A treat for the J-Frame Guys

[wesnellans]

That's not good. I'd give Lipsey's a call...they went above and beyond to take care of some issues I had with my first one.

My guess...and it's only a guess, is that there may be some shavings or something left over from the manufacturing process in there binding up your rebound slide. I've not experienced the same problem that you are having, but my replacement gun did a weird thing at one point where it would advance the cylinder but not actuate the hammer. I opened it up and found some shavings (more flecks, really) that I believe were binding up the DA sear and keeping it from engaging the trigger. I cleaned it out really well and gave it a light polish and it's been 100% ever since (with a superb trigger, I might add). It's actually in my pocket right now.

Tapping the grips with a delrin hammer separated them enought that I was able to get a plastic wedge in between the panels and separate them without marring them at all. I've had them off a few times now, and while it's definitely more difficult that other grips, it's do-able and IMO speaks to excellent build quality by VZ.

ETA: Here's the write-up I did on my experience with the gun(s)...looks like that thread kinda died before I had the issue with the DA sear.

Only thing I had was feeler gauges, which actually did the trick with a little patience. And did indeed find a fleck or two inside. The hand torsion spring seemed to pop past dead center when manually manipulated (number 71 in diagram) but I’m not sure that wasn’t because of being out of gun and being subjected to more of an arc of movement than allowed for when in place. Cleared out what I could see, lubed the BONE dry insides a little, reassembled. Gotta run for grocery pickup will test when I return.

 

[92FSTech]

Only thing I had was feeler gauges, which actually did the trick with a little patience. And did indeed find a fleck or two inside. Cleared out what I could see, lubed the BONE dry insides a little, reassembled. Gotta run for grocery pickup will test when I return.

Hopefully that does the trick and saves you the headache of a return. They're really nice guns once you get them sorted out. Mine is actually wearing factory rubber grips now since they fit better in my pocket...kinda kills me to do it since those VZs are so nice, but practicality has to take priority.

 

[wesnellans]

Only thing I had was feeler gauges, which actually did the trick with a little patience. And did indeed find a fleck or two inside. Cleared out what I could see, lubed the BONE dry insides a little, reassembled. Gotta run for grocery pickup will test when I return.

Hopefully that does the trick and saves you the headache of a return. They're really nice guns once you get them sorted out. Mine is actually wearing factory rubber grips now since they fit better in my pocket...kinda kills me to do it since those VZs are so nice, but practicality has to take priority.

Well thankfully after cleaning out whatever crud was in there and lubricating things as they should be, she runs. Went through a 50 round box of wadcutters without drama. Once my apex kit gets here (trust me when I say the factory trigger job is, ahem, lacking) I’ll clean more and stone some surfaces. Gouged inside the frame from someone heavy handed at the factory.

 

[92FSTech]

Good deal, I'm glad you got it figured out. The trigger on my first gun was pretty bad and one of the ratchet teeth was cut wrong, which is one of the reasons Lipsey's took it back. The trigger on the second gun was pretty good right out of the box....not as good as my 640 Pro, but definitely better than average. A little work with some 1500 grit, a thorough clean out of all the manufacturing debris, and a little lube, and I've been very happy with the results. I kept the factory springs as I didn't want to risk light strikes, and I like a strong trigger reset.

 

[drillsgt]

I ordered my 632 UC yesterday, hopefully it'll come in next week.

 

[Noble Sniper]

Watched several of the videos….. nice J frame!!! The 32 chambering is interesting but I know there is some well loaded factory ammo available that would make this a excellent defensive round!!!

 

[pdg45acp]

A new J frame with no Hillary hole.... I might have to get one.

 

[drillsgt]

My 632 UC showed up today, now need some ammo.

 

[wesnellans]

Second update. My 642uc is in my humble opinion garbage. After convincing myself I finally got it running after cleaning out crud from the insides and lubricating things I decided to go ahead with my polishing and apex regimen.
Back to (albeit much less frequent) trigger return issues, which granted could be exacerbated by the apex spring, but to top it off several times I couldn’t even get the crane to close empty or loaded without messing around a lot. Finally got the crane to seem halfway reliable in function but I’m over it.
Either it goes up for a stupidly low price on here and someone else can sort it out, or it goes back to the mothership for the 6-8 weeks they tell me then I’ll list it anyway. I’ll never trust this thing.
I’m assuming blame smith but who knows.
And yet treated to all the same work and parts my little pinto 437 just plugs along without a care in the world.

