revolver newbie- S&W 686 Dissembly

[RM]

I am new to revolvers and have several questions on basic dissembly of my 686+. How do you remove the hogue monogrips? Does it involve removing the black screw at the base of the grips? Also, is it ok to remove the ejector rod from the cylinder? How do you do that? Thanks very much for your assistance. (The S&W manual does not include any information on dissembly.)

 

[JoeHatley]

Yes, the screw at the base of the grip is what holds it on. Unless you have a specific need to, I'd leave your ejector rod alone. It has left hand threads, BTW.

You have a nice gun, that is well worth the $20 investment to buy a shop manual. Pop over to www.gunbooks.com

Good Luck...

Joe

 

[ruger357]

I agree with JoeHatley. Bottom line is if it ain't broke don't mess with it. Just follow the cleaning instructions in the manual that came with the gun.

 

[Majic]

Do you want to remove the ejector rod or just remove the crane/cylinder assembly from the frame for ease of cleaning?

 

[RM]

I got the crane assembly and cylinder removed. It was the ejector rod I was thinking about dissembling. Anyway I left it alone for now.
Thanks very much for the advice in each of your replies.
Now that I have cleaned the gun, I have one more question for future reference. Can you get rid of the carbon discoloriation in the cylinder holes and other places? Any products or methods that work well for this? Or should I just "get over it." Thanks again.

 

[mattz357]

There are some yellow lead removal cloths that work GREAT for removing the "black eyes." DO NOT use the cloth on blue guns, but it should work great on your 686.

 

[Plinkerton]

Yup, those lead removal clothes are really amazing. I thought I was stuck with the burn rings, as nothing took them off. Then I got one of those, and it just rubs the rings right off. Sweet.

 

[mattz357]

RM, check out this pic, this is what you can expect the front of your cylinder to look like after using the lead free cloth.

 

[ChristopherG]

Can you get rid of the carbon discoloriation in the cylinder holes and other places?

As noted, yes, you can, with the right products. However; are you gonna shoot this gun again anytime in the near future? 'Cause the marks will be back when you do. I gave up long ago trying to keep guns looking new when I put hundreds of rounds a month through them; too much fuss over marks that do nothing to impair the gun's function.

 

[Standing Wolf]

The bigger the hammer, the faster you'll be able to disassemble the firearm.

Seriously: buy Kuhnhausen's book, then read it. The High Road is a wonderful thing, but there's no substitute for reading the whole book.

 

[roo_ster]

Lead Removal cloths are a Good Thing. When I want my 686 to sparkle, it is what I reach for.

If you are cheap or just interested, there is another way...Ye Olde Bronze Brushe.

Put a bronze bore/chamber brush in one (non-handle) section of cleaning rod, put the rod into a power drill, and go to town.

Also, bronze toothbrushes & elbow grease works, too.

Oh, a little powder solvent (Ed's Red for me) helps both brushes work.

 

[RM]

Thanks all for the additional replies. I picked up a lead-away cloth- it does work, but it is taking alot of elbow grease. (I probably waited too long to clean the gun.) I may try pieces of lead away cloth with a wood dowel rod and electric drill for the cylinder holes.
Using a bronze bore brush sounds like an excellent idea. FWIW, Brownells sells bore brushes with brass shafts which might be a little safer.
I may pick up Kuhnhausen's book at some point, probably will check it out at a gun show sometime. I bought his book on the 1911, and found it very technical and detailed for a novice like myself. However, I have repeatedly read that his books are the best.