S+W 1905 cylinder opens hard?

[shawnba67]

NEW INFO FARTHER DOWN
This might not be the right place but I recently aquired a 1905 made in 39 or 40. When I try and open it it binds up, seems to be the ejector rod in its little spring detent.But could be the crane also, I'm not an expert. The back of cylinder will pop out a little rather easily then it binds up. If I push on the ejector rod just ahead of the frame it works the best. Is this normal? Never owned an old one before.
I have been checking to make sure rod is screwed in all the way.And a thorough cleaning has been performed.

[Rich/WIS]

Check two things. Open the cylinder and check the cylinder release. When pushed forward the pin should be flush with the frame. Then check the pin in the extractor rod. When the pin at the chamber end is flush with the extractor star the front of the pin should be flush with the front of the rod. If these are okay then check for front to rear movement on the cylinder when closed, sloppy fit means the cylinder can move forward and the front locking pin is not being pushed past its locking recess in the extractor rod. They make bushings to correct this, think Brownells has them. Worst case you may have to remove a slight amount of metal from the end of the extractor rod, this is a part of the initial fitting and if the gun was wartime production this may have been done in a hurry. As long as the front lock fits solidly inside the extractor rod a little metal removal won't matter. Fortunately a lot of parts for these models are still around and this should be a (hopefully) simple and cheap fix. These are nice old revolvers, if you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself take it to a gunsmith.

[Outpost75]

Sounds like the ejector rod has backed off its threads. Probably a reversed thread pitch. Try pinching the end of the ejector rod with your fingers and cocking the hammer, cycling the action a few times. That sould snug it. Then with cylinder open, push on the rear end of the center pin which projects from the extractor star, and inspect the front end of the pin for peening. If the center pin has a burr on the end, disassembleand gently stone off the burr and reasemble, using fired artridge cases in every other chamber to keep extrator aligned and GENTLY turn cylinder holding end of ejector with leather padded pliers if you do not have the Brownell clamp to hold it. Be very careful not to overtighten and wring thread as pitch is fine and older ejetor rods not hardened.

[shawnba67]

I had checked the endshake, and measured .09 a little out but I didn't think it warranted repair before a test firing to see if the sewer pipe barrel would group. However if I hold the cylinder rearward it seems to work much better, so I ordered a shim kit from Shively sales for $8 shipped hope it fix's it.

[HeavyMetal]

You'll find that the threads on the ejector rod are backwards of todays S&W's.

It was changed to the current thread pattern because of the "habit" they had of unscrewing when fired thus making the ejector rod "longer" and causing binding on opening.

A quick clue will be the size of the "nut" on the ejector rod which will be twice the size of today guns.

[nhrifle]

This might not be the case, but I have seen a few S&W revolvers that were put together incorrectly. The screw that secures the crane into the frame is undercut on the end to fit into a locking recess in the crane. If one of the other fully threaded frame screws are put into the crane's screw hole, it can cause the cylinder to bind.

[Char-Gar]

No this is not normal...Here are my thoughts on the possible cause;

1. As others have said, the ejector rod on this vintage Smith has reverse threads and can unscrew with normal use. This is why Smith and Wesson changed the direction of the threads.

2. Ejector rods can get bend. They can be straightened, but this is not the job for a novice at working on these pistols.

3. The crane can get bent. This happens when folks snap the cylinder closed with a snap of the wrist like they saw it done in the movies. This can be fixed, but again not a job for the novice.

With the cylinder closed, look the joint of the cylinder crane and the frame from the front. It should be nice and tight with no wiggle or gap when the cylinder is moved from side to side. I tried to get a picture of one of my pre-war M & Ps, but the auto focus on the camera would not let that happen. I did managed to get a pic of a matt finished Highway Patrolman which will give you the same idea of how the joint should look.

[MtGun44]

Tighten the ejector - left handed threads.

Bill

[44man]

Cranes were very soft and the Hollywood stuff bent many. They can actually be straightened by hand.

[Larry Gibson]

Tighten the ejector - left handed threads.

Bill

Most probable cause and fix. Put two fired cases in opposite chambers when tightening the ejector rod to hold the extractor in place. A common problem as previously mentioned and why S&W changed to opposite threads. Seen this many, many times on older S&Ws.

Larry Gibson

[shawnba67]

I tightened the ejector as tight as my fingers can tighten it, put in .005 worth of shims to bring endshake down to .004-.005 from .009. It still binds up on the end of the ejector rod. I can push the pin in center or the cylinder flush with extractor and the other(binding end) still falls a few thousandths short of flush. Pulling back on the cylinder allows it to open satisfactorly, its just a pain to do everytime. Any thoughts on what I can do, I dont want to file off the nut on the end until I have to. Thanks Fella's

[philthephlier]

If there is that much endshake the cylinder may be dragging on the barrel. If the original cylinder to barrel gap was the prescribed .005" from the factory, that much developed endshake would likely cause that and pushing the cylinder back would allow the cylinder to open easily. Ideal endshake is .001" to .002". I would correct that first and then see what you have. If the crane is bent it should be corrected. You can check to see easily if you have the right tool. I made one when I had access to a lathe. A steel shaft is turned down to slip fit into the crane after the cylinder is removed from it. One end is turned down for about 1/4" to the diameter of the cylinder pin that locks up in the frame. By pointing the gun down the tool will slide down and indicate any misalignment if the pin end does not enter the frame and hangs up on it. Then you use hardwood wedges and a plastic hammer to adjust up or down and just the hammer if it needs to go to either side. If the gun was closed as in the movies even a few times it is likely bent. Cylinders are meant to be closed gently always by finger pressure. I think your revolver can be brought back to life but you should have a knowledgeable S&W armorer check it for you. He will diagnose it quickly. Your bore sounds like it maybe severely leaded. That should be corrected before firing also. Good luck to you. Let us know how it comes out.

[StrawHat]

If the rod is still binding, try this. With the cylinder open, push on the rod from the chamber end of the cylinder until it is flush with the ejector star. Does the pin protrude from the end of the extractor rod out by the lug? If not, that is where the problem is.