistance with S&W revolver

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envonge

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Hello,

I need some help putting my cylinder back on my revolver because it fell off. I also need some help getting my compensator on/off aswell because the other one fell off aswell and I tried putting on the second one it came with and it got stuck half way while putting it on.

Thanks

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I don't mean to sound rude, but if you are having trouble with these tasks it might be time to visit a gunsmith.

Not knowing what experience or tools you possess, this seems to be the safest course of action.
 
Take a look at the crane. The end of the crane shaft has a groove. There is a screw on the right side of the revolver, at the bottom of the window, nearly centered. The tip of that screw engages the groove in the crane shaft. With a properly-fitting screw driver, back this screw out a turn or two, and re-instal the crane. Hold it in position while you turn the screw in. This should fix the problem.
 
Perfect! It's fixed. Now I just need to figure out how to rotate this compensator because it's not moving at all.

Thanks alot!
 
envonge,
Take the screw out, put a drop of Lock-tite on the threads and then re-install the screw to prevent it from loosening again.

Now for the "possible cross-threaded" compensator. The only way for a threaded part of your revolver to come off without unscrewing it is for it to be pulled off or blown off. If one of those two things happened the threads in the barrel would have been damaged. I'm guessing they are damaged because when you tried to install the extra compensator it got stuck.

To aid in removing the stuck compensator get some dry ice if possible. Stick the compensator in the dry ice making sure not to freeze the barrel, just the compensator. By freezing the compensator you will shrink it slightly and hopefully allow you to un-thread it. I would normally heat everything and then dip the tip of the compensator into clod water to shrink it but heating those parts will probably destroy any tempering that was done at the factory so it's a bad ides in this case. Then you will have to run the proper size tap into the barrel to clean up the threads. It may also be necessary to chase the threads on the compensator with a die.

All this being said.... Damage to the compensator and barrel threads because it “just came off” is probably something that’s covered by S&W so I would contact them before I did anything I mentioned above, except for the Lock-tite of course.
 
The original compensator was very loose and it fell off on its own one day not while shooting but just when handling the gun. Loose to the point where it would turn just from moving the gun around.

Nothing appears damaged or broken however when putting the second compensator on the gun I think I may have turned it the wrong way onto the barrel and that might have caused it to get stuck.
 
Take the screw out, put a drop of Lock-tite on the threads and then re-install the screw to prevent it from loosening again.
Click to expand...

While I do not believe you should have to have a license to own a gun, I definitely believe you should have a license to own loc-tite or a Dremel tool. :)
 
envonge,
Take the screw out, put a drop of Lock-tite on the threads and then re-install the screw to prevent it from loosening again.

Now for the "possible cross-threaded" compensator. The only way for a threaded part of your revolver to come off without unscrewing it is for it to be pulled off or blown off. If one of those two things happened the threads in the barrel would have been damaged. I'm guessing they are damaged because when you tried to install the extra compensator it got stuck.

To aid in removing the stuck compensator get some dry ice if possible. Stick the compensator in the dry ice making sure not to freeze the barrel, just the compensator. By freezing the compensator you will shrink it slightly and hopefully allow you to un-thread it. I would normally heat everything and then dip the tip of the compensator into clod water to shrink it but heating those parts will probably destroy any tempering that was done at the factory so it's a bad ides in this case. Then you will have to run the proper size tap into the barrel to clean up the threads. It may also be necessary to chase the threads on the compensator with a die.

All this being said.... Damage to the compensator and barrel threads because it “just came off” is probably something that’s covered by S&W so I would contact them before I did anything I mentioned above, except for the Lock-tite of course.
Click to expand...
Where are the screws for the compensator because I don't see any. Especially considering since my previous compensator just wiggled itself right off the gun I don't think it was properly attached from the start.

Thanks
 
I definitely believe you should have a license to own loc-tite or a Dremel tool.
Click to expand...

I've got two strengths of Loctite and a Dremel with lots of goodies....Now where did I put that license? :rolleyes:

I've gotta get behind you on this one though. :)
 
Please take that gun to a good gunsmith. I have that same .460 and the pressures of that caliber are nothing to play around with on a gun that's not 100%. The compensator needs to be so secure it feels like part of the barrel. Also get a set of hollow ground screwdrivers for those sideplate screws. Brownells is a good source for those. Regular screwdrivers will bugger up the screws in short order. LocTite is best used sparingly.
 
Does anyone know the differences between the 2 compensators?
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Yes. The longer of the two is for cast lead bullets, the shorter one is for jacketed.

There's a single Allen-head screw on the front of the underlug that retains the compensator. This screw has a reverse thread, so if you've "backed it out" you've actually tightened it up. Try turning it clockwise until it feels loose, then see if the compensator will move.
 
Where are the screws for the compensator because I don't see any. Especially considering since my previous compensator just wiggled itself right off the gun I don't think it was properly attached from the start.

Thanks
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I wasn't talking about the compensator, I was talking about the screw that secures the cylinder.

You really should take that revolver to a Gunsmith or at the very least call S&W.
 
What model gun are we talking about (I can't see the picture). On the .460, the compensator with the holes in the top is for jacketed bullets, the compensator with no holes in the top is for lead bullets. The post was correct about the allen head screw under the compensator that is reverse threaded. Turn it to the right until it is loose, the compensator goes in rotated 90 degrees, once in rotate the compensator to the proper position and then turn the allen head screw to the left to tighten it down.

On my wife's .460, the screw holding the cylinder arm in worked it's way loose and the cylinder fell off one day while cleaning, but never had a problem with the compensator coming loose.
 
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