That is correct. The top "finger" of the hand starts the cylinder moving by pushing on one ratchet tooth; final lockup is done by the lower finger pushing on the next tooth of the ratchet. But if the lower finger contacts the ratchet tooth to lock the cylinder when the hammer is cocked, there can be no further trigger movement to fire the gun. So there has to be some play, and close fitting can keep that to a minimum.
S&W's hand is made to run up past the ratchet tooth, which also has its problems leading to complaints that S&W's won't lock up as tight as Colts.
In any case, in run-of-mill production, a factory will take quantity production over quality production every time, especially when the latter will raise costs over what the traffic will bear. The answer may be two types of production - one normal and one high quality, with the product costing more, often several times the cost of a normal product. Colt did that with the Python, but the product never sold in sufficient quantities to justify the extra effort.
Jim
S&W's hand is made to run up past the ratchet tooth, which also has its problems leading to complaints that S&W's won't lock up as tight as Colts.
In any case, in run-of-mill production, a factory will take quantity production over quality production every time, especially when the latter will raise costs over what the traffic will bear. The answer may be two types of production - one normal and one high quality, with the product costing more, often several times the cost of a normal product. Colt did that with the Python, but the product never sold in sufficient quantities to justify the extra effort.
Jim