Colt Police Lockup.

[Nero45]

I know with S&W there can be a little bit of give on the cylinder but for a Colt there should be no give. The question is how it that tested?

[madmag]

I know with S&W there can be a little bit of give on the cylinder but for a Colt there should be no give.

Not completely clear on your question, but both S&W and Colt will have some cylinder end play. That is back and forth play. Maybe .002 or so. If you don't have some end play then the cylinder will not rotate. My Rugers always seems tighter than my Colt & S&W's.

If you are talking about end play one way to test is using feeler gages. First gage gage the gap between cylinder & forcing cone, then pull back on the cylinder and measure. The difference is the play.

[Nnobby45]

Cock unloaded revolver. Pull trigger (and keep it pulled) while slowly lowering hammer. The gun should be locked up at this point. Try to turn cylinder. A Colt will typically lock up tight and the cylinder won't move (remember to keep the trigger pulled).

Smiths are built with "play" so the bullet will align itself with the forcing cone if it's not precisley aligned--so the cylinder will move as designed.

When not locked up as above, both will have some cylinder 'play'.

Simple little test that you should perform before buying a revolver.

If you try to turn the cylinder when it's in the above position (with trigger pulled) and it moves slightly to lock, then you have a timing problem.

Pull the trigger and watch the cylinder turn while putting some drag on it with your thumb. If it's out of time, the cylinder will turn (usually a very slight amount) to lock after the hammer drops and after you've released the trigger. It may even do it without drag on the cylinder.

[Nnobby45]

oops, dbl posted:rolleyes:

[Couzin]

Check the 'sticky' at the top of this forum. Info is there. However, a quick check (if you are talking about the cylinder locking up on the 'bolt' ('cylinder stop' for a S&W user)) - you test (empty weapon of course) by feeling how loose the the cylinder is (the spin) by seeing how much it will rotate uncocked and no pressure on the trigger. Then check the full lock by cocking the trigger back, keeping a thumb on it for some pressure, and then see how much the cylinder will spin. If the bolt slips out at either check and allows the cylinder to rotate backward - then there is likely a lot of wear either on the bolt or cylinder or both. Should not rotate/move but a little (kinda hard to describe an amount of play here - it is by feel and experience mostly). If similar amounts of play, or less, then it is OK - however, most older, well made Colts, have almost no play at full lock. Sigh - the good ol days....

[Couzin]

Nnobby45's instructions are clearer than mine... :o

[madmag]

I answered wrong, I was thinking about end play.:eek:

[Nero45]

Ok good info. Manly I was look for is when I put my Colt Police in full lockup and test how tight it is there is a very small amount of movement if I really twist the direction the cylinder spins. I know that Colts are a bit more fragile than S&W so I'm trying to determine if it is time for it to go see the gunsmith.

[mnw42]

Colts should have zero play when in full lock up. That is to say: none, zilch nada, nyet, nein. This is were the term "like a bank vault" came from. It is my understanding that when a Colt starts to loosen up the hand is the first thing to go - it is a wear item.

[MortalWombat]

This isn't an Official Police MK III, is it? Because the MK IIIs do have some slight cylinder play during lock-up, unlike the older hand-fitted colt revolvers.

Source (http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=1421792&postcount=15).