Smith & Wesson K-22 Hammer Sticks: Ken Won't Buy the Tool | Over the Gunsmith's Shoulder Ep. 45
American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI)
182,984 views
This K-22 gives its owner one cylinder full. Then the hammer sticks partway back and the gun will not turn. He cleans it, gets three shots, and it happens again.
In this episode of Over the Gunsmith's Shoulder, Master Gunsmith Ken Brooks works a binding complaint through a five-screw Smith & Wesson K-22, and fixes it with three things he already owned.
The bench work is where this one earns its runtime. There is a fast shop fix for this job, sold in bags, and Ken will not use it. He tells you what it does to a gun months later, then shows the method he teaches in his Smith & Wesson class instead, using spring stock, a drill shank and a smooth-jawed vise. He polishes all six chambers for the second complaint, cleans under the ratchet pads where one flake of powder throws off a reading, and puts it back together. Then he tells you what he thinks he got wrong.
✅ Reading carbon and rub marks on a revolver that binds
✅ Measuring barrel-cylinder gap with feeler gauges, front and rear
✅ Checking revolver timing before any teardown
✅ Why the fast fix can seize a cylinder in place months later
✅ Making the tool from spring stock, a drill shank and a vise
✅ Polishing all six chambers for hard extraction
✅ Cleaning under the ratchet pads, and why one powder flake ruins a reading
✅ The daylight check for barrel-cylinder gap
✅ How to tell when you went too far, and what to do next
✅ Cocking through all six chambers before the gun leaves the bench
This is practical gunsmithing from the bench. The fastest fix is not the one that lasts.
🔧 Want to learn real gunsmithing from certified professionals?
👉 https://americangunsmithinginstitute....
Whether you're a hobbyist, a gun owner, or ready to train as a certified professional gunsmith, AGI has the courses to get you there.
🔔 Like and Subscribe so you never miss an episode of Over the Gunsmith's Shoulder.
#Gunsmithing #SmithAndWesson #RevolverRepair #AGI #AmericanGunsmithingInstitute #OverTheGunsmithsShoulder #FirearmsTraining #KenBrooks #K22 #Revolver #Wheelgun #GunRepair #BarrelCylinderGap #ChamberPolishing #22LR #RevolverTiming #GunsmithSchool #gunmaintenance
Q: Why does my revolver bind up and the hammer stick after a few shots?
A: On this gun it was end shake, the fore and aft movement of the cylinder in the frame. When you pull the trigger, the hand comes into the frame window, hits the ratchet pad and pushes the cylinder forward while it tries to rotate. If the cylinder can move forward, it drags on the back of the barrel, creating enough friction to stop the rotation cold. Ken says he sees this a lot with revolvers.
Q: How do I check for end shake?
A: Hold the crane in and back to replicate the yoke screw being in, then pull the cylinder rearward and push it forward and feel for movement. You can also read the gun: carbon scraped off some spots on the cylinder face but not others, plus rub marks on the barrel breech face, means the cylinder is touching where it should not.
Q: What should barrel-cylinder gap be on a Smith & Wesson revolver?
A: Ken worked up through feeler gauges on this one until seven thousandths would not pass and called seven right on, no problem there. He also checks it by holding the gun up to the shop lights and looking for daylight between the back of the barrel and the face of the cylinder.
Q: Should I use shims to take out end shake?
A: Ken will not, and he explains why on camera. The shims run about two thousandths and are thin enough that one can peel, bind between the crane and the cylinder, and leave you pounding the cylinder open and off the crane to get the gun apart. His position: they exist, some people use them, do what you want in your shop, but not in his.
Q: How do you stretch a crane without buying the tool?
A: Spring stock, a drill, and a smooth-jawed vise, three things Ken says he has to own to be a gunsmith anyway. The drill shank goes inside the crane snug so the tube cannot get crushed, the spring stock goes against the vise jaw, and he twists to roll a groove around the outside. He wants a continuous groove, not a spiral. The aftermarket tools work and he does not knock them. He will not buy one.
Chapters:
00:00 - The Complaint: Six Shots, Then the Hammer Sticks
00:48 - A Five-Screw Smith & Wesson K-22 Hits the Bench
02:01 - Reading the Carbon and the Rub Marks on the Barrel
04:42 - Measuring Barrel-Cylinder Gap with Feeler Gauges
07:12 - Checking the Timing Before Any Teardown
08:40 - Cylinder Off the Frame, and the Fix Ken Refuses
11:00 - Three Tools Every Gunsmith Already Owns
12:21 - At the Vise: Drill Shank, Spring Stock and the Twist
15:26 - Polishing All Six Chambers and Cleaning the Ratchet Pads
17:55 - Back at the Bench: Did Ken Go Too Far?
