cylinder stop replacement interval?

[jh9]

The Kuhnhausen manual basically says "If it works, it's probably in excellent condition." However, that both predates the MIM stop (I know, I know...) and seems to be one of those little things that could very well have been disregarded because really, who shoots their revolver in fast DA all the time...

How do you guys treat this part with regards to maintenance? Replacement every so often as a preventative measure? Just leave it till it breaks?

Edited August 8, 2010 by jh9

[Dogged]

The Kuhnhausen manual basically says "If it works, it's probably in excellent condition." However, that both predates the MIM stop (I know, I know...) and seems to be one of those little things that could very well have been disregarded because really, who shoots their revolver in fast DA all the time...

How do you guys treat this part with regards to maintenance? Replacement every so often as a preventative measure? Just leave it till it breaks?

I replaced the worn out cylinder stop on my S&W second model Schofield last year with one I made from a steel file. The oringinal is the lower one in the photo, the homemade one is above. Based on that I'd replace at least every 130 years or so

Edited August 8, 2010 by Dogged

[Carmoney]

Interesting timing on this question--just this morning on Stage 11 at Area 3 the cylinder on my 625 began free-wheeling wildly. I fought my way through the stage and got some points, but immediately switched to my back-up 625 for the rest of the match. The last time this happened was about 4 years ago, and I have shot the gun quite a bit since then. The cylinder is peened, but not drastically so, and the ramp bottoms are not lipped, so it almost has to be a worn cylinder stop.

I think I'm going to start replacing the cylinder stop and stop spring on a yearly basis. The MIM stops pretty much drop in with little or no fitting, so it's pretty cheap and easy insurance.

[jh9]

Interesting timing on this question--just this morning on Stage 11 at Area 3 the cylinder on my 625 began free-wheeling wildly. I fought my way through the stage and got some points, but immediately switched to my back-up 625 for the rest of the match. The last time this happened was about 4 years ago, and I have shot the gun quite a bit since then. The cylinder is peened, but not drastically so, and the ramp bottoms are not lipped, so it almost has to be a worn cylinder stop.

I think I'm going to start replacing the cylinder stop and stop spring on a yearly basis. The MIM stops pretty much drop in with little or no fitting, so it's pretty cheap and easy insurance.

Yeah, I just re-read the old 2006 thread on this topic. So you haven't really had any problems since then. I would imagine you've done a fair bit of shooting in 4 years. Good to know the stops don't seem to require that much scrutiny.

What I've gotten out of it (and this doesn't seem to have changed since the original thread):

The notches are easy to inspect, and if the end of the lead-in ramp is peened, it can be dressed down to keep the stop from jumping the notch.

The stop, though, seems a bit more problematic. How much wear is too much? It seems like it's more an issue of too much wear on the ball than outright breakage. Since the issue starts to show up at full speed, it's hard to test for (unless you want to let it rip full speed in dry fire...which can exacerbate the problem). Given those two things, it seems best to just consider the stop a wear item and assign a replacement schedule. Especially so for the MIM stops (both due to them wearing faster, and being easier to install).

Does this sound wrong to anyone?

I'm trying to figure out a replacement schedule. 10,000 rounds for a MIM stop? (Assuming most are fired fast DA.) More? Less?

Edited August 9, 2010 by jh9

[Carmoney]

Yes, this particular gun has worked fine since I fixed that little issue back in 2006, and I do use it quite a bit. In fact, I probably haven't had the gun apart since then--once they are set up correctly, I don't think revolvers need to be disassembled without a good reason.

When I was getting ready for Area 3, I cleaned my 625 and looked it over externally. The lead-in ramps looked fine and it cycled and functioned perfectly. I don't remember looking at the cylinder stop, though.

I started the match on Stage 2 and everything was fine through the first nine stages, but then the crazy skipping problem started very suddenly at the beginning of Stage 11. Back in 2006, it came on gradually. This time there was no warning--it instantaneously went from being fine to being almost non-functional.

Last night when I looked at the gun, I can see noticeable wear on the ball of the cylinder stop--obviously enough wear that it no longer engages properly. With a new stop and spring, I'm fairly sure it will be fine for another few years.

A 10,000 round replacement interval sounds about right.

[snertley]

Good info here. Mike I was wondering why I shot that stage so much faster than you when you had been whipping me on time all match long. I kinda figured something bad had happened.

[Carmoney]

Quick update on my 625: The cylinder stop really wasn't all that worn, but the spring had become quite a bit shorter than a new stock spring. I highly suspect the spring was the actual problem with my gun. But I went ahead and tossed in a new cylinder stop (yep--no fitting required!) along with a new spring, and it's back to working perfectly.

Other items of interest: (1) The gun was remarkably clean inside considering I haven't had it apart in a long time, have shot it in the rain, etc., etc. Since I had it apart anyway, I went ahead and cleaned the insides, but it really wouldn't have needed cleaning. As I have posted elsewhere, it is really not necessary to take a S&W revolver apart unless there is a problem that truly warrants the disassembly; (2) It was finally ready for one .002" endshake bearing--I initially installed two and that made it too tight--one shim was just right. Went outside and test-fired it, ripping off rounds as fast as I could crank the thing--couldn't make it free-wheel.

It's always nice to see Skip Chambers leave town again. Hopefully he doesn't make it back here anytime soon.