Loose Lock-Up question

I know this is a hard question to answer on the forum but: Is there a general rule of thumb on how to tell if you have too much play in the lock up position. I have two Redhawks, a Speed Six, a Service Six, and two Security Sixes. All lock up really tight without any play with the exception of one of the Security Sixes. It has a little wiggle from when you move the cylinder back and forth. I bought it used but it looks to have been fired very little. It's stainless and there is not a scratch on it anywhere. I was wondering if I replaced the cylinder latch if it might tighten up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. If it is in fact too loose what will I notice when I fire it?

"Back and Forth"? As in movement parallel to the axis of the bore?

The cylinder latch contains rotational movement. The "fit" of the cylinder within the cylinder frame controls "endshake".

flatgate

Thanks for the correct wording, and yes it's rotational movement. Not a lot, just more than my other Ruger revolvers.

I have a couple of revolvers that have a wee bit of rotational play. Not to worry as they shoot fine. Front to back play is a not so good thing.

Many of the Speed/Service/Security Six models will not lock up nearly as tight as the Redhawks or GP-100's. It is just the nature of the beast. No one makes an oversized bolt that I know of.

As long as the cylinder is locked when you pull the trigger, you should have no problem. You only have to worry if you can still turn the cylinder with the hammer cocked.

A thicker or thinner cylinder latch will change the position of the cylinder at lockup. This is how the cylinder to bore alignment, side to side, is adjusted. Lockup is adjusted differently. Assuming that the centering pin hole in the recoil shield is not ovaled out, and the crane/cylinder assembly is fitted correctly, the tightness of the lockup is determined by the thickness of the top 1/4 inch of the pawl. At lockup, the right side of the pawl is pressed against the side of the slot in the recoil shield. The left side of the pawl, at the tip, is pressed against a small flat area on the side of the extractor ratchet for that chamber. The tip of the pawl presses against the ratchet, which puts pressure on the cylinder in a counter-clockwise direction. This presses the side of the cylinder notch against the tip of the cylinder latch, which is then pushed up against the slot which is cut in the bottom of the frame window. If the pawl is too thin, it can cause too much rotational slop. If the pawl is too thick, the trigger can jam in the pulled position and will not release. Re-fitting a pawl can be very time consuming. I buy them in batches of 20 so that I can usually find the right thickness without having to do a lot of hand finishing. Do you need tight lockup? Depends. Unless you're competing professionally, or the gun has accuracy or lead shaving problems, most would say don't worry about it.