honing chambers

S

skizzums

New member
hello, i have a well used taurus 357, its been a great gun except, since the day i got it, has never dropped the cases out during extraction

i always have to manually pick the rounds out, no matter shooting 357 or 38, factory or handloads

the chambers do not look excessivly rough(no chatter or machine markings) at least not to my untrained eye, so was considering honing with the flex-hone or something similar, i have never done anything like this and would like to know what the pros, and more importantly the cons and if this would actually fix the problem

if you could please also direct me to which brand of product i should look for, and do i need to do coarse-medium-fine, or could i just do a medium or fine and be done with it? and anything else i should know

any first-hand experience would be great!!

thanks
 
Best to go easy, and do it by hand.
A wooden dowel wrapped with very fine, oiled emory cloth should do it.
Or a cleaning patch wrapped around a brush, and smeared with a mild abrasive.
But not a power tool - too aggressive.
Do a little, check, continue as needed.
Should do the trick.
 
If the gun has a short barrel, and the ejector rod is not full length, it's kind of the nature of the magnum beast to hang onto its fired cases...that should be expected to expand into a snug fit in the chambers.

If you go back and forth between .38 Special and .357 Magnum, I suspect the residue rings in the chambers could cause .357s to stick. Other than to remove such rings, I'm not visualizing how polishing or mild grinding would make any constructive difference.
 
Both the above posts are spot on.
Let me ask this though.
If you are not shooting 38's and only 357 does the brass eject once the brass and chamber cool off a bit?
 
No, it doesny eject. I have went to town with brushes etc, got it super shiny and removed all the lead ring residue, I'm past that now. I have scoured these cylinders at least 20+ times in the last year. It has never released a piece of brass w/o picking them out, even powderpuff 38 loads, amd they don't pull out easy at all. Even the ejector rod is somewhat difficult to plunge. And some lead cast loads won't even fit. I'm pretty confident the chambers are too tight at this point. I own another 357 that doesn't exhibit these issues to this extent.
 
robhof

Starting with a fine grit paper and light oil should do the trick, it's hard to damage the cylinders from polishing. I've used a dowel and the dreaded power tool to open Ruger 45 throats and to even enlarge a 9mm chamber that was holding cases, they fed very snug and would lock in upon firing, both of those guns have had hundreds of rounds in them since the modifications and both work fine. As stated go slow and check periodically. How hard is it to rechamber the fired cases? If very difficult, they would make a good gauge til you could fire additional rounds. Good luck and keep us informed of your results.
 
Going slow...and checking / is smart....

I like the Emery Cloth and oil idea...by hand ...and make darn sure you're technique is honing all sides equally .../ and I'd use the gun you have that is ejecting the rounds real well as a guide ( measure a spent case first with a caliper )....see if that gun will let it drop in and out with no issues...and then check the measurement on the fired case again after you run it in and out of that gun a couple of times.

Then do the same test of the Taurus...and find out what it takes to drop a case in and out ...in terms of outside diameter on the case.../ so now you know how much material you have to remove.

Then hone it to the specs on the other gun ..../ but I think you'll find it will not take much effort.
 
Put the tools down and pick up the phone.....

"The Taurus Unlimited Lifetime Repair Policy™ is just that. The lifetime of the gun...not the buyer. This is the first warranty of its type in the industry. No other manufacturer has the confidence to extend this kind of offer. Except us. We know how good our guns are, and we are not afraid to stand behind them... for a lifetime.

Simply put, our unprecedented repair policy stands firmly behind every firearm imported or manufactured by Taurus International. The full terms are we will repair your Taurus firearm FREE OF CHARGE for the lifetime of the firearm"

This is from the Taurus web site.

If the gun will not chamber rounds as you say, then there is something wrong with it.
Diddle around with some abrasive in the cylinders and I'm pretty sure you can kiss your lifetime warranty good bye.
 
Are the throats tight? Something like .3575 would be optimal. If the throats constrict, often .356, then junk is likely to blow back around the cases.
 
Hal, I think Hi-Point has a similar warranty. Supposedly their lifetime warranty goes with the firearm no matter how many previous owner's.

I do agree with you on exercising the warranty. I am not sure whether either manufacturer, Taurus or Hi-Point, will pay the shipping cost for the firearm to be sent in for warranty work or if it is on the owner's dime. (lot more expensive to ship a firearm than a dime) :eek:
 
Are the throats tight?
Click to expand...
Read the part about having trouble with lead reloads.

Usually lead bullets are .358" - jacketed are .357.

On most guns, that extra .001" that the larger lead bullet will add to the girth of a cartridge won't matter.

On the OP's gun, it sounds like it matters a lot - enough to prevent a round from chambering.

That would indicate a more serious problem than just blow back or crud.

It sounds to me like some metal is going to need to come off the insides of the chambers.

W/a lifetime Warranty, Taurus should take care of something like that N/C.

@lamarw - yes, I've heard High Point has the same warranty.
 
Getting too aggressive on polishing chambers can result in the front of the chamber being larger than the back, then you really have a problem and cases have to be pried out. A light polish is OK, but it is best to lay off hones and grinders.

I hope Taurus really means it about their new warranty; I know Hi-Point has the same thing but reports are that Hi-Point really honors it and will repair and return the gun quickly, while Taurus's record has been spotty.

Jim
 
McMaster Carr and I am sure a few other industrial suppliers sell cylinder hones that would probably work for your purpose. Their intended purpose is to polish the ID of pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders. They start at 120 grit all the way to 800 grit. Some light oil and a variable drill with eihter 600 or 800 grit and you should be good to go. All go slow warnings apply.

Check out these at McMaster Carr;
< http://www.mcmaster.com/#cylinder-hones/=rkbxil >

I bought one a couple years ago and used it for polishing the ID of reloading dies that were scratched re-sizing dirty brass and they worked great.

Only downside to the ones in the above link is the size jumps from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch.

Hope this helps.
James
 
Two choices then.
Send it back to Taurus or hone the cyl.
If it were mine I would hone the cyl but that's me.
I am an ex machinist so no big deal.
There is plenty of good info here on how to hone the cyl if you decide to go that route just take your time.
 
robhof

I forgot about the Taurus warranty, had heard so much bad reports about their customer service, but they are trying and should be tried. By the way RUGER has had the lifetime warranty for many years, I sent back a 1971 single six with timing issues and got back a totally reworked gun, only paid shipping there!:rolleyes::D
 
its not hat i dont trust the CS, i just would rather not bother with shipping and shipping back, and spending a week w/o my fav carry piece for something that may tae a few minutes to fix, plus i like to fix things and learn
 
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