Register
Log In
Home
September 15, 2010
Offline
Howdy, Everybody,
My first post is a question about my DW 15-2VH. I'm wondering if
anyone has had this problem, or heard of it before. I bought my DW
new, around 1976, and had never fired it until recently, for various
reasons. At the range, I pulled the trigger and nothing happened.
After several more tries it finally fired. Out of 20 rounds, 9 finally
fired. I examined the cases, fired and unfired. The primers on the
unfired cases were all over the place, the edge of the primer, some even
on the edge of the case itself! The rounds that did fire were struck
closer to the center of the primer, but, none directly in the center of
primer. A friend was sitting next to me, and one round that did fire,
sent a fragment of the lead bullet into his arm! Ouch! So, must be
some kind of alignment problem with the cylinder, and barrel.
Upon closer examination of the pistol, I noticed that when the cylinder
is closed, the cylinder will spin with just the finger turning it. The
cylinder stop must be defective. When the cylinder is opened if the
gun is held toward the ground in reload position, the cylinder will fall
off! And, one last thing, if this isn't enough already, I found what
appeared to be 1/2 of a metal "O" ring that came from somewhere. It
looked like a 1/2 moon. Now I've lost it somewhere.
Now, I need to send this gun back to the factory. The 5 year warranty
I'm afraid has elapsed. The repair will probably cost me a fortune. My
cost just to ship it back to factory one way will be about $80!
What can yawl tell me about this lemon? Any body else run into this before? I'll appreciate any replies.Thanks in advance!
Thanks,
bulletproof
Supporter
Moderators
Dans Club
February 22, 2009
Offline
Without looking at it, it will be hard to say. Did you ever have the gun apart or was it taken apart and put together before it was put away long ago?
Your issue sounds rather simple (I hope):
Sounds like the crane lock has fallen out. It's sort of half-moon shaped. If that in fact is it; there's little or no tension on your bolt (the part that stops the cylinder from rotating). And viola- issue solved! Should be about a $20 part you can get from CZ, contact Genny at 607.336.1174.
You can replace it yourself, using this as a guide:
https://www.danwessonforum.com/?page_id=3/reloading/tuning-up-your-15-2-the-average-joe-method/
That should do it! Glad you're here- please stick around a while and you'll learn tons from the fellas. I'm just a 10 watt bulb compared to most around here...
Best Regards,
Ron
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
DWF Supporters
Dans Club
Moderators
November 17, 2008
Offline
I agree with Ron, he nailed it I imagine. But the question remains is how did the crane lock get out if the side plate has never been off? It should be an easy fix though. Good luck and let us know how you come out. And 
to the
.
LB
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
Supporter
Moderators
January 24, 2009
Offline
I'm going to go with the assumption that since the gun as not been fired (or possibly cleaned & lubed) in the past 34 years, that whatever grease/lube the gun was originally shipped with has long since hardened up into a stiff gob of muck.
That much would probably interfere with the normal smooth, sliding motion of the gun's internal action.
Take the side plate off & give the gun a good scrubbing, followed by light lube. If nothing has been damaged thus far, chances are the gun will forgive you & operate like it was meant to.
Oh, and aboard! Let us know how you make out.
September 15, 2010
Offline
Thanks for your replies!
After my misfires at the range, I did take it to a local smith that
someone suggested to me. I didn't know him before, but, had heard that
in the past he was good. Although he denied doing anything to cause
the unattached cylinder, caused by detaching the cylinder/crane assembly
as mentioned by Ron . He also scratched the barrel shroud on the
right side. He lied about all of this, and he is a retired preacher!
I told him it had to be him that caused part of the problem, because
nobody else had touched the gun. He just sat there, looking like the
cat that ate the canary. I had second thoughts about leaving it with
him, afterward, when I began considering his age of 84.
Unfortunately,I was right.
Thanks.
Thanks,
bulletproof
September 15, 2010
Offline
Thank all yawl so much for the great replies! You've helped a lot.
