[Beachcomber86]

New member and just joined the wheelgun club. I picked up a Security Six stainless steel a few weeks ago and it's awesome. Totally different vibe than a semi!

I've seen several cylinder/crane assemblies for sale at reasonable prices. How hard is it too fit a new assembly to another gun? Also, how would one go about converting this cylinder to 9mm? I'm interested primarily for flexibility and cause it seems neat.

Thanks.

 

[RevolverGuy]

The only convertible assembly I'm aware of is for the single action 357mag/9mm Ruger Blackhawk. Are you saying you found a Security Six 9mm cylinder? I think it was the Speed Six model that had them but they're pretty rare these days. If you did find one it would still need to be properly timed.

The easiest way to convert your revolver would be to have a gunsmith machine the cylinder to take moonclips. Since the 357 is slightly larger in diameter, moonclips will allow for a rimless cartridge to be seated. Now the cost for this can be anywhere around $250-350. There are some reputable gunsmiths online that will do it. Just know that once the conversion is done you won't be able to fire 357/38 rounds as the cases will swell near the rim and sometimes cause them to stick.

 

[tarza]

bullet dia. is 356 on a 9mm and 358 dia. on a 357 chances are the 9mm won't be accurate. You don't want the bullet beating down the sides of the barrel. A 357 has much more power-Is a good weapon- can be used for hunting deer. I wouldn't want to take a chance and maybe ruin a well made handgun. If you want a 9mm just buy a 9mm.That way you can sell it

 

[Beachcomber86]

RevolverGuy,
The first question is would a purchased cylinder and crane assembly drop in easily with a different gun? Or would there be fitting involved? If this is an easy swap, then great cause Security Six 357 cylinders with cranes are fairly easy to find and not too expensive.

The question then is how to modify the cylinder to accept 9mm with moon clips?

 

[Rover]

The cylinder/crane assy may or may not fit without problems. One has to be concerned with b/c gap, endshake and headspace. The latter two are not a major problem but the former could be too wide and then the barrel would need to be set back and the .357 cylinder assy adjusted for this. The other aspect is cylinder timing. Finding a 9mm assy would be ideal but unlikely and pricey but one would save the $250 or so for conversion of the cylinder (.357). A couple of places that do the conversion of the cylinder are:

Pinnacle http://pinnaclehighperformance.com/cylinder-work/
Tk Welcome to TK Custom.com & Moonclips.com

From previous postings I gather the cylinder conversion is actually to a 9 x 23 mm which is more powerful but the cylinder can
also fire 9mm or 9 x 19 mm.

 

[ExArmy11b]

TK Customs and Pinnacle are considered some of the best places to have it done, you just send them your cylinder assembly. They cut the chambers to 9x23, so you will be able to fire 9mm Para, .38 Super, and 9x23, and also the "oddball" 9's like 9mm Largo, 9mm Steyr and a couple others.

A Security Six is a good choice, the problem I ran into, was I had intended to send a GP100 cylinder in to get converted but no one seems to make a GP100 moon clip that will fit 100%. TK Customs sells Security Six 9mm moonclips.

I'm having an SP101 converted soon,mainly to use the .38 Super option for carry.

9mm bullets through a .357 bore may or may not be "tack driving accurate" but the bullets won't be bouncing inside the bore See below pic for how my Blackhawk shoots with the 9mm cylinder, through a .357 bore, it seems OK to me.

 

[guncheese]

9mm bullets through a .357 bore may or may not be "tack driving accurate" but the bullets won't be bouncing inside the bore

there is no reason one cant load .358" bullets in these
i run .358" in all my 9mm
and i often use those same bullets in .38/.357 loads

heck if the cylinder throats are cut big enough you could play all kinds of games
with wadcutters and such
sounds like a fun time to me!!

 

[Beachcomber86]

The cylinder/crane assy may or may not fit without problems. One has to be concerned with b/c gap, endshake and headspace. The latter two are not a major problem but the former could be too wide and then the barrel would need to be set back and the .357 cylinder assy adjusted for this. The other aspect is cylinder timing.

What I'm envisioning is a true spare cylinder, kinda like the barrel swap in the P89 between 9mm and 30 luger. I don't want to change the base gun because I do intend to use it for 357. I have access to a gunsmithing program and equipment, so I want to do it myself using the instructor as a reference. The issue is I can't find information on the particulars.

 

[ironhat]

[snip] The issue is I can't find information on the particulars.

And thatis a huge issue!! You would be asking a great deal of someone to even shadow them through a similar process and then, take that away from the 'smith (think: bread from his table). The likelihood of a smith doing the same job for someone else is slim to none. Try to imagine someone shadowing you for a couple of days and the constant questions regarding setup, how to run the job let alone thinking of every little contingency which might / will arise in the job - some, with the potential to ruin the cylinder. If I'm telling you something that you have already worked through and you have a friend who knows up-front what he's getting into and is OK with it, I'll just shut up and quietly get out of the way wishing you all the success in the world! Best of luck and I look forward to seeing the work progress pics.
Later,
Chiz

 

[ExArmy11b]

I laid down, took a nap, and decided to just get a 5" Charter Arms 9mm revolver, while I wait for the 9mm SP101 to come out.........in the meantime I'm paying off my .40 Charter Arms 5" wheelgun.......

