revolver pinned barrel loose...

[Atarian]

please hold all laughter, but i have an ARMINIUS hw3 revolver, 32s&w long, with a three inch pinned barrel. does anyone know if the pin is the only thing holding the barrel in, or is it screwed in and then pinned? the barrel is slightly loose, i.e. if it were aiming at you it can be rotated slightly clockwise and counterclockwise. total rotational movement is just enough to be noticable, probably about 1/2 mm.

cause for concern? what causes this - worn pin or?

thanks,
jonathan

 

[rcmodel]

It is probably not threaded.
It probably should have been a tight press fit, them pinned to keep it there.

However, with Arminius's usually highly regarded quality control, it has somehow mysteriously become loose.

My suggestion would be to knock the pin out, wiggle the barrel out, then throughly de-grease everything.

Replace it with a good dose of Lock-Tight Bearing Mount from the auto parts store, line the sights up as best you can, put the pin back in, and let it set 24 hours for the Lock-Tight to kick over.

There, good as new!
Perhaps even better!


rcmodel

 

[Atarian]

thanks, i think i'll give that a try. i hope the loc-tite will stand up to the power of a 32 s&w load!

 

[GP100man]

if the frame has stretched enuff to let the barrel wiggle then it could be ready to break or pending failure.
please inspect carefully for cracks around the frame that holds the barrel area!!!

GP100man

 

[Atarian]

thanks gp100man - i'll check that in a few minutes. by the way, the barrel actually unscrewed from the frame! i punched the pin and the barrel came out easily by hand. there did not appear to be any type of sealant on it. i cleaned it with denatured alcohol and applied a liberal coat of loc-tite 271 high strength thread locker and reinstalled the barrel tight, then put in the pin. that was last night. today i notice that although the barrel is tight, the front sight is now at approximately the 11:45 position - i.e. it screwed in farther than i guess it was supposed to. i don't think there's any friggin way to get the barrel off now. i'm going to see if it actually shoots prior to doing anything further.

i am starting to suspect that the build quality is not up to other german makes like walther or h&k.... and maybe $95 was not such a good deal after all?

 

[rcmodel]

line the sights up as best you can

You must have missed reading this part of my previous post!

Anyway, if you have to take it back off, you can loosen the Lock-Tight with a heat gun.
Even a good hair-dryer might work, or a propane torch if you don't overdo it!

If you go this route, be sure and clean out all the old Lock-Tight and start over as it will be ruined after heating it enough to remove or turn the barrel.


rcmodel

 

[Atarian]

i guess i did miss that fairly important step. i would think that the barrel should be screwed in tight, but that apparently is not the arminius way! assuming this thing actually fires, i may try to remove the barrel. i don't want to scratch it though, and reduce it's collector value...