DW Gunsmiths??

[oldog61]

Anybody know of a reliable DW gunsmith, besides the factory?  PJB

[RollTide]

Actually any competent gunsmith familiar with revolvers should have no problem with anything in a DW.  The problem these days is finding a competent local gunsmith.  A couple years ago I was converting a Marlin 444 to a 445 Supermag.  Of course I needed a competent gunsmith for the machine work.  I lived in a metropolitan area well over 1 million people, but the closest SERIOUS gunsmith was in a small town 80 miles away.  He did a great job and when I picked up the rifle, I remarked how hard it was to find a real gunsmith these days.  His response was priceless.  He said:

"They all starved to death years ago."

'nough said.

Roll Tide

[oldog61]

The problem I have is the cylinder latch unlocking under recoil. Have you ever had this type of problem? Any ideas to fix. Thanks PJB

[RollTide]

I have never had that problem but often a really thorough cleaning with proper solvents will solve the problem.  Any competent gunsmith can do that usually for a minimal fee.

Roll Tide

[GrantCunningham]

The problem I have is the cylinder latch unlocking under recoil. Have you ever had this type of problem? Any ideas to fix. Thanks PJB

This is actually fairly common, and there are several possibilities:

1) Dirty latch and/or latch tunnel: doesn't allow the latch to seat completely. Clean thoroughly.

2) Bad latch spring: the spring is a coiled type which is looped around the latch; they can distort and loose enough strength to firmly seat the latch. Replace spring.

3) Mis-machined latch depression: the latch seats into a depression milled into the underside of the frame (under the barrel.) Though not common, I've seen cases where that detent was mis-machined, and the latch couldn't get a solid "bite". While the best fix would be to re-mill that depression, it's usually easier to modify the latch to mate precisely. (Seems to happen to Palmer guns.)

4) Bad latch: make sure that the locking surface of the latch hasn't rounded over. If so, best to replace.

5) Bad crane lock: if the crane is loose (i.e., front-to-back movement when cylinder is close) it can, if severe enough, move enough to drive the latch up against the ramped area of the detent, causing a the latch to retract just enough to let go. Solution is to replace crane lock; if still loose, requires machining a crane lock specifically to fit that gun.

Hope this helps.

-=[ Grant ]=-
--
"The world isn't flat, your gun shouldn't be either!"
--
www.grantcunningham.com