[Bob1943]

I have a new GP100 stainless, 3" that recently went back to Ruger for a re-polish to remove some scratches.

When the gun came back, there was a new scratch in the groove on the bottom of the crane pivot assembly. What is happening is that when you open the cylinder, the bottom of the pivot assembly is hitting the frame and scratching the pivot assembly groove. This scratch was not there when I sent it to the factory.

Do any of you GP100 owners notice whether your crane pivot assembly is hitting your frame when opening the cylinder and scratching the metal?

I posted this on another forum and one person said it was normal but no one else related any instances of this occuring. I have looked at a lot of online pictures of GP100s and I am not seeing that scratch pattern. At any rate, the gun was shipped back to Ruger last night to investigate this issue.

Just trying to see if this is a normal scratch pattern for a GP100. Picture attached, ignore the scratch under the cylinder, its the one on the pivot assembly that I am referring to.

 

[phideaux]

Hey Bob,
I cant answer your problem there on your GP 100,
but I think your handling it right, by sending it to the factory to look into.

Id like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Rugertalk,
Thanks for joining us.

and encourage you to jump over to "Introductions" and tell all of us a little about yourself.

Thanks

Jim

 

[silvergoose]

BoB1943, Welcome to group. I bought a GP100 a few weeks ago, great gun.

Getting to your question. In order to find the problem you must be smarter than your problem. I suggest using a small amount of DYKUM(sp) tool/die layout fluid. paint the area of the scratches. Open and close the crane as normal, spin the cylinder. Check the DYKUM area for new scratches. This will highlight the area that is causeing the damage.

Good luck

 

[Bob1943]

Well, it is back with Ruger as we speak, along with a letter explaining what appears to be causing the scratch. So, I trust they will be able to isolate the problem and eliminate any further scratching.

BTW Silvergoose, have you noticed that scratch pattern on your new GP100? Open the cylinder all the way and see if the crane pivot assembly is contacting the frame.

I think someone at the factory, when it was there 2 weeks ago, slung the cylinder open with a lot of force and caused some hard contact with the frame. As I said, during the 4 months that I have had the gun in my possession, that scratch was not there. I never opened the cylinder with a lot of force either.

 

[OldTexan]

I've got over 2,000 rounds through my GP100 6" 357 in the couple years I've owned it. NO issues and no scratches like yours.

I think you may be on to something with the slinging open the cylinder by the repair guy. He should know not to do this as the manual states to not sling the cylinder either way. Just common sense anyway, as slinging cylinders is akin to holding the "9" sideways gangster style. Pure amateur nonsense.....

From what I know, your issue is very isolated and I've not seen or heard of it on the GP100 before, and I pay attention to comments and GP100 info as it's a favorite to me.

In Ruger factory tradition, your issue should be corrected.

Welcome to the forum and keep us posted on the fix and also how your GP100 performs.

 

[Bob1943]

Old Texan - thanks for the reply. After hearing what you said about your GP100, I am pretty sure that someone at the factory was playing "cowboy" with the gun and slung the cylinder open. Yes, you would think those guys would know better than to treat a revolver that way, but, you never know who handled the gun before it got shipped back to me.

I will keep you posted on the outcome. Probably will not get the gun back until late next week.

 

[silvergoose]

BoB1943, I have not been aware of marks in the area your photo is showing. I carry my GP when I am out on the tractor or in the woods so maybe your idea is right. My pistol has not been a safe queen, but has never been abused either.

Good Luck

 

[Bob1943]

Got the GP100 back from Ruger today. They did remove the scratch that was on the bottom of the cylinder opening. However, the shiney groove area where the crane pivot assembly contacts the frame is still there. Guess that will just have to be accepted as a normal wear point.

I put a piece of masking tape on the gun with an arrow pointing to that spot when I shipped it back with a letter, so they were aware of it. Perhaps they polished it out and whoever did the test firing opened the cylinder hard again and made hard contact with the frame.

I am going to drop by an LGS and look at some of the GP100s on display and see if they all exhibit that same shiney wear point on the crane pivot assembly (new ones may not), and whether the crane assembly contacts the frame when the cylinder is fully open. However, in looking at how the crane assembly works, it appears that the frame is the only thing that stops the crane from opening further. So there is inevitably going to be metal to metal contact at that point.

Guess I'll live with it. Its a darn nice looking revolver, can't wait to get it's 6" brother and some Hogue wood grips.

 

[phideaux]

Thanks for the feedback Bob.



Jim

 

[Bob1943]

I looked at several YouTube videos today to see if that shiney wear pattern on the crane pivot assembly is a typical wear pattern on the finish of a stainless GP100. I am pretty well satisfied that it is.

I saw GP100s in several videos that exhibit the same shiney spot as is on my GP100. I have attached a screenshot from one video that clearly shows the wear mark where the crane contacts the frame.

Looks to be a pretty common wear pattern, which makes sense since the metal frame is all that prevents the crane from opening further. So there is definitely metal-to-metal contact at this point. Hence the shiney wear spot.

 

[OldTexan]

Bob- Have you been able to actually speak to anyone at Ruger? You mentioned a note but it doesn't sound if they gave a specific comment.

I'm quite curious as I don't think this is normal although it appears there are other guns with the issue.

