End Shake

[John_Z]

What is it? I never heard that term till I got here. How do I get rid of it if I have it?

[blume357]

go to any young person 'rave' or what ever they call dances these days and you'll see lot's of it.

[44Magnum]

Endshake is something that happens to double action revolvers with use. When a revolver is in lockup (trigger pulled) the cylinder face should be very close to the forcing cone to allow seamless transition of the bullet into the barrel and to mitigate loss of velocity. As the weapon ages, the cylinder may have some play forwards and backwards in lockup from the heavy loads pounding the cylinder around.

Endshake is measured with feeler gauges. Push the cylinder forward towards the forcing cone and take a measurement (should be around .005" - less is better), then pull the cylinder back and take another measurement. The difference in measurements should be minimal (.001 - .002). Excessive endshake can be remedied with a shim fitted to the base of the yoke. With prolonged and extreme heavy use the frame can actually stretch, so endshake may be the least of your worries.

EDIT: Cylinder gap and endshake should also be checked when purchasing new firearms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmYzAVgDBkY

Hope this helps,
44Magnum

[John_Z]

It does indeed.

Thanks.

[Darsh]

wow thank you for that very informative post... my 357 has some of that. i thought the ejector rod might have been slightly loosened, can that happen? i think it's probably just what you said though, because it developed after shooting about 100 rounds one day.

[madmag]

Endskake is a matter of degree. All pistols have some endshake. The cylinder will not rotate if there is no clearance. So, don't panic. Actual clearance to forcing cone is about .005, but this varies for manufacture. It can be as tight as .003 or as loose as .008. The actual movement can be one to two thousandths with no problem.