S&W cylinder lock-up

[Jesse Heywood]

At the range this week I started having issues with the cylinder not locking on my 686. I figured out the extractor had worked loose. Today I removed the cylinder, cleaned an re-assembled the crane & cylinder. That's when I found another problem with lock-up.

After closing, the cylinder release button does not move back very far. I then disassembled the revolver for cleaning & inspection. Found no problems and put the revolver back together. It still has the problem with not locking up all the time. When the side plate is loosened, the release latch will move part of the way, pause, and then finish moving back. When the latch stops halfway, and I push it back the rest of the way, the cylinder unlocks.

Any ideas on what to do next? Thanks.

 

[Riss]

Make sure that the ejector rod is straight, clean, and screwed in all the way. Could also be dirt inside the side plate or under the cylinder release bar inside the gun.

 

[1911Tuner]

Get it spankin' clean, even in odd places that you don't normally clean. Close it up and look at the area where the crane meets the frame. It should mate up with no gap. If there's a gap, the crane/yoke may be sprung and needs to be straightened up.