Revolver cylinder compatibility

[Dooder]

I'm new to revolvers and am fascinated by the mechanism. I'm just curious as to would it be possible to fit an N frame 627 cylinder into the K 686 and why or why not?

[uxo2]

your talking about a project that a Master Gunsmith
would Look at you with
How much money.

The fitting of parts that are not made for each other

IMHO not worth it.

[not-fishing]

I'm new to revolvers and am fascinated by the mechanism. I'm just curious as to would it be possible to fit an N frame 627 cylinder into the K 686 and why or why not?

Why do it at all?

6 shots of .357 magnum is not enough?

1,400 fps / M.E. 783 ft. lbs for 180 gr hard cast.

Of course it's only the hits that count.

[Dooder]

Just curiosity. Not about the capacity but more about the mechanics of it. What does it mean to time the 8 round cylinder. With the smaller frame and 6 shot indexing parts and all.

As I said I'm new to revos but not new to guns. I shoot limited pistols and build them and tweak my glocks and fit 1911 parts, build my AR's for 3gun and highpower. My mind is always thinking about tinkering.

[TKM]

At first glance it should work as the only difference appears to be the spacing of the cylinder notches. This is why you can use aftermarket 8 shot cylinders in the Ruger Single Six with no problems.

Unfortunately this is not the case with Smith and Wesson. To keep enough metal between the chambers for safe operation the diameter of the cylinder was increased slightly and the bore axis was raised accordingly. Everything else was redesigned to match the new dimensions.

Bummer.

[Dooder]

Awesome, thanks for the reply. These revolvers are such an awesome mechanism. Hope to learn more.

So with that aside ia there much fitting to replace a cylinder? For example replacing a stock fluted with an unfluted.

[uxo2]

Start here.

[swifty]

No. The N-frame uses a larger diameter cylinder than the 686's L-frame.

[bwiese]

Awesome, thanks for the reply. These revolvers are such an awesome mechanism. Hope to learn more.

So with that aside ia there much fitting to replace a cylinder? For example replacing a stock fluted with an unfluted.

Most amateurs should NEVER refit another cylinder onto a gun.

This is where a real gunsmith is necessary.

Minor cylinder alingnment issues can result at best in 'spitting lead' or worse, dangerous overpressure situations.

A gunsmith will use an alignment rod to check each bore for in-spec alignment.

[ojisan]

One of the other factors in fitting a cylinder is the cylinder length and its relation to the barrel to cylinder gap.
The replacement cylinder needs to be the exact same length as the original cylinder to keep the correct B to C gap.
If the replacement is shorter the B to C gap may be too big.
If too long then material needs to be removed from the face of the cylinder, usually done on a mill or lathe.
Some new guns are made this way...the barrel is screwed into the frame first, then the cylinder is cut down to the correct matching length.
This means each gun's cylinder length will vary slightly.
Depending on the brand and how much hand fitting was done with the parts when the gun was first made, you may also have to look at the crane or cylinder base pin areas, too.

[ar15barrels]

I'm just curious as to would it be possible to fit an N frame 627 cylinder into the K 686 and why or why not?

The correct answer is THIS:

No. The N-frame uses a larger diameter cylinder than the 686's L-frame.

[CrippledPidgeon]

Why not just buy a 686+? You'll get 7 rounds in the same frame as a standard 686.

[saki302]

The L frame is actually slightly beefier and larger, but not noticeably so (so I've read).

I'm not sure if the cylinders will even interchange between the L and K frames- I'm guessing no otherwise they'd have just dropped the 7-shot cylinder into a K frame and been done with it.

This is a bonus- I have read the L frame will tolerate a sustained diet of high power loads much better than a comparable K frame.

-Dave