I'm pretty sure now that when the local minister/gunsmith(so called)
opened up the sideplate and the crane lock fell out, that he didn't have
a clue what it was, or where it went. Then when he realized he was
in over his head, he just decided to try to get it back together, for me
to pick up. Then his ego got in the way, and he just decided to lie
to me about it, instead of just man up and tell me the truth. That
still blows my mind, how he could lie about it!
I'm planning on trying to get it back to CZ/DW as soon as I can. Then
after I get it back, or get word from them about the cost, and what all
they did, I'll post here.
Once again thanks.
Thanks,
bulletproof
February 11, 2010
Offline
If all you really need is the crane lock you can purchase this from CZ-DW
for $15 and $9 shipping. CZ-DW will still charge you the $15 for the crane lock
if you send it into them + labor + return shipping. You would only be out $9
for trying to fix this your self. I would get that side plate off and compare it to
the post Ron gave above and see if anything else is missing. You may also have
a bolt plunger spring missing, broke or weak. Maybe even the plunger is missing
as well. Either way all these can be bought and installed easily.
If you can post a pic with side plate off most here could tell what is missing.
-Blacktop
Supporter
Moderators
Dans Club
February 22, 2009
Offline
I agree w/ Blacktop! Save the cash. Take the sideplate off and snap a photo- plenty of folks on this site can talk you through this fix. It may seem daunting, but once you do it yourself- you'll have new confidence to tackle other projects as well.
Take the plunge- "you can do it"…
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
Supporter
Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
Offline
Piece of cake... trust yourself and trust us to help out 
... pics help a lot. If you get in a real bind, shoot me a PM and we'll get on the phone.
SHOOT
September 15, 2010
Offline
Thanks for your offer of help.
I would be more likely to try it if it wasn't for the original problem of the misfires, not striking the primers in the center.
Also, I'm older now, with a hard to control case of diabetes, I'm on an Insulin pump, and all this is a 24/7 job just trying to keep it all under control. Hands with arthritis, and that makes this type project even more daunting and difficult, where one needs dexterity. So, this is just a partial list of my maladies. So, this gives you an idea of the stress I'm under. So, I may just opt send it back to Dan Wesson and be done with it. But, I really do appreciate your willingness to help me out, all of you! If I decide to give it a shot, though, I'll let you know.
Edit 11:12 PM CDT
I was just looking at my pistol and noticed the rear sight was just a wobbling, so I tightened it up some. How tight should the screws be?
Thanks,
bulletproof
Supporter
Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
Offline
There's no way to tighten up a DW rear sight. The screw on top is for adjusting your elevation up/down, and the right side screw is for windage adjustment.
SHOOT
September 15, 2010
Offline
Well, my rear sight ain't loose anymore. On my DW, I've got the top hex screw for elevation, as you mentioned, and a smaller hex screw on the right, which is what I tightened, and on the left, mine has a slotted screw for what I assume is the windage adjustment. And, no where in the exploded parts diagram, is windage adjustment mentioned. Wonder why?
I'm still considering the home repair, but, I'm still not sure. This DW has several issues that I'm not comfortable with, & I'll list here.
1) Firing pin strikes off center causing mis-fires. I don't know the cause.
2) Spitting lead. I'm pretty sure improper barrel/cylinder clearance is the culprit here.
3) Cylinder will spin with cylinder closed when you take your finger and spin it. So, cylinder stop is defective , and maybe crane lock could be a contributing factor, I think Ron mentioned.
4) Cylinder falls out. Missing crane lock.
5) Rear sight was loose. Maybe I got it fixed, maybe not.
Oh yeah. To remove the side plate, isn't removing the grips a must?
Yawl tell me where I'm wrong on the remedies, or fixes? OK, I think that's about it. With all these issues that need looking into by a smith, and me knot knowing what I am doing, and I'm not sure I can post pics, I might feel more comfortable returning it back to the factory. Although the thought of the $$$$ bucks I would save, and the self satisfaction of gitting er done here, is enticing!
