Cleaned up my 686, now have a problem

The lower side plate screw won't screw in. It goes in a little bit then I meet some heavy resistance. I tried blow out the screw hole to no avail. This happens no matter which side plate screw I use. What in the hell? I haven't applied much force because I don't want to trash the slots on the screws, which are some kind of specialty part I'm sure that I can't get anywhere but S&W, and that's assuming they'll even sell it.

I'm guessing I got a piece of crud in the threads somewhere, that's all I can think of. What is a good way to clean those threads?

I am completely pulling this out of my rear end as a possibility as I seldom if ever take my sideplates off, but is it possible you are putting the wrong screw in the hole? In other words, are the sideplate screws different lengths?

Please don't beat me up too badly if the screws are the same length. Like I said, I almost never(can't remember the last time) take the sideplates off of my S&Ws.

I'm pretty certain these two are the same. In any case, I've tried both and it seems to be the same problem both ways. There are three sideplate screws, and one definitely isn't it. That one seems to be a combination of screw / pin to hold the cylinder crane in place.

You know, I spent an entire evening trying to reassemble this bitch after just wanting to clean the crud out of my action. Whoever designed this thing was not in his right mind the day he drew the prints. Maybe I'll just not worry about it. The sideplate is pretty tight, I doubt it would come off even with a partially tightened down screw. Still, I was thinking about getting rid of this damned thing, and I prefer everything to be in order before I sell a gun. I might sell it anyway. I am sick unto death of screwing with it, pun intended.

I clean them out with a q-tip, compressed air, brake cleaner. There is one screw with a spring loaded detent to hold the crane.

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and say you aren't trying to use that one. Are you?

Nope, not that one

Take the plate off and try to screw in the screw. Look at it with a good light and a magnifier.

Why do you want to get rid of your 686? I love mine so much I bought it a 629 to be friends with.

Pipe cleaner or Q-Tip with a little Hoppes or brake cleaner will do the job. Is the side plate going flush with the frame before you attempt to install the screws? With S&W revolvers there's usually one flat head screw that goes in the upper left side of the plate, sometimes under the grip. The others should have a rounded tip that goes in the lower right side to hold the cylinder crane in place. Make sure they're in the proper place

Tried that already. No joy. The hell of it is that I assembled everything and realized I forgot to install the hammer block. The screws went in fine. I took the screws back out to install the hammer block, then everything went to shit.

Because it looks like the inside of a watch. Cleaning the internal parts should've been a one hour job at most. It took 6 hours. 6. Hours. It launches springs as well as it does bullets. The sideplate screws are fragile and require a semi-special screwdriver. The screws themselves are a specialty item I can only get from S&W. There is NO EXCUSE for designing a pistol that can't be disassembled with common tools you buy at Sears. The trigger in mine is gritty as piss. My GP100's trigger is way better. My GP100 is more accurate too (although this might be me being better with the GP).

This thing is not far from being a $600 paperweight. I've regretted only two gun purchases in my life, and this is one of them.

But hey, if you want a stainless 686-6, slightly used, cleaned internals, roughed up side plate screws, I know someone that will part with it for a good price.

I am using the right screws in the right places.

You think you have problems. One time I took the side plate off the gun and over the course of the day it disappeared.

I turned over the entire house looking for it. Then one morning on my way to get coffee, I got tangled up in a balloon that had

lost it's helium and settled to the ground. At the end of the string was my sideplate.

My son (7yo) had grabbed the heaviest thing with a hole in it and tied the balloon to that, but it wasn't heavy enough and my sideplate

ended up spending several days hanging from my 3rd floor ceiling in my foyer.

I had already contacted SW to try to get them to have pity on me and make me a new one.

Count your blessings.

Should've stuck with the Ruger. I don't need to have money sunk into this thing. I hate to do it, but I might sell as is. Maybe the side plate won't shoot loose with only a partially threaded in screw.

What a circle jerk. Could they have possibly made it more difficult to CLEAN? I've heard people talk about never breaking down their Smiths to clean in decades. Now I know why.

Properly sized hollow-ground screwdriver (something anyone with guns should have), don't mix up the screws, cleaning should take ten minutes, done. See YouTube for numerous videos on this simple procedure. Have no idea how people can screw this up.

That's all well and good, but said videos don't explain how a screw refuses to thread in when it did literally two minutes before. What causes something like that?

You've either got something inside the female threads you need to clear out or you damaged the threads somehow- inspect them carefully. Or, and this is more likely (and I know you said you didn't, but if I had a dime for every time I've seen someone say the same thing and then realize they goofed later...it happens to the best of us, trust me), you got the screws mixed up and you're trying to put the wrong screw in the hole. Check and double check everything and then check again.

Will do

It might be time to visit your local friendly gunsmith. For a few bucks he will make it right w/o reducing the value of your S&W by buggering it up further. If it were me I'd go to my collection of taps sized for gun screws and see if I was lucky enough to have the right size and run it into the threads very carefully to dislodge whatever piece of crud got into the threads while you weren't looking.

I love S&W revolvers but I'm too afraid to take them apart due to the pocket watch internals. My GP-100, OTOH, has been in pieces many times w/o issues.

Is your 686 a dash three or later (-3 / -4 / -5 etc) ? If so it will use the newer yoke retention system that requires the unique front round-headed plate screw for the front screw. This uses a plunger and spring setup and is obviously different from the other round-headed plate screw. I suppose it is possible that the plunger and spring from that screw may have remaimed inside the hole when you took the plate off? Try taking the entire plate back off and then remove the yoke and cylinder assembly by opening the cylinder and pulling the assembly forward toward the muzzle. Be careful to tilt the gun tothe left so IF that spring and plunger are still in there they don't fall out and get lost. If this is the problem, you only need to put the spring and plunger back in the screw 'cap' as it were and with the yoke / cylinder back in the gun, reassemble.

If an older 686 / 686-1 / 686-2 it will use the older round headed plate screws and a different cut for the yoke. On these guns, while the round headed screws are, indeed, the same screw, the forward or yoke retention screw is fitted to the yoke, so they are NOT interchangable...usually you will be able to see the difference due to the forward screw being filed flat on the end...but either should screw in to either hole with no problems. The problem will be that the yoke may fall out along with the cylinder when the gun is opened, or a longer screw might fix it in place so it cannot be opened. The flat headed screw is always used in the upper screw hole.

Given that you obviously don't know much about revolvers I have to wonder if you may have pryed the sideplate off, which could have damaged or warped it?

I was thinking the same thing. In fact, one of the main things I look for when buying a used Smith is the sideplate seam. Often when the sideplate has been removed by the owner, the seam isn't quite as tight as it was before (even when done properly). That's a red flag to me, and I generally steer clear of that gun, unless I'm looking for a project.

Hope you get it figured out OP.

Now that is friggin' funny. Now anyways. Probably not then. LOL.

Well they always said there was demons hiding in the sideplate

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.