20:34 - The Daylight Check, Dry Firing and a Tight Spot
23:29 - Range Plan, the K-38 Story and Wrap-Up
Smith & Wesson K-22 Hammer Sticks: Ken Won't Buy the Tool | Over the Gunsmith's Shoulder Ep. 45
American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI)
182,984 views
This K-22 gives its owner one cylinder full. Then the hammer sticks partway back and the gun will not turn. He cleans it, gets three shots, and it happens again.
In this episode of Over the Gunsmith's Shoulder, Master Gunsmith Ken Brooks works a binding complaint through a five-screw Smith & Wesson K-22, and fixes it with three things he already owned.
The bench work is where this one earns its runtime. There is a fast shop fix for this job, sold in bags, and Ken will not use it. He tells you what it does to a gun months later, then shows the method he teaches in his Smith & Wesson class instead, using spring stock, a drill shank and a smooth-jawed vise. He polishes all six chambers for the second complaint, cleans under the ratchet pads where one flake of powder throws off a reading, and puts it back together. Then he tells you what he thinks he got wrong.
✅ Reading carbon and rub marks on a revolver that binds
✅ Measuring barrel-cylinder gap with feeler gauges, front and rear
✅ Checking revolver timing before any teardown
✅ Why the fast fix can seize a cylinder in place months later
✅ Making the tool from spring stock, a drill shank and a vise
✅ Polishing all six chambers for hard extraction
✅ Cleaning under the ratchet pads, and why one powder flake ruins a reading
✅ The daylight check for barrel-cylinder gap
✅ How to tell when you went too far, and what to do next
✅ Cocking through all six chambers before the gun leaves the bench
This is practical gunsmithing from the bench. The fastest fix is not the one that lasts.
🔧 Want to learn real gunsmithing from certified professionals?
👉 https://americangunsmithinginstitute....
Whether you're a hobbyist, a gun owner, or ready to train as a certified professional gunsmith, AGI has the courses to get you there.
🔔 Like and Subscribe so you never miss an episode of Over the Gunsmith's Shoulder.
#Gunsmithing #SmithAndWesson #RevolverRepair #AGI #AmericanGunsmithingInstitute #OverTheGunsmithsShoulder #FirearmsTraining #KenBrooks #K22 #Revolver #Wheelgun #GunRepair #BarrelCylinderGap #ChamberPolishing #22LR #RevolverTiming #GunsmithSchool #gunmaintenance
Q: Why does my revolver bind up and the hammer stick after a few shots?
A: On this gun it was end shake, the fore and aft movement of the cylinder in the frame. When you pull the trigger, the hand comes into the frame window, hits the ratchet pad and pushes the cylinder forward while it tries to rotate. If the cylinder can move forward, it drags on the back of the barrel, creating enough friction to stop the rotation cold. Ken says he sees this a lot with revolvers.
Q: How do I check for end shake?
A: Hold the crane in and back to replicate the yoke screw being in, then pull the cylinder rearward and push it forward and feel for movement. You can also read the gun: carbon scraped off some spots on the cylinder face but not others, plus rub marks on the barrel breech face, means the cylinder is touching where it should not.
Q: What should barrel-cylinder gap be on a Smith & Wesson revolver?
A: Ken worked up through feeler gauges on this one until seven thousandths would not pass and called seven right on, no problem there. He also checks it by holding the gun up to the shop lights and looking for daylight between the back of the barrel and the face of the cylinder.
Q: Should I use shims to take out end shake?
A: Ken will not, and he explains why on camera. The shims run about two thousandths and are thin enough that one can peel, bind between the crane and the cylinder, and leave you pounding the cylinder open and off the crane to get the gun apart. His position: they exist, some people use them, do what you want in your shop, but not in his.
Q: How do you stretch a crane without buying the tool?
A: Spring stock, a drill, and a smooth-jawed vise, three things Ken says he has to own to be a gunsmith anyway. The drill shank goes inside the crane snug so the tube cannot get crushed, the spring stock goes against the vise jaw, and he twists to roll a groove around the outside. He wants a continuous groove, not a spiral. The aftermarket tools work and he does not knock them. He will not buy one.
Chapters:
00:00 - The Complaint: Six Shots, Then the Hammer Sticks
00:48 - A Five-Screw Smith & Wesson K-22 Hits the Bench
02:01 - Reading the Carbon and the Rub Marks on the Barrel
04:42 - Measuring Barrel-Cylinder Gap with Feeler Gauges
07:12 - Checking the Timing Before Any Teardown
08:40 - Cylinder Off the Frame, and the Fix Ken Refuses
11:00 - Three Tools Every Gunsmith Already Owns
12:21 - At the Vise: Drill Shank, Spring Stock and the Twist
15:26 - Polishing All Six Chambers and Cleaning the Ratchet Pads
17:55 - Back at the Bench: Did Ken Go Too Far?
20:34 - The Daylight Check, Dry Firing and a Tight Spot
23:29 - Range Plan, the K-38 Story and Wrap-Up