Thanks,
bulletproof
DWF Supporters
Dans Club
Moderators
November 17, 2008
Offline
No sweat BP. The replacement of a crane lock will be super easy and I believe the crane lock is most of your problems. Allen screw in the butt of the grip removes the grip, allen screws in the side plate removes the plate. The replacement of the missing crane lock will Probably fix all what ails you other than the loose sight. It is of course your ultimate choice but there are a bunch of guys here who will work hard to help you out even though you probably won't need much help. One of the beauties of a model 15 is the ease of which it is to work on. Good luck however you decide to proceed.
LB
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
February 11, 2010
Offline
I will PM you my email, if you can get that side plate off and get a close clear picture
of the inards I will be glad to post it for you.
-Blacktop
September 15, 2010
Offline
Thanks fellers.
As far as crane lock fixing everything, remember now, numbers 1, 2, and 3, were already happening before so called gunsmith lost the crane lock. That's what I meant about all 5 of those things causing my problem now, that I was thinking that maybe it was more than I could handle.
I've got to change my Insulin Pump tonight, plus I'm tired already. I'll see if I can get the grip removed and also side plate tomorrow, and see what it looks like in there. If I can get a pic of inside side plate I'll try to post it. Or, Blacktop can maybe. I've got to open his PM yet.
Thanks,
bulletproof
September 15, 2010
Offline
Hey, yawl,
I'm still toying with the idea of trying to fix it myself, with all yawls help, of course.
There's still one thing bugging me though. I haven't seen anybody have a suggestion about what's the cause of the misfires, with the firing pin hitting all over the place?? That's playing a large part in my decision on what to do. And, be aware, that the firing pin, and spitting lead problem existed before the crank lock went mising. What do yawl think?
I'm definitely no expert, but, I'm thinking that the spitting lead is caused by the gap between the cylinder and the barrel. What do yawl think?
Thanks,
bulletproof
September 28, 2008
Offline
I think it's been posted at least once that the bolt probably isn't locking because the gun is probably gunked up inside, and that's the cause of all the primer and misfires, as the cylinder is moving around and only locking up occasionally. I think ALL the issues could be fixed by opening up the gun, cleaning the insides up, and maybe replacing the bolt spring and plunger, and the cylinder lock, of course. This is like a 5 minute fix after someone gets used familiar with DW innards, maybe a half hour for a newbie. The most difficult part of it is getting the sideplate off on some guns. My 715's took forever to get off the first time, but one of the other guns I've had it just fell off as soon as I took the screws out. A DW small frame revolver is super easy to work on, and I've never seen one that needed more than a spring to fix.
You really can't hurt anything much by trying it yourself.
DWF Supporters
Dans Club
Moderators
November 17, 2008
Offline
I'm no expert either but here are my thoughts. The spitting lead could be as simple as too wide of a cylinder gap, which is a simple adjustment.( you may have already checked this) The off center primer strikes as well as the spitting lead could be a result of hardened lube or grease causing the cylinder to not lock up correctly resulting in off timing and possibly a weak cylinder detent ball spring due to hardened grease also. All of these are just possible guesses on my part but the beauty of this is all that is required to fix it is a through cleaning. Once the crane lock is replaced and the gun is cleaned and lubed it will either be fixed or not. But the only loss to you is a little time. You may still end up sending it to DW but if not you save considerably. If you are not in a hurry there are plenty of guys here willing to help all we can.
LB
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
Offline
LB has it right. Many, many, many DW problems get fixed with a good internal cleanup. These guns are 30 years old, most with little or no care and lots of safe time.
You lose no $$$ by trying a good cleanup first.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
Supporter
Moderators
Dans Club
February 22, 2009
Offline
If you were in Louisiana, I'd say bring it over and I'll walk you through it.
There are several members who live in KY; maybe you're near to one of them. Unfortunately I moved from Owensboro some time ago. What town are you in?
Regards,
Ron
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
4 Guest(s)
