Cleaning a Smith & Wesson Revolver

B

Baker Boy

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Can a Smith & Wesson revolver be broken down for cleaning? I know the Ruger GP100 and SP101 revolvers can be (and that's a big selling point for me) but I'm not sure about the Smith's - which I prefer over the Ruger (no knock on the Ruger). If so, what is the procedure?

I've only owned 1 revolver, a Smith 686 6" Stainless .357. I only had it for a month or two before I sold it (stupid!). I only cleaned it once and that was no more than running a few patches down the bore and wiping the rest of the gun down.
 
Can a Smith & Wesson revolver be broken down for cleaning?
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Sure. Just remove the frontmost sideplate screw on the right side of the frame.
Open the cylinder, hold the cylinder in place, and wiggle the yoke forward and out of the frame and cylinder at the same time.

Makes cleaning much easier.

Good Luck...

Joe
 
S&W cannot be "field stripped" like the Ruger revolvers.

Unless you have gunsmith's screwdrivers, and a gunsmith's knowledge of how to properly disassemble and reassemble a S&W, all maintenance should be done with the revolver fully assembled.

In truth, revolvers require little in the way of internal maintenance to function properly, and in the case of the S&W, you'll do more damage than good if you disassemble one too much.

Every time the screws or the side plate is removed the parts get a little more worn and "dinked up".
 
When I clean my Smiths, I take the cylinder, yoke, and grips off before cleaning. I'm not a gunsmith and not really even that coordinated and have never screwed up (no pun intended) the one screw I have to loosen to remove the cylinder.
 
Easiest way to clean the internals on any revolver is to simply use those handy aerosol solvents and lubes. After scrubbing the bore, chambers/cylinder face and inside the frame - removing all fouling - I cycle the action a few times while flushing the internals through the grip frame opening, trigger opening and hammer opening. Set to dry in a warm place if possible.

Spray lube while cycling the action, and stand it to drain thoroughly on some paper. Then stuff some twists of paper towel into the three openings to soak up any excess still around and let stand.

To finish up; swab the chambers and bore (I use Tetra Gun Grease in bores buffed dry), final wipe down and protectant on exterior as desired; special attention to trigger, hammer, carbon steel sights and all frame areas under the grips. Wood grips get Renaissance Wax on inside and outside. Chambers and bores left wet with grease if being stored.
 
S&W revolver cleaning

I made a dip tank out of a .50 cal ammo can and fill it with Ed's Red. after removing the grips and cyl. I drop the thing in the dip and let it soak for an couple of hours. yes the cyl goes in but the grips don't. most the powder then wipes right off. I then clean the cyl and barrel as usual. A rinse and a little oil and reassemble. I do take it down further about one a year, I would not suggest the full dissasembly unless you really know what your doing.
 
I agree with Dfariswheel. Do not take a revolver apart for routine cleaning. As already pointed out, it does cause undue wear on the screws and they will start working loose on you.
The nature of the wheelgun is such that very little dirt or powder residue gets into the action during firing. Disassembly simply isn't required.
 
Flush it?

I take my revolvers apart when I get them and detail clean them carfully. Then I relube the internals as needed and carefully reassemble them. Sometimes grit and crud can be found inside from the factory or a previous owner who used it for years and never opened it or had a smith do it. I don't do this very often. But as far as dunking it, doesn't that dissolve or wash away internal lubrication on the mechanisms? I would think that if the dunk stuff is something that dissolves dirt and oil and then evaporates, it would leave the action feeling rougher. And if the dunk was a lube, would it over lube the insides except for whatever ran out? That is why I have never dunked an assembled gun.
 
Every now and then I use an ultrasonic cleaner...Put the whole gun in there with just the cylinder and yoke separated for about 5 minutes. It takes every little bit of crud and moisture off the gun. Then put it in the ultrasonic lube tank for 5 minutes to lube everything, then wipe it off. Works great. You should be able to find a gun shop with this set up that wouldn't charge you an arm and a leg.
 
I don't like to complicate things any more than necessary, I bought a revolver because they are reliable and easy to take care of, I'm not going to take it apart to clean it if it's not necessary!
 
I just use Eezox on mine, same as the semi autos. It cleans very well, even removes the fouling from the cylinder face, and lubes. It works very well on m revolvers.
 
S&W Cleaning:

They are easy enough. For day-to-day range work, brush the bore and cylinder, then patch 'em. Hoppe's, dry patch, then oil, then dry patch again. Not tough. For detail cleaning, you can strip a S&W down pretty easy. Get Jerry Kuhnhausen's book. Good investment, and you get a lot more than just dis-assembly/re-assembly instruction.

If you would be shooting lead rounds, like wadcutters, a Lewis Lead remover is a great investment.

JMVHO, but the S&W revolver is worth the effort to figure out. :D

I don't own as many as some, like Tamara, but I have 'a few'. :cool:
 
I agree with the "don't remove the cylinder" group for the average shooter, it just isn't necessary. But I do gunsmith and have the correct tools, even then an occasional side plate screw will get messed up. So just a hint:
Brownells (and others) sell the replacement screws or you can order them from S&W, so having a screwed up screw should not be an option.
 
I your only going to put a 1,000 rounds of jacketed ammo through the revolver, side-plate removal is usually not necessary. Just spray some dry lube "down the back" once in a blue moon.

On the other hand, if you plan on shooting lots of lead target loads, you had better learn the correct way of cleaning your entire weapon. I shoot 38 and 45 target rounds and clean the guns after every practice session (about 500 rounds). My 45 revolvers won't go 100 rounds without wiping down the front of the cylinder. Then again the'll do all X's at 50 yards.

Jerry Kuhnhausen: "The S&W Revolver Shop Manual" - a great book for the seriously revolver impaired among us.

Elliot
 
Something I haven't seen brought up yet is about the screws and sideplate. DO NOT mix up the front 2 screws on the sideplate, the farthest forward one is fitted to the crane. When you take the sideplate off DO NOT pry it off, after removing all the screws turn it upside down and tap the butt with a hammer until the sideplate drops off.
 
In case you missed 2400's post, you will know if you have mis-placed the two 'front' sideplate screws when the cylinder is very hard to swing out. Don't ask me how I know. :D
 
I have noticed many posts about "detailed guns"

Ive been shooting for years (rifle) in competition and the like. I have probably put close to 20,000 through my anchutz when I shot competitions, and I just cleaned with a spray compound called "TSI". Worked well, every shooter I knew (olympians, if you want names, plz post) used it, and nobody, I repeat nobody went to the lengths you are suggesting to get our rifles clean. Now I understand some like very clean guns, but what your suggesting is akin to having your engine rebuilt every time you want the car washed and the interior cleaned out. If you want a super clean gun, buy 2 of em, shoot one, clean it reguarly with respect to function, an keep other one in sealed box in safe to show off to all yer buddies. :eek:
 
During WWII the late Charlie Askins used to clean his .38 revolver by taking the grips off and dipping it in a can of gasoline and swishing it around and then letting it dry.
Sounds like the plan to me.
I wouldn't worry unless it was a blued revolver, really.
 
Any tips for removing the really stuck on mess on the front of the cylinder? I even pondered using a metal polish :-)
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I use a cloth called LEAD AWAY. It magically just wipes the crud right off the face of the cylinder. You just cannot use it on BLUED or NICKEL plated guns.
 
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