S&w 25-5 help with welding the crane or yoke

[44deerslayer]

Saturday was my birthday so me and the wife drive 5 hrs to pittsburgh we stay at my moms house she made me stuffed cabbage with deer meat and gave me some leftovers too anyway got up early Sunday to head to thegun show I wasn't there 10 minutes and I found it S&w 25-5 blue in 4 inch with wooden box all tools and papers $400 bills got him down to 325 out the door was I happy so we left got back to my moms and took the cylinder out to clean it and boy was I surpized what the crane or yoke I saw what looks like someone took a pipe cutter and put a deep grove in it at the end of the crane I need a gun smith who can tig weld or mig weld that grove all the way around thanks for the help ps I'll never buy a gun I can't take apart first .

[MBTcustom]

Pictures? Does the gunsmith get some of those vittles?

[44deerslayer]

Yes on vittles And anything else you want to eat .ill have mom fire up the stove and she will make you what every you want . but I can't figure out how to load pictures havnt been able too since I joined I don't know how to since I switched to Mac .i think the marks are from brownells crane stretecher but not sure . Thanks ps it's a 29-2 not a 25-2 hit the wrong number sorry

[imashooter2]

That deep groove stretched the yoke to correct head space / end shake. It is a perfectly acceptable professional repair and you don't need to do anything except reassemble the gun and shoot it.

[44deerslayer]

That's cool but I don't like it and want it welded

[MBTcustom]

Personally, I wouldn't touch it. I thought you were saying there was a problem with function, like they cut clean through it or something. There is a really good reason why they didn't weld it in the first place. Also, having a groove there might be a good thing as it gives dirt and oil a place to escape to.
You have a fine pistol there, if it aint broke, don't fix it. Welding it could warp the crane and cause alignment issues.
Still not 100% sure what the problem is. It seems like its a cosmetic issue you are worried about, but this is hidden when the gun is assembled right?

[44deerslayer]

No I think the grove is too deep almost through like on a brake line with a pipe cutter well any way the cylinder still is not right. there s still end shake more after 100 hot loads after a trip to my back yard when the cylinder is closed it moves back and forth

[MBTcustom]

Well that's not good at all.
BTW, set up a photobucket account for pictures. It's totally free and works quite well, and you don't have to monkey with the pictures to get them to load.

[theperfessor]

Sure would be helpful to have pictures. Can you attach pictures to an email and send them to somebody else to post for you? I would be glad to post them if you attach them to an email to me at keiththeperfessor@gmail.com and be sure to note that these are for the thread on "crane welding a model 29" or some similar description.

I'm not a gunsmith but I understand what Goodsteel is getting at. You may not have a problem at all. I have several large caliber N frames and all of them have a little end shake until you pull the trigger close to the hammer drop point and everything locks up. Of course the issue is how much looseness is OK and whether you have a safety and functional problem or just a cosmetic problem.

I would want to know WHY the original fix that left the mark your talking about needed to be performed. Was it to make up for sloppy factory tolerances, or have things stretched and deformed enough from a long diet of hot loads to make it necessary?

Like I said, I'm not a gunsmith as such, but welding up the part your talking about would be one of the last resorts I would consider. Can it be done? Yes, by an expert. Should it be done? IMHO not if its just a cosmetic issue. Too many things to go wrong.

But its your gun.

[HATCH]

Send it back to smith and get it evaluated....
Just cost shipping last i checked

sent from my mobile

[44deerslayer]

Also I had 3 FTt on my test shoot the primer dent was not that deep I'm looking for my feeler gauges but can't find them also wear line is back on the cylinder and the cylinder seams too close to the barrel the lock up and timeing are right on but when your shooting it seams tight like under recoil the cylinder rubs the barrel on single and double action I'll get the professor the photos to night

[theperfessor]

Be glad to post them for you. I work from 3 to 9 today (I'm in same time zone as Chicago) so it might be late tonight or even tomorrow morning but I will post whatever you send.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Send the gun to either Smith & Wesson or a highly qualified Pistolsmith to figure out and/or fix.

What YOU think is wrong with the gun may not be what is actually wrong with the gun. Also there may be nothing wrong with the gun.

I have found out the hard way that many times what I think is the cause of a problem with a gun, has exactly nothing to do with what the problem really is.

Thinking you know, when in reality you don't have a clue, is a dangerous mindset.

Look at how it has affected Obama. He doesn't have a clue and he doesn't even know he doesn't have a clue. That = FOOL.