 

[92FSTech]

Either it goes up for a stupidly low price on here and someone else can sort it out, or it goes back to the mothership for the 6-8 weeks they tell me then I’ll list it anyway. I’ll never trust this thing.

While I'd love to give fixing it a try, I'd suggest you call Lipsey's. They'll take care of you.

 

[wesnellans]

While I'd love to give fixing it a try, I'd suggest you call Lipsey's. They'll take care of you.

Well I’m too stubborn to let something die lol.

Took it apart twice more over the weekend. First time found a large metal sliver on the junction between the rebound slide, trigger and hand when opening up the side plate this time around.

Okay, challenge accepted.

FULL disassembly of the guts this time, down to bare frame.

Several spray downs with mass airflow cleaner (leaving the finish intact, it’s not as aggressive as brake clean or the like) to remove any remaining shavings, did a full once through again checking for high spots with stones on the hammer strut, hand, rebound slide, frame contact points, hammer, the works. Lubed up and reassembled.

Still the odd trigger failure to return, and a hitch to be felt in movement compared to my worked over 437.

Okay, since I’ve got two J frames for a side by side….

437 trigger and hand move smooth as silk, and pop over the cylinder stop with just the right amount.

642 trigger and hand hitch, pop over with more force needed on the stop.

Swap the 437 trigger and hand into the 642, feels the same as when it was in the 437.

Hmm.

Check lockup and timing with the 437 trigger and hand in the 642, good.

Hmm.

Reassembled the 642 with the 437 trigger and hand, and lo and behold, a perfectly running 642.

So multiple cleanings to clean out slivers and crud, and swapping the trigger and hand from a good gun, I’ve got one good gun now - the 642.

Now to work on the issue with the trigger to get the 437 up and running right.

Yes, I know I can likely get some satisfaction from Lipsey’s and/or Smith, and I’ll be in contact with them about this, but 6-8 weeks wait for something I can do myself, for relatively little cost, and the satisfaction of diagnosing and fixing the problem? Don’t care if they come through lol.

But not everyone has a spare J to steal from…

Happy now with my “custom” 642UC with the “wrong” trigger lol.

 

[Noble Sniper]

Fantastic!!!!!

 

[92FSTech]

Well I’m too stubborn to let something die lol.

Took it apart twice more over the weekend. First time found a large metal sliver on the junction between the rebound slide, trigger and hand when opening up the side plate this time around.

Okay, challenge accepted.

FULL disassembly of the guts this time, down to bare frame.

Several spray downs with mass airflow cleaner (leaving the finish intact, it’s not as aggressive as brake clean or the like) to remove any remaining shavings, did a full once through again checking for high spots with stones on the hammer strut, hand, rebound slide, frame contact points, hammer, the works. Lubed up and reassembled.

Still the odd trigger failure to return, and a hitch to be felt in movement compared to my worked over 437.

Okay, since I’ve got two J frames for a side by side….

437 trigger and hand move smooth as silk, and pop over the cylinder stop with just the right amount.

642 trigger and hand hitch, pop over with more force needed on the stop.

Swap the 437 trigger and hand into the 642, feels the same as when it was in the 437.

Hmm.

Check lockup and timing with the 437 trigger and hand in the 642, good.

Hmm.

Reassembled the 642 with the 437 trigger and hand, and lo and behold, a perfectly running 642.

So multiple cleanings to clean out slivers and crud, and swapping the trigger and hand from a good gun, I’ve got one good gun now - the 642.

Now to work on the issue with the trigger to get the 437 up and running right.

Yes, I know I can likely get some satisfaction from Lipsey’s and/or Smith, and I’ll be in contact with them about this, but 6-8 weeks wait for something I can do myself, for relatively little cost, and the satisfaction of diagnosing and fixing the problem? Don’t care if they come through lol.

