preventing flame cutting?

[ktd]

I seem to remember in my youth someone writing an article (mebbe in Gun World) about how to prevent top strap flame cutting in a revolver, something about it was not the force but the temperature and that putting something like graphite on the top strap above the b/c gap would reduce or prevent flame cutting damage from 125 gr .357 loads. Does anybody remember this? My target loads are usually 158 gr to reduce damage but I just got a used revolver with some cutting and was just thinking about that article.

k

 

[Jim Watson]

Yup.
The legend was if you just rubbed the topstrap over the cylinder gap with a soft pencil after each cleaning you would deposit enough graphite to protect the steel. It is cheap, why not try it if you are concerned?

My friend who was into seriously high velocity loads would cement a piece of stainless shim stock there. It would usually go a good while before it blew off. S&W is putting steel inserts over the gap in some of their Scandium magnums for gas cut protection.

Or you could go by the theory that it will be self limiting. As a depression gets burned out, the gas velocity hitting the steel across the wider space will be less and gas cutting will slow down and stop.

I don't shoot enough magnums to know for sure.

 

[Malamute]

When the 357 Maximum came out, there was much discussion of gas cutting of the top strap, but as I recall, after much attention and discussion, it was determined that it was a "self limiting" problem, meaning, over time, it cut only so far, then stopped getting worse. There apparently wasn't any gun failures related to it.

Anyone heard of gas cutting related gun failures? I have a couple of guns with some gas cutting, but it desn't seem to get any worse over time. After the discussions related to the 357 Maximum, I quit worrying.

BTW, some of the old S&W revolvers had a dished out area in the top strap where gas cutting occurs, I don't know if it was to deter cutting, or to redirect fouling and keep it from building up at that location.

 

[unspellable]

357 Maximum and erosion

The 357 Maximum erosion problem was greatly overrated. But insofar as there was a problem it was mainly due to Remington's goofy load. The 357 Maximum was a knockoff of the 357 SuperMag and you never heard of the problem with the SuperMag except for one thing. The erosion problem was supposed to involve the barrel as well so Dan Wesson started furnishing two barrel tubes with the 357 SuperMag. I've never used the second tube and I've never heard of anybody else who has used the second tube.

 

[Malamute]

I had forgotten about the barrel "problem". Wasn't it the forcing cone area? Nice of them to give an extra barrel to you. Like the top strap cutting, probably a PR issue more than a real problem, since you say you never needed the extra.

 

[unspellable]

barrel

Yes it was the forcing cone area. the 357 SuperMag shooters never had any problems because they were using heavier bullets. It's the combination of a light bullet with a full house load of very slow powder that does the nasty.