Don't be a Fool.

Randy

[leftiye]

Replace the crane. Numrich.

[Awsar]

they also make shims you can put inside cylinder to set it back from the bbl check out brownells.
i would have headspace checked if no safty problems shoot it

[MBTcustom]

If you want a pristine, perfect, sweet, gun, you are going to pay for it. You decided to go with the "buy a cheap gun and find out why when you get home" method.
I could probably tell you whether the gun is right if I had more specifics.
You say the cylinder gap is too close. It needs to be .003-.008 but some folks tighten them up to .001. This causes problems in long shooting strings, and then you have to clean, but other than that its no problem.
The cylinder cannot rub the cylinder under recoil. If it can contact the barrel, it will do it when the hand is engaging the cylinder and only then.
How many thousandths of an inch gap is there?
You are saying that the lockup and timing are correct? How correct are they? Did you slide a precision range rod down the barrel? How much difference was there CW vs. CCW?
How much clearance does the cylinder stop have in its slot in thousandths of an inch?
You say there is still endshake in the gun. How much? (in thousandths of an inch)
I am very confused by this thread. You swear up and down that a new gun that you just bought is wrong and a total lemon, but you don't measure anything, and you say that the #1 and #2 problems with these guns that show heavy use, are correct. That being timing and lockup.
What is the real problem?
You have mentioned one thing that shows that a gunsmith, that knew what he was doing, had been into your pistol, and now it seems that you are grasping at straws.
If you really wanted a perfectly pristine, factory original S&W pistol to commemorate the day you were hatched, why did you buy a used gun and talk the guy down to his bottom dollar? So that you could say that you got an awesome deal on an awesome gun on your birthday? (which you did, by the way).
If its that important to you, why not sell this perfectly timed, shooting, looking gun to someone who can appreciate it and you go do what you should have done in the first place, and buy a similar pistol that is used very little with all the papers to back it up.
Judging by your posts, you seem to be a little unfamiliar with the S&W platform and what tolerances are acceptable in a perfectly working gun (no offense intended).
Here's your choices:
1.Give it to a good gunsmith and tell him what you want, and pay the man to make it so.
2. Sell it and buy an unused one of the same model.
3. Start reading gunsmithing books like Nonte's "Pistolsmithing" and use this gun as an opportunity to learn all the sundry tricks and tweaks to make a perfect S&W. You will probably make many mistakes like I did, but you will be able to work on them from this point forward, and set the pistol to your liking.

[tenx]

find a good gunsmith and i mean a really good one. i have a bullseye 1911 hardball gun that has had the oversized slide stop pin holes in the frame bushed and tig welded and you would never know it looking at the frame. i have since put about 15k round thru it with absolutely "0" problems. also i have a s&w model 27 with the yoke welded that was a little tweaked to put it back into perfect timing. this kind of stuff not for the faint of heart or the local ham fisted blacksmith to be trusted with. the work was done by ten ring precision in san antonio. alex has been a active member of the pistolsmith guild for years. he isn't cheap but you more than get what you pay for with these guys. you get experience and knowledge. this isn't his first rodeo and alex has a vast wealth of knowledge and knows what a gun is supposed look like and how it should preform. ten ring has built several 1911 bullseye guns (and rifles) for me and not only do the shoot into a knothole at 50 yards (long line) but they will keep doing it for many many thousands of rounds. theres a lot of aspiring gunsmiths out there and many are capable of outstanding work but i hate paying for their education, mistakes and experience. you get what you pay for, well at least what you are willing to pay for. it all depends on just what it's worth to you....just my opinion and two cents worth............

[MtGun44]

This repair of end shake is done with a tool EXACTLY like a pipe cutter, but with a
flattened top, not sharp, wheel and a special hardened pin on the inside. You can
"stretch" the crane several times, no problem. The loads are axial and this is a
professional, proper repair. I doubt that you have anything other than an
imagined problem.

If there is no functional problem, you should leave it alone. If there is more
end shake than you like, take it to a GOOD S&W smith and have it done
again. Then stop using too hot loads. This can batter the gun to pieces,
with end shake being a first indication. The rolling process locally work
hardens the steel, making it stronger than it was before.

Welding this super thin, precision part is almost guaranteed to ruin it.

Bill

[Artful]

you surely not talking about the groove at the end
http://www.thedealershowroom.com/i/Handgun%20parts/smith_M13_crane.jpg