Timing on a revolver

[POPPAJ]

Just what is it? How does a revolver get out of time? Is this gunsmith only repair?

[pkuptruck]

Just what is it? How does a revolver get out of time? Is this gunsmith only repair?

in simple terms, the timing is the relation of the cylinder locking concentric to the bore, just before the firing
pin hits the primer. a revolver can be out of time from the factory.. or the pawl or cylinder lugs
can be worn or damaged. the cylinder pin might be bent. it usually is a minimal offset, if its a factory defect.
it can be done by a gunsmith
or bubba'd.. but it takes certain level of skill, an a good deal of knowledge of how that particular
weapon is designed.

[PeeDee]

in simple terms, the timing is the relation of the cylinder locking concentric to the bore, just before the firing
pin hits the primer. a revolver can be out of time from the factory.. or the pawl or cylinder lugs
can be worn or damaged. the cylinder pin might be bent. it usually is a minimal offset, if its a factory defect.
it can be done by a gunsmith
or bubba'd.. but it takes certain level of skill, an a good deal of knowledge of how that particular
weapon is designed.

Perhaps you meant 'rotation of each chamber locking concentric to the bore? Many revolvers 'lock with chamber concentric to the bore' long B-4 the firing pin hits the primer and many gunsmiths argue that they should do so. In fact, most are recommended to 'lock the chamber concentric to the bore' when the hammer is at full cock in single action and both hammer and cylinder will stay fixed at full cock until the trigger is pulled..

It might feel that the chamber locks concentric to the bore when staging the cylinder in double action, 'just before' the hammer ignites the primers, but the hammer still goes back in DA far enuff to gather sufficient impetus to ignite the primer even tho it may not go back as far as in single action and the chamber will (should) be aligned concentric to the bore even if the hammer is halted at its full backward travel in double action as well.

At least my revolvers act, lock and shoot that way.

[pkuptruck]

Perhaps you meant 'rotation of each chamber locking concentric to the bore? Many revolvers 'lock with chamber concentric to the bore' long B-4 the firing pin hits the primer and many gunsmiths argue that they should do so. In fact, most are recommended to 'lock the chamber concentric to the bore' when the hammer is at full cock in single action and both hammer and cylinder will stay fixed at full cock until the trigger is pulled..

It might feel that the chamber locks concentric to the bore when staging the cylinder in double action, 'just before' the hammer ignites the primers, but the hammer still goes back in DA far enuff to gather sufficient impetus to ignite the primer even tho it may not go back as far as in single action and the chamber will (should) be aligned concentric to the bore even if the hammer is halted at its full backward travel in double action as well.

At least my revolvers act, lock and shoot that way.

i was simpkifying it, and i stand partially corrected.

[PeeDee]

i was simpkifying it, and i stand partially corrected.

Was not trying to be 'corrective' so much as to help a bit if possible. I have seen a few revolvers in which the chambers were not equidistant from each other and nothing could be done to align at least one cylinder with the bore axis and a new cylinder was required. I had a GP100 whose chambers were so far out of diameter spec that none could pass a lead bullet a quarter to halfway way thru the mouths and two would not allow a jacketed bullet to pass through the mouths !!!

Ruger used to be famous (or infamous) for this - something about not changing their reamers in sets of six but changing them singly when the wear was obvious which was by then too late.

THen again, I had another GP100 whose chambers were perfectly equal thru-out, both for lead and jacketed. It was so perfect --tight action, timing, crisp trigger, lock-up, centered hammer and trigger right from the factory that I sold it to my son for less than half of what it cost me b/c he deserved it since he had better eyes!!

If i sounded uppity, I apologize.

[POPPAJ]

Thanks!

[tkurban53]

My recent experience was with a new S&W 617 .22 revolver. The alignment was so poor that I had lead splattering me in the face. Not sure how it could even leave the factory in that condition. After shooting 5 rds and identifying the problem I sent it back and S&W did fix the problem. Oddly, when I received it back they included a note telling me to make sure I cleaned it better. LOL, though I did not think it funny at the time.

This was my first revolver in a long time, and I had no such problems with my Ruger Redhawk .357 or Super Redhawk .44 Mag.

[wolfy]

Depends on the revolver model, and your skill or knowledge level.

I have worked on several single action C&B revolvers without screwing anything up.
Even made replacement parts from scratch, but understanding how the revolver and all it's parts are supposed to work is key.
If you're not sure whats specifically wrong, you're not likely to be successful fixing it by trial and error.