So, I am 99% confident this is safe, but I wanted to check.
I just picked up a 27-2 in rather rough cosmetic shape. It otherwise seems to be in good condition. However, on disassembly the yoke screw took a lot of force to remove. Nothing alarming, but a lot more than the other side plate screws. On reassembly I found out that the yoke screw hole in the frame is stripped. The threading is good on about 25% of the hole at the top, but completely missing just about on the rest of the circumference. It has some holding strength on the screw, but not much. For now, I put some red locktite on it and sinched it up using just the bit and my fingers. It will tighten down finger tight (fairly hard finger tight) on the bit without continuing to spin. Maybe 10in-lbs? Maybe slightly more or slightly less? I figure the red locktite will add some extra holding strength.
My understanding is that yoke screw is only acting to hold the yoke in so when you open it and point the thing down, the cylinder and yoke don't just fall off the revolver. I don't see how it is doing anything to hold the cylinder in place when firing.
IE, this is not a safety issue, it is an issue of the yoke and cylinder falling off when reloading if the screw won't stay in place.
I plan to ask S&W tomorrow when they are open, as well as inquiring with a smith or two in the area about a proper repair. I mostly wanted to check with anyone familiar with S&Ws that my understanding of the yoke screw is correct. Not that I sat there and abused it, especially without the locktite being set, but with it open, the cylinder and yoke aren't just dropping off the gun, even with some slight pushing (maybe a pound of force, I didn't want to sit there and shove on it hard, which seems stupid to do even if the screw wasn't iffy).
The cylinder opens and closes fine. There is a small amount of play forward and backward in the yoke with the cylinder open, but it is fairly small.
I just picked up a 27-2 in rather rough cosmetic shape. It otherwise seems to be in good condition. However, on disassembly the yoke screw took a lot of force to remove. Nothing alarming, but a lot more than the other side plate screws. On reassembly I found out that the yoke screw hole in the frame is stripped. The threading is good on about 25% of the hole at the top, but completely missing just about on the rest of the circumference. It has some holding strength on the screw, but not much. For now, I put some red locktite on it and sinched it up using just the bit and my fingers. It will tighten down finger tight (fairly hard finger tight) on the bit without continuing to spin. Maybe 10in-lbs? Maybe slightly more or slightly less? I figure the red locktite will add some extra holding strength.
My understanding is that yoke screw is only acting to hold the yoke in so when you open it and point the thing down, the cylinder and yoke don't just fall off the revolver. I don't see how it is doing anything to hold the cylinder in place when firing.
IE, this is not a safety issue, it is an issue of the yoke and cylinder falling off when reloading if the screw won't stay in place.
I plan to ask S&W tomorrow when they are open, as well as inquiring with a smith or two in the area about a proper repair. I mostly wanted to check with anyone familiar with S&Ws that my understanding of the yoke screw is correct. Not that I sat there and abused it, especially without the locktite being set, but with it open, the cylinder and yoke aren't just dropping off the gun, even with some slight pushing (maybe a pound of force, I didn't want to sit there and shove on it hard, which seems stupid to do even if the screw wasn't iffy).
The cylinder opens and closes fine. There is a small amount of play forward and backward in the yoke with the cylinder open, but it is fairly small.
