What is purpose of grooves in a revolver cylinder

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gunsrfun1

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I am curious why most (but not all) revolvers have semicircular channels or grooves cut out of the outside of the cylinder, usually extending three-quarters the length of the cylinder or so. I've always assumed this was to save weight, which wouldn't seem to amount to very much to me. Or is there another reason? thanks
 
Yes, to save weight. They look really nice when given the "blackpowder" chamfer as the old Colt SAA's had. Practical too as this is where the bluing wears first so holster entry is improved with the chamfer. Here's a custom of mine with said chamfer.

PA280091.png

Here's an old beater without the chamfer that shows the rubbing. Note the wear pattern is shaped like the chamfer.

SBH016.png
 
I think they look better. They can also make the cyl. easier to rotate by hand.
 
Weight and heat

Reduces weight and dissipates heat faster. Or so I have come to believe from reading about it on the Internet, and we all know Internet sources are always right:uhoh:
 
On a double action revolver the reduction in weight in the cylinder helps maintain the life of the lock up in the gun. With fast double action shooting the extra weight means extra momentum which accelerates wear on the locking lug. Or so I was told by a gunsmith.

Scott
 
I have a Taurus revolver where you couldn't remove the cylinder from the frame if those flutes weren't there... It's a 5 shot 357, and the yoke is really short. When I reassemble it, I have to line up a flute with the bottom part of the frame (where the yoke slides in) in order to get it to fit. Just my 2 cents,
-Andy

Edit: if I can find my camera, I'll try to show you what I mean....
 
Fluted cylinders began as a practical modification when the top strap was added to strengthen black powder revolvers. The flutes cut down on fouling which allowed more reliable turning of the cylinder under the top strap and over the bottom frame. Early revolvers w/out the top strap were seldom fluted, but nearly all later models were. On revolvers these days it is more tradition/esthetic's than anything else.
 
I have heard a couple of smiths address the flute situation as stated by hit or miss, as well. I would tend to agree that the extra weight would not only wear the cylinder lockup system more quickly,but could also have some affect on DA trigger pull since part of the pull turns the cylinder to the next round. I personally like them both.

tex
 
There are practical reasons, including weight reduction, but mostly it is a matter of looks. Colt fluted the cylinder on the Root model around 1856 and made a Model 1860 with fluted cylinder, though that was dropped in the regular production. S&W made their No. 1 Third Model with fluted cylinder in 1868, so neither double action or handling the cylinder had anything to do with it. To me a fluted cylinder simply looks better.

Jim
 
The fluted cylinder is mostly a looks thing, but it also reduces cylinder weight. Since revolvers have to start and stop the cylinder turning, dropping the cylinder weight is really useful to reduce wear on parts and keep the gun running in time.
 
cylinder weight

I feel that the flutes are there to reduce weight.

Your have a little tiny hand and rachet trying to rotate the cylinder and then a little tiny cylinder stop and notch trying to stop all the momentum .
 
Maybe the idea was to give a cowboy a good grip, when rotating the cylinder, in both load & unload situations. Then again, maybe all of the above. :)
 
Hook wins the prize. Flutes are a holdover from black powder and single action days when there was a constant need to turn the cylinder by hand for a number of reasons. Flutes made turning the cylinder a more sure process with sweaty hands under rough conditions (like at a full gallup). Since then, all of the above applies.

Roll Tide
 
Good explanation Hook. And I think you're right about the other explanations being correct (even if they aren't the reason for the flutes, I'd think they'd be bonus benefits), such as better heat dissipation and reduced rotational inertia of the cylinder.

Learn something new each day! :)
 
I agree with enhancing the grip for rotating the cylinder.

However, I think there's another reason. I'm no engineer, but I believe there is a principle that a groove cut into something actually increases strength... similar to an arch adding strength to a structure, or the bloodgrove in a sword blade.... the grooves could add strength to the cylinder, thus preventing buldging or swelling in the chamber. Supporting evidence by the way the groves are only over the half that does not contain the actual shell casing.
 
The flutes visually allow lining up the chamber with the barrel and hence turning it by hand more easily. Early revolvers sometimes had problems with the cylinder rotating properly. They also cut down a little on weight and allow for perhaps a tad more rapid heat dissapation. These days, I suspect it is mostly tradition and a little weight reduction.
 
Flutes predate anything that has yet been mentioned, back to the earliest revolvers. This is Elisha Collier's design, patented in the early 1800's. There were designs even well before this one as well, some you could call fluted, some you could just say weren't "unfluted". No idea why they were fluted but the theories about blackpowder fouling and weight savings are certainly plausible. Perhaps it simply follows the engineering mantra, regarding "nothing left to take away".

Collier.jpg
 
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