Fishbreath Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 I have a gun that's perfectly timed on all but two chambers, and binds squeezing the pawl between the ratchet and the frame, which suggests those two teeth on the ratchet need to be reduced just a touch. (Ordinarily I'd fit the pawl a little more, but this gun has been persnickety—in time on these two chambers is right on the edge of out of time on the rest.) None of the files I have are quite the right tool for this job—seems like I'd want something very small (Ruger ratchet teeth, especially on 8rd guns, are not big), with a safe edge. Any recommendations? Is there a specific file for this task? My Googling hasn't turned one up, but I don't know if there's a particular name for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Try this https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/general-gunsmith-tools/files-engraving-tools/sw-cylinder--hand-window-files/ I think it's what I used on my 625 star. Or might find something here https://www.brownells.com/search/?page=1&search=files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishbreath Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 40 minutes ago, pskys2 said: Try this https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/general-gunsmith-tools/files-engraving-tools/sw-cylinder--hand-window-files/ The one with the cutting surface parallel to the handle, or the angled one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 I was wrong too! The window files have a safe side on the top or bottom. The angled file is a tapered cut. The squared file is a straight cut. What I used was a 1911 frame/slide file has the proper safe sides to fit https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/gun-tools/handgun-tools/1911-slideframe-rail-file/ Just checked it on my 8 shot 627 and it looks like it would work. Toolguy or Revoman might know of better files, might PM them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanttolearn Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 (edited) i've not done it myself but recall reading that people use a Swiss pattern barrette file #0 cut and/or a extra hard Arkansas Stone. Closest i've come is fitting a new hand and thankfully that wasn't too tough and at least in my case seemed to fix the problem. Edited January 27 by wanttolearn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) About any fine cut flat needle file will work. If it doesn't have a safe edge, you can grind one edge smooth on a grinder or belt sander. The ratchet teeth are soft, so file a little bit, check your progress, file a little more, etc. It's easy to overdo, so sneak up on it slowly. Edited January 27 by Toolguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishbreath Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 Sounds like it's time to invest in some nicer files, then. Thanks for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Spyderco also sells a ceramic stone kit with a sharp-edged 1/4" triangular stone that works well for dressing ratchets. Slower than a file, but safer because you're not as likely to take away too much material and screw up the ratchet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
357454 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 if you have a newer fun that does not have a pinned extractor make sure you put a few empty cases in the cylinder to keep it properly aligned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishbreath Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 21 hours ago, 357454 said: if you have a newer fun that does not have a pinned extractor make sure you put a few empty cases in the cylinder to keep it properly aligned. That's actually what's prompting this job in the first place—I thought I had the pawl fit correctly because it worked without a moon clip in the cylinder, but when it's loaded, the two sticky chambers reveal themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
357454 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Go slow, I use a lighted magnifier to keep the file on the correct angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishbreath Posted February 5 Author Share Posted February 5 I ended up ordering a Grobet parallel barrette escapement file, Swiss cut 4 (part number 31.709), which did the trick nicely. The straight side and safe edge made clean, on-angle filing easy, and the super-fine cut kept the material removal between tests to a minimum. Not too bad a job with the right tools, even if the Ruger teeth are a lot smaller than the Smith teeth on the 8-shooters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DS-10-SPEED Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 (edited) Don't know if this helps, but I made a jig for cutting the ratchets on a new 10 shot 617 cylinder. I used a cheap file from Harbor Freight, I snapped off a piece of it and mounted it in a piece of HDPE. Here's the post I did here a while back. Click on the link below. Edited February 6 by DS-10-SPEED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishbreath Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 That's a really nice piece of work—both the jig and the resulting ratchet. Freehanding it was fine for this job, but I'm definitely going to build something similar if I ever have to do one from scratch. (If I can find the right magic words to make Ruger sell me the part, at any rate.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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