Loose Dan Wesson gas ring

[kgb]

Does anyone have an early Dan Wesson with inconsistent barrel/cylinder gaps as the cylinder turns?  I had an early .357 with that issue and back in '91 was told the cylinder gas ring was an insert that with much use would wind up re-locating as its Loctite broke down.  This was apparently fixed in later guns by cutting the gas ring on the cylinder so it was a one-piece unit.  

[bradshaw]

Mar 17, 2020 22:30:00 GMT -5 kgb said:

Does anyone have an early Dan Wesson with inconsistent barrel/cylinder gaps as the cylinder turns?  I had an early .357 with that issue and back in '91 was told the cylinder gas ring was an insert that with much use would wind up re-locating as its Loctite broke down.  This was apparently fixed in later guns by cutting the gas ring on the cylinder so it was a one-piece unit.  

*****

Unless the FRONT CYLINDER FACE is dead square to the CYLINDER AXIS, cylinder/barrel gap will vary as the cylinder rotates. (Unless the REAR CYLINDER FACE is perfectly square to the cylinder axis, headspace will vary.) I never had such an issue with the DWA M-15, nor with the big M-44 and M-40 frames----which includes .375 and .445 Super Mags.

Which is not to say may have been such a problem on the M-15. Don’t picture how a gas ring could tilt. I’ve had the old pressed-in gas rings on the S&W M-19 pull forward to bind the cylinder under high pressure .357 Mags. S&W cured that by counter-boring the front of the cylinder, to press in a gas ring and swage it into the counter-bored channel.
David Bradshaw

[kgb]

Hope this comes in clearly, my letter to Wesson gave the change in B/C gaps as the cylinder was turned and described how the gun would bind up when it got hot. This was the reply sent.