Ejector Rod Loosens on S&W 34-1

[ZBill]

I recently picked up a very nice 34-1 which I took to the range for the second time today and a problem developed. The ejector rod un-screwed enough to cause problems opening and closing the cylinder.

My question is should I put blue locktite in the ejector rod threads and retighten or just retighten using "muscle power"? How easy is it to break the locklite bond? I have the locktite and have used it on grip screws only.

Thank you, Bill

 

[Ron James]

First, try this, clean both the male and female parts of the threads with something such as brake cleaner or gun scrubber ( please use safety glasses ). Make sure both parts are squeaky clean, reassemble and shoot it. It may solve the problem.

 

[Brian Williams]

blue or fingernail polish

 

[Onmilo]

As long as you clean and degrease the threads as suggested in the previous thread, the blue loctite will break with very little additional force.
Blue LocTite is not an adhesive, it is a thread filler.
It fills the open spaces and creates an airtight bond between two threaded components.

I regularly use blue Loctite on early Smith and Wesson threaded rods.
Not a lot is needed to create an effective bond.
I place a fair size drop on an applicator stick and swirl it onto the cylinder rod threads until the threads are evenly coated but excess threadlocker is not dripping off the rod, again a little bit goes a long way.
Screw the rod down into the cylinder arbor and allow to cure for 24 hours.

When used correctly, and in moderation, you will not have rod unscrew at an inopportune time and you won't bond all the cylinder components together.

If you do bond the cylinder components together you can boil the cylinder assembly in clean water for a minute or two and the threadlocker will soften enough to diassemble the components with minimal effort.
You can clean off any excess threadlocker with plain isopropyl alcohol. HTH

 

[ZBill]

Thank you

as always, rapid and informative input. A wonderful forum, Bill