Timming a single six

[MSC]

One day i was at the range with my Ruger single six, i had the 22 mag cylinder in it & the guy next to me told me that it was throwing stuff on him (i think that it's called blow by ) I thought that it was out of time so i took it to a gun smith & he said that it seemed OK to him. I went home & started looking it it myself, i got a short cleaning rod & slid it down the barrel to see if it lined up with the cylinder,It was smaller than the bore & had a flat edge so i could move it around & fell the edge of different parts of the cylinder, on some holes i couldn't fell the cylinder (it was lined up) other holes i could feel it on one side but not the other, some i could feel it on the top but not the bottom, this tells me that something is wrong.

But here is the kicker, i put the 22LR cylinder in & all holes lined up perfectly, any thoughts will be appreciated

[Nobade]

Check the bolt notches on the mag cylinder to make sure they fit the bolt properly. (You might want to take the bolt out and manually check each notch for fit.) If the notches aren't cut properly or are peened over, it won't lock up correctly and could cause this.

[Rangr44]

i would call Ruger's customer Service Dept.

You performed what was essentially a non-precision range rod test of that cylinder's lock up, and it failed even that rough test.

Ruger will probably want to look at it, but if you talk to them, they may send you a prepaid shipping box or label, and repair it for the bubble - IF the mag cylinder is original to the gun.

If it wasn't originally issued with the gun (fitted), then you may rightfully be charged for fitting.

.

[PA-Joe]

Do both cyclinder have the same serial number etched on them. Rugers manual states not to exchange cyclinders because they have to be tuned to the specific gun.

[MSC]

I contacted ruger today, they said that they would inspect it for free, if they found any problems they would mail me a complete report with problem idenified, parts needed & cost of repairs. if the problem was theres, like a bad cylinder, they will replace for free. Sounds like a good deal to me

I didn't know that the cylinders had serial #'s, where are they?

[yooper77]

Ruger etches the last 3 digits from the serial number on the cylinders for convertible models which show they are fitted to the correct gun.

Look on the end of the cylinder around the edge for the 3 etched numbers.

My Ruger 22LR/22WMR singles six and 45Colt/45ACP convertible cylinders are etched.

yooper77

[Rangr44]

You didn't say if your Ruger was an Old Model (3-screw)  or a New Model (2-pin), but not all convertibles had their cylinders marked with the gun's SN - only the cylinder that was considered at the time to be the "extra" cylinder, which changed.

.

[MSC]

The ruger is a new model, and both cylinders have matching #'s , last 3 of serial #. here is something interesting, i am an inside machinist so i decided to put a set of digital calipers to work on these cylinders, 1st. i checked the spacing between the holes(both cylinders) & they are all equal( +or- .002) so then i checked the ID of holes, on the 22LR they were all the same top & bottom but the holes in the 22MAG cylinder are tapered .020 from one end to the other. it is bigger(.244) on the side that it is loaded from, smaller(.225) on the side against the barrel. the small side is the same as the 22LR. i think that this could be the problem

[Nobade]

No problem, 22LR uses an outside lubricated heeled bullet that is the same diameter as the case. 22 mag uses an inside lubricated (or jacketed) bullet, and the case is bigger than the bullet. Look into the cylinder from the back with good light and you'll see where the chambers end and the throats start on the mag, the LR should be straight through. Interesting that the exit holes are .225 though, that's pretty big for a 22 LR.

[MSC]

I checked the cylinder on my ruger SP101 it is also tapered

[gunnut69]

My understanding is that Ruger and others chamber the 22 mag and use .224 barrels for the mag and just allow the 22 LR rounds to swage up to fill the slightly oversized bores. It doesn't seem to have affected the accuracy of the revolvers but I have not measured any to be certain.

[MSC]

barrel measures .223

[gunnut69]

I was refering to the groove diameter. The diameter of a barrel taken with a plug gauge or similar tool is the land diameter(tops of the land). Bullets generally correspond to groove diameter(diameter at the bottom of the grooves). The usual way to measure that is by slugging the bore and measuring the slug. Although that can be a challenge also with some rifling patterns.