 

[Bob1943]

No, I have not called Ruger to ask them if it is a normal wear point. When I sent the gun back to have the 2 scratches removed a couple weeks ago, I enclosed a letter in the box which asked them to inspect the crane assembly to see if it needed adjustment to prevent contact with the frame. I also put a piece of masking tape on the gun with an arrow pointing to the shiney mark.

When I got the gun back, the masking tape was gone but the mark was still there. There were no comments on the paperwork that I got back from Ruger, other than to say "polished, fixed cosmetic issues".

I will put a call in to Ruger today and ask them specifically if that is a common wear point, and, whether it is anything to be concerned about.

Besides the videos that I watched, I also looked at several photos of GP100s and probably 40 to 50% of the pictures were showing abnormal coloration in the area as well. Sometimes it is hard to see in pictures because the lighting on stainless steel causes lots of reflections. Even on my gun, you have to hold it at a certain angle to the light to clearly see it.

It is not really a scratch in the metal, it is just where the satin finish is rubbed off from contact with the edge of the frame.

When you have your cylinder fully open, isn't your crane assembly touching the frame? I believe that contact with the frame is the only thing that stops the crane from opening any further.

I will post back after talking to Ruger.

 

[redhawk4life]

Bob 1943
After reading this post I decided to check my revolvers and to my surprise my gp's were fine but my super Redhawk 44mag does have the same wear pattern. Upon closer inspection between the revolvers the frame on the 44 was not polished or deburred where the crane assembly contacts the frame. Thus the wear mark. production date is 2004

 

[Bob1943]

Folks, I just got off the phone with Ruger technical support. I explained to them where the wear pattern was and how the crane pivot arm contacts the frame when the cylinder is open.

They said that is a normal metal-to-metal contact point and that they get a lot of calls and guns sent back for polishing because of that wear mark. They said it is purely cosmetic and does not mean that the cylinder crane arm is out of adjustment. They can polish it out, but the next time the cylinder is opened, it will just begin to re-appear.

I asked what their gunsmiths use to re-create the satin finish to these shiney spots and they said either Flitz or Simi-Chrome. Personally, I think either of those 2 products might make it more shiney, rather than satin looking. I use Simi-Chrome on my car's exhaust tips and it makes them pretty shiney, not satin looking. They also mentioned Scotch Bright pads, but the tech that I was talking to did not know which color of pad to use to match the satin finish.

I think the reason that some guns show this mark more visibly than others has to do with how precise the machining is done on the frame and the small groove on the lower part of the crane arm. If that groove and the edge of the gun frame are not machined to make a perfectly level contact surface, then you will start to see a little bit of the satin finish wearing off of one end of the groove, while the other end will look unimpacted. In other words, one side of the crane arm groove is rubbing harder against the frame than the other side. I don't think Ruger's machining tolerances on the GP100 are so tight as to get an absolute "perfectly level" mating of the crane arm groove to the edge of the gun frame. It may only take a couple thousandths of an inch difference in the machining of the 2 parts to get this uneven wear mark to begin to appear. The underside of that edge of the frame might have a little rougher finish on one side than the other as well, which would also cause some uneven contact and abrasion.

However, it sounds like there are a few owners who lucked out and got that perfect mating of the 2 metal surfaces, hence, they are not seeing the shiney wear mark. It is probably just a "hit & miss" thing on the machining tolerance when a particular gun was manufactured - just a cosmetic thing and nothing functionally wrong.

About the only thing they could do to completely eliminate this wear pattern would be to install some type of a little internal "door-stop" (not visible from the exterior of the gun) that would limit the crane arm movement from ever contacting the edge of the frame.

Hope this all makes sense.

Edit: I have attached a picture of a 1992 stainless GP100 that is presently for sale on GunBroker. Has the same wear pattern, in fact, this one goes all the way across the crane arm groove. So this wear pattern has been around for over 20-years, and, Ruger freely acknowledges that it is a normal occurrence.

 

[OldTexan]

Thanks for the reply Bob. Interesting it's turned into a luck of the draw deal. Still a great gun and a small issue that can be lived with it sounds.

Maybe Ruger will address it in the future as it seems they are well aware of it.

 

[Bob1943]

Yes, I agree, great gun and a only small cosmetic issue.

I was pretty upset about this at first, but after talking to Ruger and seeing pictures of all the other GP100s that exhibit the same wear mark, I have calmed down and will be able to live with it.

I am thinking that after extended use, whatever frame roughness or un-even mating surfaces might be at play, may eventually wear down to the point where they no longer exist. Then I could re-polish that little shiney area in the groove and it might not re-appear. If I was more mechanically inclined, I might be brave enough to remove the crane arm and try to polish the edge of the frame a little. Not that brave yet though.

I am anxious to see what the new 6" GP100 groove will look like when it arrives. Maybe I will get lucky on this one. I just ordered some Hogue wood grips for both the 3" & 6" yesterday, should really dress those up nice - out of stock though, so a 7 to 9 week wait. I will try to remember to post some pictures of both guns with the new grips when they arrive.

 

[Bob1943]

Finally got my new 6" GP100 about 2 weeks ago.

Yep, right out of the box, it had that same shiny wear mark where the crane pivot arm contacts the frame. So, it came from the factory that way.

Just have to live with it. Well, at least the 3" and the 6" have matching wear marks!