New model 629, loose bolt / thumbpiece

[twistedneck]

Hello everyone, my first thread here at the Highroad.

I just bought a 629-6 4" barrel today, boy does it look and feel great. Took it home an noticed some rattling noise when i shook the gun. turns out it was the thumbpiece making noise. i thought it was loose, so i put a screw driver to it and it was not loose, it is the cylinder bolt device that its bolted too, that was loose.

Even w/o a thumpiece on, the threaded stud and the cylinder bolt - all one piece - are loose enough to rattle lightly when i shake the gun. The cylinder releases just fine, and seems to lock great. still has not been fired yet.

Should i send this one back?

I don't remember my old 38 special 642 having a loose thumbpiece. If its normal, i'm ok with it but it seems strange.

Thanks!

Jeff C

 

[Edubya]

I have the twin. I picked it up today also!
Just as soon as I read your thread, I picked mine up and shook it every way that I could. When I'm holding the cylinder, I can hear a tiny rattle but it seems to be emanating from deep within the trigger mechanism. I can not get a rattle from the cylinder release lever.
I think that I would call S&W, see what they say first. You might also take it back to the shop that you bought it from, I don't want to give mine up even for a minute! I haven't fired mine yet either. I had to buy bullets (first time in over a year, except for my .22) as my conversion kit for my Dillon 550 hasn't arrived yet, and I ain't gonna wait 'til the postman delivers. I'm going out at 7:00 AM to our range and I'll wake up anyone in the county that's still asleep.

 

[twistedneck]

is the thumb piece lever loose at all? the thumb piece bolts to the "cylinder bolt" and i think that has play. a lot less for aft play than up down. damn! i dont want to ship it back i want to go blastin. good choice btw.. 4 in flame thrower.

 

[Edubya]

Maybe I don't know what you're call these parts, but nothing appears to be loose on mine. It's like I said, the only thing that rattles when I vigorously shake it sounds like a very light weight spring or other piece (maybe the lock) inside the grip.

 

[Oro]

Is the thumb piece loose when you operate the cylinder bolt? And this is a new gun?

Yes - send it back, this should not be the case. Could also be a mis-fit with the IL.

No - Then you are hearing the hammer-block safety rattle, which happens on all S&W's since WWII. It is located on the right side of the sideplate, not the left like the cylinder bolt/latch. Most rattle. Some don't, but most do.

 

[twistedneck]

brand new gun, still not fired. the loose fit of thumb piece, or really cylinder bolt since thumb piece it screwed on tight, is still present during all operations however its tight in the fore aft direction, loose only in the up down plane. what a let down, brand new gun with a big quality problem. You'd think this stuff would be figured out by now since its been in production over a century.


Here is a link to my cell phone video - showing how loose it is. its pretty unclear until the end of the video.. tough to hold a cell phone and show the issue at the same time. i'm sending this defect back to smith and wesson with a lot of disappointment.

Thanks for the feedback to everyone here. I would have probably kept it and been unhappy with a rattle trap, and eventually it may have failed and cost me my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDMdtoYP4AA

 

[Stainz]

I would, with a proper hollow ground (gunsmith) screwdriver, remove the thumbpiece nut and thumbpiece and clean any crud you find under there, ie, around the bolt's stud, etc. The bolt has a spring pushing it forward - with not a lot of force. Check it by releasing the cylinder, then push the stud back towards the hammer - there should be some spring tension felt. If the spring is missing - or broken - it will 'rattle' and have no tension with the cylinder released. If that is the case, send it back - that is what their 800# is all about (800-331-0852). They will send you afree pick-up stamp - and return it to you quickly. I am betting it is just crud in the thumbpiece nut - or under the thumbpiece.

I checked my similar 4" & 6" current production 629s - and other K, L, & even my only J-frame, a 642, and found them all with about the same amount of play - and tension, once released. It isn't a closely fitted part - the bolt is, however. Good luck - and let us know what happens.

Oh - that hammer block safety rattles in all of them. Still, it is a necessary evil.

Stainz

 

[twistedneck]

Thanks Stainz.. i just did what you suggested. there is zero crud anywhere i can see after removing the thumb piece and looking at the bolt. its totally clean and free of any dirt. there is full functional spring tension there, however its the loose fit of that thing that has me scared. even under full spring tension the thumb piece floats all over the place as you can see in the vid.

my other smith 642 has a tight thumb release as expected, not a lever that feels like it could fall off at any moment. i'll send it back monday or something. too late to return to my ffl i think, since all the serial number paper work is done.

