High Standard Sentinel barrel cylinder gap.

[stuffit]

We just purchased a .22 High Standard Sentinel Delux Revolver from an on line gun auction. The revolver has an essentially new appearance and, on arrival here was mechanically sound.  


Test firing this weekend gave excellent accuracy and the fixed sights gave hits at the point of aim.  However, after only a cylinder full of Win .22 LRHP from a bulk box, the roatation of the cylinder either double or single action became proplematic.  Lubrication of working parts helped but the cause soon became clear.  There is almost  NO barrel-cylinder gap.  and even after wiping the rear of the barrel and the cylinder clean, you can hardly see daylight between them.  I have only one gauge for my .44 Mag Dan Wesson and that won't even begin to measure the gap.  Much too big.  I am going to get a set of feeler gauges tomorrow and see if any will measure it.  

I'm an old revolver shooter since my teens but never encountered a problem like this.  I am not a gunsmith though I have some limited ability as long as I have the tools.  My questions are 1) What should the cylinder gap be for this revolver, and 2) How difficult is it to hone some metal off the rear of the barrel and smooth out the forcing cone afterward?  I have a dremel tool, some fine grit flat hand honing stones, and a good vise with lead jaws available.  We paid a fair price for the revolver and it's otherwise just right for its intended purpose.  A visit to a gunsmith in our area would be time consuming and time of return "iffy".  Any and all advice would be appreciated.
Best Regards,
stuffit

[gunnut69]

NO dremel tools for that!!  The jobs normally done with a pull cutter as is restoring the forcing cone, although removing that small an amount from the rear of a barrel may not require recutting the forcing cone. I've never seen a fixed barrel revolver with this problem before. Some of the D.Wessons have been set up too tight and had problems but they are easy to experiment with. The problem with manually removing metal from the rear of the barrel is that while it needs to be shorter it must stay square with the face of the cylinder. The pull cutters use pilots for that purpose.  Before removing metal I'd give the piece a thorough cleaning and shoot it a bit. Then it might be best for a trip to a good smith.  If your into doing it yourself you should know that what you are talking about is stoning off a few thousandths not using any power tool... At most an extra fine sut paralell sided file used very very lightly.. Then the marks from that should be stoned out.. very carefully!

[stuffit]

Thanks for your response.  I had considered just stoning the face of the back end of the barrel with a fine flat stone.  The dremel, I had only considered for some polishing work in the forcing cone afterward with a right angle attachment (if I can find one), a felt wheel and some Flitz or JB Bore Paste;  certainly no serious abrasive work as you cautioned.   I ran down to the autoparts store this morning and picked up a feeler guage.  The cylinder gap is less than the smallest blade on the guage < 0.0015".  What would be the correct cylinder gap for this revolver?  Thanks again.
Best Regards,
stuffit

[John Traveler1]

0.004 to 0.006" is considered a proper cylinder-to-barrel gap.  ).005" is ideal.

You might want to first give the barrel breech a good wire brush scrubbing first, to make sure it's not firing residue that is making the gap unacceptably small.

A piece of duct tape around the frame to protect the finish, and a couple of carefull strokes with a fine file is enough to enlarge the gap.

[wlmccann]

I go along with Gunnut69 and John Traveler 1 on this. Gaps I have found will run anywhere from .003 to .009 with .004 to 005 being about right . The rear of the barrel must be square and I would advise against using the Dremel to polish the forcing cone. It too must be concentric with the bore. While it maybe too expensive for one job, I have had excellent results the revolver barrel facing tools and forcing cone cutters that Brownells carries. My first new gun was a 6" High Standard Sentinel lost many years ago. Long story and a combination of youth, inattention and stupidity.

[stuffit]

thanks to everyone for the responses.  Looks as if I'll contemplate this for a while.  Got an appt with the "doc" in three weeks for the trim job.
 :wink:
stuffit