The cylinder on my 1917 isn't turning freely. Don't know why.

C

Correia

New member
I took my S&W 1917 out shooting in the desert last week. It was very dusty and very windy. While shooting I didn't notice any problem.

When I went to clean the gun I discovered the instead of spinning smoothly and freely, the cylinder appears "sluggish". If you spin it with your hand it only turns a few chambers and then stops. I didn't notice it while shooting, but this has also increased the trigger pull.

I'm guessing that somehow sand got in there on the axel. (axel? beats me). That sound right to you guys?

And if that is the case, how to you get the cylinder off? (Don't look at me like that, this is the only revolver I own!) :p
 
Maybe the face of the cylinder is dirty. I've had that problem before and cleaning the face of the cylinder helped.

Also, check to make sure the ejector rod is clean and dry. Look under the extractor (the star shaped piece) to ensure cleanliness. If these areas are dirty, they can bind the cylinder.

I've used Powder Blast to clean these parts. I don't put any lube in these areas because that just attracts dirt.

Try these steps before taking off the cylinder, sideplate, etc.

Edit: And if that doesn't work, then its, uh, worn out and, um, I'll take it off your hands for you...
 
As above, check under the extractor. A tiny bit of burned powder or sand will prevent the extractor from returning to it's proper position. The extractor determines the headspace of the revolver, so anything under it will cause the cylinder to bind.

Also, make sure the ejector rod isn't slightly bent.

Since the wind was blowing crud around, I'd suspect grit under the extractor.
 
The gun is dirty. If you don't know how to remove the cylinder that means it hasn't been out in God only knows how long . In my experience it does not take long for the gun to become filthy by just setting in the safe. So dirty that it begins to malfunction, the first symptom of which is the sluggish turning of the cylinder as you have described.

Using a proper gunsmith screwdriver (never use an automotive or household screwdriver on a gun) remove the the screw on the right side of the gun closest to the front (barrel). Use caustion as there may be a spring under the screw to keep tension on it and you'll neeb to trap this as the screw comes out. Remove the screw and any other parts (spring, plunger, etc) that are in there and place them in a cup or container so they will not be lost.

Now open the cylinder and you should be able to gently slide it off the frame to the front. Once out, use a toothbrush and gun cleaning slovent (Hoppe's #9 is my personal fragrance) and scrub all over the cylinder/crane assembly. Do not attempt further disassembly. Move the cylinder back and forth on the axis pin, lift the extractor star and clean under there, get into all nooks and crannies. Also swab out the hole in the frame where the crane goes. Q-tips work well for this. Wipe completely dry of solvent and add a tiny drop of oil where it looks appropriate and reassemble. When done the cylinder should spin like a roulette wheel. Weeee!

Like I said, even an unfired gun that sets around for awhile needs to be cleaned like this. In 35 years of gun buying I have yet to buy a revolver that wasn't filthy in this area.
 
Spinnin the cylinder can do harm. You never really know what the lube, junk and grit situation is inside the cylinder. If it happens to be lube starved or a little grit.....spinning will gall the mating surfaces and it will be rough forever more. If it gets galled and then polished back to smooth, then it will be loose.

Stainless gun even more delicate in this area.

Sam
 
One other thing, although I bet it's dirt under the extractor star...

Check to see if the ejector rod is firmly tightened down. Sometimes they unscrew and bind the cylinder. If they unscrew enough, you can't open the gun until you screw it back. HTH
 
The description posts makes it sound as if the cylinder isn't spinning freely when it's open, not when it's closed and in battery.

If it's open and not spinning freely, that means that the ejector rod and dirt under the extractor star won't have anything to do with what is being described.

The loose ejector rod and/or dirt under the star will make it hard to get the cylinder back into or out of battery, and can, if bad enough, make it difficult for the cylinder to revolve.

Your best friend in a situation like this is Gun Scrubber.

Take the cylinder out and flush the axel points thoroughly. Don't be shy about using lots of gun scrubber, your mission is to get rid of the crap that's in there, and that requires lots of flushing if you can't disassemble the cylinder.
 
Correct Mike, with the cylinder open. It doesn't turn freely. Externally gun is clean. Time to break out the gun scrubber.
 
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