 

[Stainz]

Yeah, that's way too much. Call the S&W 800# today (800-331-0852) - tell them what it's doing - give them the S/N, etc. They will mail you a 'pick-up label'. All you do is call the shipper to arrange the free overnite delivery pick-up - and it will come back to you overnite, too. Someone will have to sign for it when it returns - has to be an address. If that is a problem, your dealer should be able to ship it back at S&W's cost - you'll have to go there to retrieve it when it returns, too. Get the process started - you'll feel better.

Of course, we all expect our dealer to give us personal service - and exchange a defective firearm. They have to log it in - then out when it is shipped to the manufacturer - then in when it returns - then out when you get it. It's easier if you bypass that and have S&W pick it up deliver it back to you (same S/N) - especially easy if you are retired - like me! I can arrange to be here when it is returned. I've sent two wear-problem revolvers back - they were returned as-new - gratis! Fine folks!

Stainz

 

[twistedneck]

Update - the 44 came back today via ups. My boss allowed me to work from home today since Smith wont let you modify the shipment and pick it up at the ups office after work.

Guess what? It came back with a 'no repair' letter. I guess they thought the loose thumb piece is normal nowdays. i'm very unhappy. I'll call up Smith and let them know, however its clear they dont mind selling guns that have obvious problems even when the customer is complaining.

I'll let ya'll know what the representative says when i call him in a few min.

Thanks for the help.

jeff

 

[twistedneck]

Just got off the phone with Smith and Wesson warranty. They gave me some serious BS. Told me how the 629 is normally loose in the thumb piece. I explained that i had tried many.. he just fed me some non technical 'its supposed to be this way' BS, then i asked about tolerances and he just kept on saying nothing with more words.

Nice design, but terrible warranty, terrible quality, and no clue how to handle customers. Sounds like GM.. i guess Obama bailed out GM and he'll bail out Smith and Wesson too, by threatening via Holder, to take our pistols away..

If i tried to treat customer warranty and customer satisfaction issues like Smith just did to me i'd be fired instantly. NIce.. i'll probably dump this for a $200 loss and get a feedom, or ruger, or anything else - too bad, the smith is such a nice design, with a great trigger and perfect looks and weighting.

 

[niner4tango]

I can understand how you feel, but....

S&W looked at the gun. They're not going to let you shoot anything that is unsafe. I just pulled out a couple of revolvers to shake the thumbpiece and got quite a variation in clearance. These are all "older" models with the hammer nose, no IL, etc.

The L frames are the tightest, some play but pretty solid. A 629-4 is kind of loose, but not sloppy. A 29-4 is tighter than the 629, but not as tight as the L frames. My venerable old Model 13 is the loosest of all. And I trust my life to it.

I can't tell you what you should do, but I can say what I would do. Shoot the heck out of it (until your wrist, or the bank, breaks) and enjoy it!

 

[twistedneck]

I can understand how you feel, but....

S&W looked at the gun. They're not going to let you shoot anything that is unsafe. I just pulled out a couple of revolvers to shake the thumbpiece and got quite a variation in clearance. These are all "older" models with the hammer nose, no IL, etc.

The L frames are the tightest, some play but pretty solid. A 629-4 is kind of loose, but not sloppy. A 29-4 is tighter than the 629, but not as tight as the L frames. My venerable old Model 13 is the loosest of all. And I trust my life to it.

I can't tell you what you should do, but I can say what I would do. Shoot the heck out of it (until your wrist, or the bank, breaks) and enjoy it!

niner4tango, i see your point. And agree, its mine now and as long as she functions well i'm all set. took the beast out to the range today and had a great time. shot everything from focci 200 grain magnum loads with a lower kick, up to the 225g lever action rubber tip hornady's at 1450fps, then on to the winchester 240 grain magnum. that 629 is very accurate, and once you get a handle on the recoil, its fun as hell to shoot. i didn't even get the 40 specials out of the box.

The guy next to me was shooting his ruger blackhawk 44mag with a 10" bbl and a 7" bbl Taurus 44mag. I shot both, they had much less kick and muzzle rise compared to my smith, but the smith was just so much smoother, better to grip and the lines were cleaner IMO. Oh the 4" had a huge fireball even in pure daylight. excellent.

 

[niner4tango]

Cool, man, glad you had a good range session! Oh, yeah, a 4 inch 44 mag is dramatic to shoot - plenty enough for me. The new Smiths are as smooth and straight shooting as any that came before them.