For less then the price of two conversions of two GP's, I at least have a couple wheelguns, in 9mm and .40 on the way, with usable barrels lengths and target sights.........I can play with these while I plan my next move

 

[Beachcomber86]

And thatis a huge issue!! You would be asking a great deal of someone to even shadow them through a similar process and then, take that away from the 'smith (think: bread from his table). The likelihood of a smith doing the same job for someone else is slim to none. Try to imagine someone shadowing you for a couple of days and the constant questions regarding setup, how to run the job let alone thinking of every little contingency which might / will arise in the job - some, with the potential to ruin the cylinder. If I'm telling you something that you have already worked through and you have a friend who knows up-front what he's getting into and is OK with it, I'll just shut up and quietly get out of the way wishing you all the success in the world! Best of luck and I look forward to seeing the work progress pics.
Later,
Chiz

Yes and no. I really have one basic question that hasn't been answered, "can I buy a 357 cylinder and crane complete assembly and install it with minimal to no fitting on my security six?"

 

[terry_p]

Yes and no. I really have one basic question that hasn't been answered, "can I buy a 357 cylinder and crane complete assembly and install it with minimal to no fitting on my security six?"

Actually it has been answered by Rover. There is no definite answer as it could fit or it could be a problem requiring work to make it fit. If you have to do that then the original cylinder crane assembly will not fit back it or could be too loose for a proper fit. You pay your money and take your chances. Personally I would not spend the money as my guess is it would require modifications.

 

[Varminterror]

Building a "convertible double action Ruger" really isn't as hard as most people think. Sure, there are a lot of moving parts that need to fall in line (well, not really a lot), but the likelihood that they do is high, and the consequence if they don't is low.

I've done it successfully 3 times to make 45colt dedicated and 454Casull dedicated convertible Redhawks or convert a 45colt to 454C (and 454c to 45colt, which I resold at huge markdown), as well as a recent one where I made a convertible 357mag & 357/44 Mag Redhawk.

[C]an I buy a 357 cylinder and crane complete assembly and install it with minimal to no fitting on my security six?

Yes, you can, but you MIGHT have to try a couple of times to find a proper cylinder that fits (might - don't count on it).

The guys here are right - they have to line up for lock up, headspace, and b/c gap. That sounds like a lot that has to line up, but it pretty commonly does.

The good news is that you'll only be out about $10 for shipping if it doesn't fit. Most Ruger parts DO fit interchangeably, with the lowest risk coming from specimen from the same production era. If you buy a new cylinder and it doesn't fit, then you can easily resell it for what you paid for it, so you're just out the shipping. Minimum risk.

You will need to get a range rod to be able ensure alignment, and of course, feeler gauges to check out headspace and B/C gap.

You can save yourself some time/trouble if you measure out your current revolver to determine your "ideal" specs and your tolerable range of specs, then compare that to the take-off cylinder. But not everybody will do that - if you want it, buy it, if not, I'll sell it to someone else.

So yes - go buy a cylinder & crane assy, try it out. If it fits for all critical dimensions, send it out and get it reamed. If not, sell it and try again.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

bullet dia. is 356 on a 9mm and 358 dia. on a 357 chances are the 9mm won't be accurate. You don't want the bullet beating down the sides of the barrel. A 357 has much more power-Is a good weapon- can be used for hunting deer. I wouldn't want to take a chance and maybe ruin a well made handgun. If you want a 9mm just buy a 9mm.That way you can sell it

Ruger's .357/9mm convertible single-action revolvers have proven this to be a non-issue for many, many years.

As usual, accuracy differs somewhat from gun to gun, but the 9s seem to work pretty well at realistic distances, and the guns suffer no damage.

It's a little more complicated in a double-action, of course, but the concept is valid.

 

[Huckleberry]

Find an SP101 in 9 and keep the SS stock.

 

[Beachcomber86]

Find an SP101 in 9 and keep the SS stock.

Don't worry, the SS will stay stock. I want a change part for range time and SHTF.

 

[Beachcomber86]

Building a "convertible double action Ruger" [snip]

The guys here are right - they have to line up for lock up, headspace, and b/c gap. That sounds like a lot that has to line up, but it pretty commonly does.

[Snip]

You will need to get a range rod to be able ensure alignment, and of course, feeler gauges to check out headspace and B/C gap.

[Snip].

So, if I get an assembly and it fits and times properly, but the headspace and or B/C is off. Is it safe to machine the cylinder ends on order to trim it to size?

 

[Varminterror]

Safe? Sure. Cheap? Not so much.

But yeah - if you have the capability or pocketbook to turn back the face at one end or the other of a cylinder (or both) that's a bit longer than your original cylinder, you could make it match up.

Of course, if it's blued, that'll mean rebluing as well.

If it's too small, then you're SOL.

I've never done this swap with a Security Six, but in the SP101's, Redhawks, Super Redhawks, Vaqueros, Single Sixes, and Super Blackhawks, I've rarely found that parts weren't compatible. Worst case, you buy and resell a poor fitting part, then buy another one.

 

[Knucklehead46]

I found a mint stainless 2 3/4" Speed Six on GB last year.... $600 bucks.

 

[Varminterror]

I found a mint stainless 2 3/4" Speed Six on GB last year.... $600 bucks.

That's a pretty reasonable option. If you want a convertible, and DON'T want two guns, you can buy two, rob the parts you want, then sell the other parts to recoup some of the purchase price. I've done that in the past, and didn't come out too far off of what I'd have paid for the harder to find take off parts.