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Cylinder Alignment

Cameroon
How do you check to ensure your cylinder is aligned before using a pistol. Refering to surplus hand guns. Thanks for input.
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7 comments

Date Votes
  • Jake_S-83
    just open it and spin the cylinder. observe ejector rod for wobble. im not sure if thats what you were asking...
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  • Cameroon
    Want to ensure bullet and barrel are in alignment so there won't be firing problems. If the cylinder doesn't align with the barrel isn't there a chance of a problem?
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  • nmyers
    You want to check for wobble of the cylinder in the fired position. It doesn't really matter if the cylinder wobbles at other times.

    To check for wobble, cock the hammer & ease it forward after pulling the trigger & holding the trigger back. While still holding the trigger back, try to move the cylinder with the fingers of your other hand. Excess wobble at this point indicates that cylinder may not properly align with the barrel. Repeat for each hole in the cylinder.

    It's more difficult to check the actual alignment of the holes in the cylinder. For that, you need a bore scope, which a good gunsmith should have.

    Neal
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  • Contender Man
    Inspect the area around the barrel and frame join (forcing cone area) and see if there is evidence of lead splatter/shaving ... if so there is a problem. Same is true is there seems to be considerable wobble with the revolver cocked or in the "as fired" postion described above.

    Since there is no way to know what your experience level with revolvers is I think it may just be best to have it looked over by a gunsmith.

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    If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!
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  • v35
    After verifying that the revolver is empty, cock the hammer and look down the barrel. Use a strong light at the firing pin hole in the frame.
    There should not be a lot of wobble in the cylinder at full cock.
    check each chamber.
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  • RadCat
    A long time ago, an old timer gunsmith teaching me some tricks of the trade showed me his easy diagnostic tool for this task. He would measure the "minor" diameter of the bore, (the lands) and in his lathe he would turn a rod of aluminum to that diameter minus three to five thousands, so that it would slide snugly into the bore/barrel. He would open the cylinder and smear it with dykens-blue, and then close the cylinder. Then he would insert the rod in from the muzzle flush with the forcing cone, pull the trigger and hold it back while pushing in the rod into the cylinder. He would repeat the task for each cylinder, after which he would open the cylinder and look for any tell-tale signs of misalignment as would be scratched/marked into the dykens blue. If the rod hit he cylinder and not go inside, it spelled trouble. How to fix the situation, that I rather let you go to a qualified local smith to help you with. Be safe, while some wobble will mostly be tolerated by the forcing cone, excess inconsistent wobble is not, and misalignement is dangerous to your health and other bystanders.
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  • D. Bryan
    With any used revolver, it is well to check the cylinder alignment. Many have had the cylinder flipped closed (a-la Hollywood)and the crane is bent. This can only be fixed by a gunsmith with the proper tools. This is evidenced by lead spitting because the bullet enters the barrel at an angle. This causes very poor accuracy.
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