Pre-18 takedown?

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porterdog

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I recently bought a 95% 4 screw S&W Pre-18 in .22LR off gunbroker. I took out the three obvious screws in the sideplate but couldn't get the plate off. I didn't want to reef on it, so I put it back together and came to get some advice.

Is there some trick or some good way to apply force to this plate to get it loose?

TIA,
Robert
 
There is a trick to taking the side plate off, but, first, why do you want to do it? Are you having a problem with the gun?
 
Hope you put the screws back in the same holes.....

Did you take off the grips? There is a screw under there.

take out the screws, hold it in your palm, sideplate down. Whack the other side of it with a PLASTIC hammer or screwdriver handle. The plate should fall into your hand.

If you attempt to pry it, you'll probably bend it, thereby ruining what sounds like a dandy specimen.

Best advice is to take it to someone that knows what they're doing.
 
"It's a war rifle the kids can shoot." Oh, man, that is priceless.:rolleyes:
 
Once the grips are off and all the screws are out, the way you remove the sideplate of a S&W revolver is to vibrate it out by rapping the grip frame with a mallet, or the handle of hammer. This prevents buggering up the metal-to-metal fit between the sideplate and the frame.
 
Relax you guys- I'm a mechanical engineer who's been doing all my own car, gun, and bike work since 1983.
Click to expand...

Incidentally, by the time you got started in '83 I already had some 30 years of experience... :D

John Browning, the famous firearms inventor, used to explain to folks that he wasn’t an engineer – HE WAS A MECHANIC!

Anyway, a Smith & Wesson revolver is a different kind of animal, and if you make a mistake you can damage or even ruin it. There are some things that they didn’t teach you at engineering school.

Hint: those sideplate screws are supposed to go back in exactly the same holes they came out of, and because the sideplate is precisely fitted it should never be removed unless absolutely necessary, and then the fewer times the better. It is not usually necessary to remove the plate to lubricate the lockwork.

If you go back to the “Handguns: Revolvers” sub-forum you will find illustrated instructions on how to disassemble a Smith & Wesson revolver – including your pre-model 18. This is not a suggestion that you do it, just to see how it is done.

Be it cars or revolvers, the right tools are a must, and for the latter you will find what’s necessary at www.brownells.com

Go to www.smith-wesson.com and you can get a copy of the owner’s manual for your Smith & Wesson. Download it in .PDF format. It includes an exploded view drawing. For much more detailed and inclusive information, buy a copy of: The S&W Revolver – A Shop Manual, by Jerry Kuhnhausen (also available from Brownells). ;)
 
Let's not make rocket surgery of it. Some of my sideplates have been off more times than a Scotsman's teabag has been in hot water. I've never been especially careful about the screws, other than using a good driver and not overtorquing.
Now, that said, no sense in pulling the sideplate without a good (or at least an okay) reason. 'Lubing' doesn't constitute a good, or even an okay reason, but polishing up the rebound slide and installing lighter spring are.
Smiths are easy to work on, if you know what you're doing. There is trouble to be had, tho'. Bending the side plate or breaking off an action pin, for instance.
Moon
 
I've never been especially careful about the screws,
Click to expand...
Too bad!
The lower front sideplate screw that retains the cylinder crane is hand fitted to each individual gun on all pre-MIM parts S&W's.

It may look the same as some of the other screws, but it most certainly is not.

rc
 
Jeez. While I appreciate the cautionary tales the apparent belief that you have to be John Browning himself to take the damn thing apart is NOT high road. It's a machine, and a simple one at that. Further it's my gun and if I want to take it apart and have the pieces painted pink, that's my business.

If you must know, the gun is new to me, was relatively expensive, and as it's previous care and handling were unknown I wanted to ensure that there was an adequate supply of anti-corrosive lubricant down in the naughty bits. Surely you'd agree it would be a tragedy to put this off for several years only to discover that it had been stripped of lubricant before I got it?

I'm really surprised by the attitude here.

"Good job for asking! Here's how, and here's some things to be careful of _______," that's High Road.

Fuff- I *only* mentioned my qualifications since the assumptions seemed to be that I was a troglodyte who's only tool was a hammer. I'm not- I got pliers too.

ETA: Mischief managed. Side plate number does not match that of the gun. Normal?
 
Once the grips are off and all the screws are out, the way you remove the sideplate of a S&W revolver is to vibrate it out by rapping the grip frame with a mallet, or the handle of hammer. This prevents buggering up the metal-to-metal fit between the sideplate and the frame.
Click to expand...
Dave has it right.

Use the right screwdrivers (The Brownells link), and note where each screw came from.

DO NOT PULL UP on the sideplate. That will bend it at the top every time. Rap it off carefully. Replace it carefully keeping it square as you can going on.
 
ETA: Mischief managed. Side plate number does not match that of the gun. Normal?
Click to expand...

Newer S&W's have the serial numbers on the frame under the crane, but on the older guns those numbers are assembly numbers (i think). Your gun's serial number should be found on the underside of the barrel, the face of the cylinder, the back of the star ejector, the butt of the frame, sometimes the interior of the grip, and I believe the inside of the side plate...please correct me if I'm wrong.

edit: if those numbers are different from eachother, the gun has probably been modified.
 
Side plate number does not match that of the gun. Normal?
Click to expand...

When the gun was made does matter, as over the years Smith & Wesson made changes in the way they did things, but so far as a pre-model 18 is concerned:

The number stamped on the inside of the sideplate should match one stamped on the inside of the yoke (the hinge part the cylinder swings out on) and the yoke cut-out in the frame, underneith the back end of the barrel. It was stamped there because when those parts were first fitted the serial number hadn't yet been stamped on the frame. It is called an "assembly number" and only had an in-house use.

The inside of the stocks (if they are original) should have at least one panel stamped with either a full or partial number matching the number on the butt (e.g. the serial number).

If you are worried about corrosion or lubrication, and don't have the knowledge or tools to disassemble a handgun, get a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil (available at most automobile supply shops or big-box auto supply departments). Remove the stocks or grips, pour the oil into a meatloaf pan, give the gun a bath for about a half-hour, and then let drain on some old newspapers. Then blow out the excess oil with an air hose or canned air. Use a cleaning rod and patches to wipe out the bore and chambers. Then wipe off the exterior with a clean rag. Pour the remaining oil back into the bottle it came in for future use.

Your gun will be fully protected with no chance of doing any damage to it.

Now you understand that I didn't have to explain all of this, 'cuz I could have told you to simply go stick it...

But this is The High Road. ;)
 
I'll recommend, however, you use a small rubber mallet or a handle with a rubber or very soft plastic outer shell. Hard plastic can ding steel.
Click to expand...
It seems S&W Armorers school recommended using a Nylon hammer or a babbit block.

A hard (yellow) plastic hammer, or the oak hammer handle itself will do a fine job without harming the gun.

A soft plastic hammer will not always set up the vibration and G-Forces necessary to move a well fitted sideplate stuck tight with years of dried grease.

rc
 
No, it's not rocket science. I took one apart the first time I tried and had no help and had never seen it done before Even knew to take off the grips to find all the screws.

But then, I'm not a mechanical engineer..........:)
 
IMG_5428a.jpg
 
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