Revolver Timing

A-37

would someone be able to give me a simple explanation
on what revolver timing is? And how it is adjusted.

thanks

rick

A-37

I've owned S&Ws for fifty years and never had a problem with timing yet I see "timing" questions on this forum A S&W cylinder stop engages the cylinder cut before the hammer is fully cocked (not sure about Colts). I can't figure out what parts would affect timing or what could be done to adjust it. I'm assuming "timing" means perfect chamber/barrel alignment when the firing pin hits the round.

Jody Commander

Usually on S&Ws the hand becomes worn or the "star" on the rear of the cylinder becomes worn or damaged, sometimes just the loss of the two alignment pins in the cylinder can cause late locking, the newer S&Ws have a modified system that does away with the pins and uses a bias fit of the extractor/star in the cylinder cavity to align. Smiths are quirky creatures, the ejector rod or the Cyl.yoke can be bent a few thousandths or the yoke can be uneven at the rear causing the cylinder to bind just enough to cause bad timing, when this happens, there is increased wear on the hand to shove the cylinder into lock up, causing the hand to have excessive wear,making the problem worse, and of course the bolt can become worn, or the bolt spring take a set, or bolt top wears and needs to be adjusted to ride higher in the window, the centerpin thru the ejector rod can become worn, or the cavity in the frame in which it fits can be damaged, like I said,this is by no means ALL the things that alter the S&Ws lock up sequence just a few of the more common ones.

A-37

Thanks, it certainly makes sense. Maybe I've never had those problems because I take very good care of my guns. I grimace every time I see a movie where a guy closes the crane by snapping his wrist.

BTW, I have another post (mistake) under "Timing"

Jody Commander

I have seen people do this to fine firearms, slam the cylinder out and spin the cylinder...and while it is still spinning slam the cylinder shut. Old timers called it "Jack Webb-ing" the star of Dragnet was famous for this abuse on his Colts snubbie.

v35

Revolver timing is a complicated business to achieve or describe in a short paragraph but perfect timing exists when a cylinder is locked up at full cock. In double action shooting you wont see the problem but some revolvers when cocked slowly with a little drag put on their cylinders, will reach full cock without the cylinder rotating far enough to lock up. Off center primer indents will indicate the chamber fired while misaligned with the barrel. If this is the case on all chambers the hand may be too short. If it occurs only on some chambers, work on the ratchet is required like replacement or shifting metal with a punch and filing. Unlike autopistols revolver parts involved in timing aren't "drop-in" they have to be filed and fitted.

A-37

Thanks for the input, gentlemen. "Timing" seems to be a job for an expert gunsmith and well beyond my abilities.