Revolver cleaning

GymB

GymB

Picking it up slowly.
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so today I acquired a new revolver. I say new, but it’s a few decades old and looks like it spent maybe a decade in the rectums of assorted prisoners in a Mexican prison before being rinsed a couple times in the ocean and then put in a box for maybe another decade. Smith and Wesson, Model 19.

Barrel is coming out good, no corrosion inside the barrel. Overall function seems good but no firing yet.

Oil is however slowly leaking from the guts down the trigger, so my question is can I remove the side plate (no prying, just unscrew and tap) then spray everything with brake cleaner and/or carb cleaner, dry with compressed air, spray with dry lube, and reassemble? I’m concerned about all the little bits falling out, which won’t be the end of the world but I don’t have time for that project right now.

While the side plate is off, is it easy to remove the hammer? It’s got some corrosion and I’d really prefer to work it off the gun. Again, prefer to avoid a complete disassembly since I have no clue about reassembly.

Thanks guys, have never removed a side plate
Jim
 
In my experience, disassembly is a breeze. Reassembly can be a bitch.

Check out YouTube. There are a few good videos on disassembly/removal/reassembly of the side plate and various parts. There are a few bad ones too:eek:, so watch more than a few and decide what is valid. Worse case scenario is you screw it up and have to take it to a gunsmith. Or, save your self the aggravation and take it to a gunsmith.

If it were me, I would put it in an ultra-sonic cleaner (if you have access to one). Rinse it and then, put it in an ultra-sonic cleaner with an ultra sonic water dispersing oil before I attempted to take the side plate off. But, that might not be necessary.

Good luck to you. Love me some model 19s!
 
Disassembly is easy and reassembly is not that bad. What ever you do please do not pry the side plate. Just strike the butt as shown in the video. The video posted above is spot on. Wish you lived closer I would be more then glad to show you.
 
S&W revolvers aren't that bad. Just don't pry that side plate off. I'm sure you're not worried about the finish, but you don't want to risk damaging the fragile edge of the side plate.

Hammer comes off easy, and if you're careful about turning it over no small bits are going to just fall out, except that hammer block that just rests on top. Like you said, spray the snot out of it, let it dry for a couple days, compressed air and call it good. I wouldn't even bother with the dry lube.
 
Sideplate....remove the screws, pay attention because they're different sizes.

Take a screwdriver HANDLE, plastic hammer, some non marring whacker tool and just tap along the butt and around the side plate. It'll shake loose. Given the condition, you may need a more aggressive whack vs. a love tap.
 
On S&W the only part I do not like putting back in is the cylinder stop. Not that is that hard, just annoys me.
IMG_2060.JPG
 
... you gotta get all them prison dingleberries outtta there.
 
Thanks all, for some reason I thought that all gunsmith8ng videos had been pulled fo YouTube. Anyway, it doesn’t look too bad at all. Of course in the process I’ve fallen into a hole, anyone else like the tools at powercustom.com?
 
JimB said:
Thanks all, for some reason I thought that all gunsmith8ng videos had been pulled fo YouTube. Anyway, it doesn’t look too bad at all. Of course in the process I’ve fallen into a hole, anyone else like the tools at powercustom.com?
Click to expand...

Depends what you are looking for. I shop around for the best prices. There are a lot of places out there. I always check Amazon too. Quite often they will have a lower price for the same tool.

I work on a lot of different guns and many years ago I bought a Wheeler screwdriver set. Great investment. The set had a lot of the specialty bits in it you may need.
 
Call Humpty Dumpty. :eek:
 
J R Green said:
Should have just run it through the dishwasher.
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Jeppo said:
Call Humpty Dumpty. :eek:
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Come on, fewer parts than an average pistol, how hard can it be?
Actually there was some rust following the hammer and trigger into the works so figured I needed to get in there.

Did go shoot it today before taking it down, shoots straight and great trigger, in fact a little scary in single action.

Need larger grips, hope for some shopping time tomorrow to see if I can turn some up.
 
You aint through, the cylinder stop and timing hand are still installed.... Do it right....
If you replace the grips I want the old ones....$$$$
 
Very good! Now clean & polish.
 
Bailey Boat said:
You aint through, the cylinder stop and timing hand are still installed.... Do it right....
If you replace the grips I want the old ones....$$$$
Click to expand...
Is the cylinder stop simply held by the one screw in the frame?

I didn’t remove the hand because I didn’t know how and because I didn’t know if removal and reinstallatin would then require some adjustment of the timing, which I also don’t know how to do.

Can you provide any guidance?
 
JimB said:
View attachment 97830 I got carried away.
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It looks like you have your screws laid out in the order of which they go on the plate. If you do mix them normally there is a flat head screw, goes on the left. Round head in center and the other round head (yoke screw) should have a little tit on the end and also the head is more of a crown head then just round.
 
JimB said:
Is the cylinder stop simply held by the one screw in the frame?

I didn’t remove the hand because I didn’t know how and because I didn’t know if removal and reinstallatin would then require some adjustment of the timing, which I also don’t know how to do.

Can you provide any guidance?
Click to expand...

You can remove the hand without any problem. Just pay attention to when you remove it to how the spring sits. Have patience when putting it back. If you are having problems putting it back walk away and come back to it. It is not difficult.
 
ECNC said:
It looks like you have your screws laid out in the order of which they go on the plate. If you do mix them normally there is a flat head screw, goes on the left. Round head in center and the other round head (yoke screw) should have a little tit on the end and also the head is more of a crown head then just round.
Click to expand...
Thanks, being careful not to mix them. Yoke screw head is a little buggered, not bad but I hate the feeling of the raised edge when my trigger finger is up on the frame. Probably stone it today then look for a replacement.

Anyone have a suggestion for touching up the bluing? It won’t match, but I just want to protect the bare metal in worn spots.
 
If you take the extractor rod out it is most likely a left hand thread. They make a special tool for this, but you can use a piece of leather and pliers to do it. I made my own tool years ago and lent it out last year and the guy lost it. He bought me a real fancy one from Midway. Told him he did not need to, but he did. We now share it.

Edit: Put empty brass cases in the cylinder when doing this. protects the star
 
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JimB said:
Is the cylinder stop simply held by the one screw in the frame?

I didn’t remove the hand because I didn’t know how and because I didn’t know if removal and reinstallatin would then require some adjustment of the timing, which I also don’t know how to do.

Can you provide any guidance?
Click to expand...

Cylinder stop is held in by spring pressure and the pin it rides on. Spring is in the big end towards the muzzle. Rotate down so stop is under hole in frame, lift up off pin, cover with a rag so spring doesn't disappear.

The hand just pulls off the trigger but the hand spring can be kind of tricky. See this video at about 4.30. Yes, I know its a 686.


Do not over oil. You need very little upon reassembly.

Forgot to say congrats on your Model 19! I think they're great.
 
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Could not agree more with @mrgoob about oil. I use CLP (just my preference for revolvers other oils are fine also) and put a little on my fingers and wipe the parts and that is it. This is one of those cases less is best. I do not put drops of oil on any of the parts.
 
Both are very easy, after the first time. Compress the spring and lift the cylinder stop from the frame. Use a piece of thread to get the spring back into position before reinserting the hand....
 
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Glad to see it has a new home and is being well taken care of now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Looks good! Nice job.
 
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