But not everyone has a spare J to steal from…

Happy now with my “custom” 642UC with the “wrong” trigger lol.

Glad you found a solution...sounds like a bit of polishing and fitting in the right areas could probably get your issues resolved. Not something you should have to do to a new gun by any means, but not an impossibility, either. I'm just like you...I'd rather figure it out myself than deal with a warranty return of at all possible. I will say that Lipsey's did make mine really easy, though.

The sliver in your photo is consistent with what I found in mine as well. I also had a bunch of little granules that had kind of worked their way into everything. It just seems like the factory didn't put a ton of effort into cleaning these out after machining.

@drillsgt have you had a chance to shoot your 632 yet? Any issues?

 

[drillsgt]

Glad you found a solution...sounds like a bit of polishing and fitting in the right areas could probably get your issues resolved. Not something you should have to do to a new gun by any means, but not an impossibility, either. I'm just like you...I'd rather figure it out myself than deal with a warranty return of at all possible. I will say that Lipsey's did make mine really easy, though.

The sliver in your photo is consistent with what I found in mine as well. I also had a bunch of little granules that had kind of worked their way into everything. It just seems like the factory didn't put a ton of effort into cleaning these out after machining.

@drillsgt have you had a chance to shoot your 632 yet? Any issues?

Haven't shot it yet, waiting on some ammo.

 

[drillsgt]

Glad you found a solution...sounds like a bit of polishing and fitting in the right areas could probably get your issues resolved. Not something you should have to do to a new gun by any means, but not an impossibility, either. I'm just like you...I'd rather figure it out myself than deal with a warranty return of at all possible. I will say that Lipsey's did make mine really easy, though.

The sliver in your photo is consistent with what I found in mine as well. I also had a bunch of little granules that had kind of worked their way into everything. It just seems like the factory didn't put a ton of effort into cleaning these out after machining.

@drillsgt have you had a chance to shoot your 632 yet? Any issues?

I did get out last week and ran about 50 LSWC through it. Didn't have any issues but it does have a bit of a heavy trigger pull that would need to be addressed. It seemed to have a bit more 'sting' than what I remember from my 442's/642's.

 

[92FSTech]

I did get out last week and ran about 50 LSWC through it. Didn't have any issues but it does have a bit of a heavy trigger pull that would need to be addressed. It seemed to have a bit more 'sting' than what I remember from my 442's/642's.

I found that my internals needed a little cleaning and polishing. I didn't end up changing any springs, but getting all the grit out and a minor "fluff and buff" cleaned up the pull pretty nicely.

 

[wesnellans]

I did get out last week and ran about 50 LSWC through it. Didn't have any issues but it does have a bit of a heavy trigger pull that would need to be addressed. It seemed to have a bit more 'sting' than what I remember from my 442's/642's.

I’m unconvinced the grips supplied do much other than accentuate recoil, at least to me.
I have much better results with the back strap open and rubber boot grips installed instead.
Whether it’s because the grips are a bit bulky for my hands, don’t know.

 

[drillsgt]

I’m unconvinced the grips supplied do much other than accentuate recoil, at least to me.
I have much better results with the back strap open and rubber boot grips installed instead.
Whether it’s because the grips are a bit bulky for my hands, don’t know.

I was thinking the same thing, I pried the factory grips off yesterday and put on a small pair of Pachmayr's I had in a box.

 

[92FSTech]

Mine is wearing factory rubber boots as well...not so much because I didn't like the VZs that came on the gun, but for size (I pocket carry it) and consistency with all my other J-Frames. I'm a big fan of the factory grips.

 

[wesnellans]

Mine is wearing factory rubber boots as well...not so much because I didn't like the VZs that came on the gun, but for size (I pocket carry it) and consistency with all my other J-Frames. I'm a big fan of the factory grips.

View attachment 358391

I lean more toward the hard to get anymore Uncle Mike's grips, but prefer the factory boot over these UC grips.

And of course while looking things over realized I've got another adjustment to make on this thing, pin on the ejector latch isn't fully seated