Revolver Checkout Guide questions (paging Jim March)

[esheato]

Looking at Jim Marchs' Revolver Checkout Guide, it says this:

Cylinder play.

1) With the gun UNLOADED (check for yourself!), close the action.

2) Thumb the hammer back, and while pulling the trigger, gently lower the hammer all the way down while keeping the trigger back - and KEEP holding the trigger once the hammer is down. (You've now put the gun in "full lockup" - keep it there for this and most other tests.)

3) With the trigger still back all the way, check for cylinder wiggle. Front/back is particularly undesirable; a bit of side to side is OK but it's a bad thing if you can wiggle it one way, let go, and then spin it the other way a fraction of an inch and it stays there too. At the very least, it should "want" to stop in just one place (later, we'll see if that place is any good). The ultimate is a "welded to the frame" feeling.

Regarding point three, why is front/back play particularly undesirable while side/side is ok? What's the difference?

Thanks in advance,

Ed

 

[Oro]

Front/back play indicates the cylinder stud and frame have been peened together from use and opened up the specs. As this wears, it will cause, among other things: unreliable ignition, improper headspace, uneven b/c gap with accuracy implications, and potential cylinder binding.

Side-to-side play is usually just some opening up of the cylinder notches from the cylinder bolt. The bolt will usually still drop into the notch and provide proper timing during ignition regardless of a little play when at rest. Elsewhere in checking out a revolver you should be checking cylinder alignment anyway.

 

[wlewisiii]

IIUC, endshake (that front to back wiggle) will cause binding on the forcing cone. There isn't much wiggle room (if you'll pardon the expression) to begin with so if the cylinder moves forward even a wee bit it can hang up.

(edit: He beat me with a better explaination)

William