Perhaps not the place to post a DW photo, but since this is the gun that was the reason I started this topic over a year ago I thought I should post the final result of this journey. Cylinder/barrel gap - .004, endplay - not quite .002, headspace - .058  To celebrate having the revolver in top condition for the first time since I've owned it I decided to treat the old gal to some new shoes.

Been doing some reading up on revolver frame “stretching”, and it seems to be a very rare occurrence. While this 15-2 has indeed been abused, and I’ve fired plenty of magnums in it before, I think it’s ok to run a few magnums occasionally especially since the endplay has now been reduced to a minimum. I’ll keep a close eye on any changes in barrel/cylinder gap after firing magnums, but they will be very few anyhow with the current price of ammo being what it is, and probably will be for the foreseeable future. 38 Special is my go-to now, and even they are getting hard to find at anywhere close to affordable.

For the first time since my last post I was able to acquire enough .38 Special ammo to have a good session at the range; meaning the gun got a little hot, and I ran into a slight problem. [I’ve reposted the photo showing the extreme peening of the breech face for a visual reference (I hope I’m the owner of the only 15-2 that has been this badly abused).]Because of the peening, the headspace dimension is now variable since the ejector/ratchet no longer touches the breech when the gun is fired; the case head gets there first. As the gun heats up, the already meager headspace diminishes to the point that the case heads begin to drag on the breech as the cylinder turns; not enough to bind it up, but enough to put needless added stress on the action. The only cure was to set the cylinder a tad more forward so a bit more headspace could be maintained. The cylinder endplay is increased (when the gun is empty), but the actual endplay is acceptable when loaded and being fired because the case head is taking the place of the ejector/ratchet as the rearward stop. I may eventually run into ammo that has a rim too thick, and will bind, so I’m fortunate to have my 15-1 in “proper” working order that can handle any brand of ammo. So, the 15-1 has .060 headspace while the 15-2 has .057  The interesting part is the .003 feeler gauge that I can squeeze in there to check it is also the endplay dimension.

Since there have been no responses, I’m guessing no one fully understands what I’m talking about here. Perhaps no one has ever had a 15-2 so badly abused? Most revolvers have the headspace/cylinder gap determined by the cylinder fit. Once the frame has become so deformed by excessive peening, the cylinder fit no longer determines end play/cylinder/barrel gap. Now it is the cartridge case head thickness that determines this critical dimension. So, if I have a batch of .38 Special ammo whose case rim thickness varies from .054 to .057, I’ll have a barrel/cylinder gap variance of .003, which means that I’m at the mercy of ammo manufacturing tolerances to keep my DW running smoothly. I don’t like this, but I’m stuck with it! Anyone else in this boat with me?

Everything I know about the DW 15-2 I learned the hard way by working on this revolver. It would be difficult to estimate the amount of time and money I have invested over the past 5 years, but the knowledge gained has been worth it. All of my .357 revolvers are close to 50 years old; this one just shows it a little more. In its present condition I’m sure it can still handle all the .38 Specials I can run through it in my lifetime, plus a few magnums along the way. It is now, and always has been a tack driver!