2016 IRC

[harleytech]

Locktite is anaerobic and will not properly set up in the presence of any petroleum product's presence. When we used it on nuclear submarines, both surfaces had to be thoroughly cleaned prior to it's application. 

[Bosshoss]

5 hours ago, alecmc said:

Revolver shooters best friend. 

Gunsmiths pain in the butt

 

I don't like or use Loctite on revolvers. I have to clean all the crap out when working on a gun or I have to replace the yoke screw because it was so tight I buggered the screwdriver slot trying to get it out.

Yoke screws are consumable and should be replaced every once in a while. They vary a little due to manufacturing and the yoke fit in the gun varies on every gun. Some guns you have to back out the yoke screw 3 or 4 turns to get the yoke out and others less than 1 turn.

Loctite is ok for things that don't have to come apart like scope mounts, ect. Blue Loctite is rated for screws 1/4 inch and up. The small screws in our revolver are small and fairly fine threads. Easy for loctite to bugger the threads up and hopefully it is the threads on the screw and not the revolver.

A problem with loctite is how it is put on, most put on the screw and put it in the gun. When you do this the excess is squeezed out of the threads and pools up under the screw head then it dries and makes a thin layer of loctite under the screw head. This dries and when the screw is removed it leaves a layer of dry loctite then when the screw is reinstalled and more loctite is used it does the same thing. I have had guns come in the shop with at least .050 of locktite under the screw head and the screw was sticking out above the sideplate. The yoke screw must be seated against the frame to make sure the yoke can't slip past the spring loaded plunger.

I have seen a couple of shooters have a cylinder come out and the yoke screw was still tight. When we looked at the gun and removed the yoke screw it had a build up of loctite under the screw head and the yoke screw wasn't bottomed out on the frame.

New yoke screws have some kind of thread locker on the from the factory. This works fine although it still flakes off and had to be cleaned out of the gun.

I shoot around 10k a year through my main revolver and take it apart a couple of times a year for maintenance(unless I get caught shooting in a hard rain).

Yes I check my screws before every match(while cleaning the gun) and they are never loose and I don't use loctite. 

[Carmoney]

Opinions vary, I suppose, but I advocate a small amount of blue loctite on every screw on a S&W revolver (except the sight adjustment screws, obviously), including the cylinder release screw and the small screw that holds the rear sight assembly in place.  Once everything is set up correctly on a gun, I tighten everything down very firmly with well-fitting screwdriver bits, and leave it alone.  There is really no reason to take the gun apart unless there is a problem that needs fixing--which will be a pretty rare occurrence if you don't dick around with stuff.  Most of the problems people have with revolvers are self-induced.  

[MWP]

I do the same thing Mike does, blue loctite everything on the outside of the gun, 6 screws including the strain screw, then mark them with a pen similar to torquing marks. Then I don't even need a screw driver to check them.