So, what's wrong with this picture?

[Japle]

I don't read the blogs, so I wouldn't have seen it.  Did this get picked up by some blogs?

[Matthew Carberry]

Tam's blog

http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2011/12/meatless-wednesday.html

It got reposted on a few others

Your thread

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=632524

[Japle]

Thanks for the heads-up.

[Japle]

Update – 20 January:

Well, as of today, S&W has had my gun for two weeks.  Considering the fact that it’s the subject of distinctly unflattering threads on 15 different firearms forums and S&W’s Facebook page, I thought I might get a little quicker action. 

Guess not.  I haven’t heard a word. 

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Update – 20 January:

Well, as of today, S&W has had my gun for two weeks.  Considering the fact that it’s the subject of distinctly unflattering threads on 15 different firearms forums and S&W’s Facebook page, I thought I might get a little quicker action. 

Guess not.  I haven’t heard a word. 

They've probably been distracted by preparations for the Shot Show.

[Japle]

UPDATE:  1/25/12

I got a call from Jon Young at S&W Customer Service.  He says getting an unfluted cylinder installed won’t be a problem, BUT:

1.  When he told me on 1/3 that I could keep the screwed-up cylinder, that wasn’t true.  They want it back.  He’s sending me a return shipping label.

2.  When he told me on 1/3 that nobody would change anything inside the gun, that all I had to do was specify in my letter that I wanted the action job left alone, that this was routine and wouldn’t be any problem, that wasn’t true.  They’re going to replace the Bang, Inc springs and the C&S extended firing pin.  The parts will be returned to me and I’ll have to install them again. 

Jon claimed he thought what he told me was true, but when I questioned him, it turns out he claimed he didn’t know and was just guessing.  He actually had no damn idea if what he was telling me was the truth.  I strongly suspect he was just making it all up as he went along, telling me what he thought I wanted to hear.  To say I’m displease at having smoke blown up my rear end on two separate issues by a guy who’s representing S&W is a titanic understatement. 

He’s walking the gun back to the repair section.  He says they expect to ship my gun tomorrow.

Right now I’m seriously POed.  Up until now, this was a case of carelessness and failure of Quality Control in the manufacturing process.  Now I’ve been lied to.  Flat-out lied to. 

I am not happy.

[vaskidmark]

You have not yet sent the misfluted cylinder back, have you?

Are you willing to pay, less the cost of having your parts reinstalled, the price of a new cylinder?

And I think S&W is going to take a large bite out of a PR crap sammich on this one.  A few fora may just be getting the word from some PO'd little bluebird.

stay safe.

[lupinus]

UPDATE:  1/25/12

I got a call from Jon Young at S&W Customer Service.  He says getting an unfluted cylinder installed won’t be a problem, BUT:

1.  When he told me on 1/3 that I could keep the screwed-up cylinder, that wasn’t true.  They want it back.  He’s sending me a return shipping label.

2.  When he told me on 1/3 that nobody would change anything inside the gun, that all I had to do was specify in my letter that I wanted the action job left alone, that this was routine and wouldn’t be any problem, that wasn’t true.  They’re going to replace the Bang, Inc springs and the C&S extended firing pin.  The parts will be returned to me and I’ll have to install them again. 

Jon claimed he thought what he told me was true, but when I questioned him, it turns out he claimed he didn’t know and was just guessing.  He actually had no damn idea if what he was telling me was the truth.  I strongly suspect he was just making it all up as he went along, telling me what he thought I wanted to hear.  To say I’m displease at having smoke blown up my rear end on two separate issues by a guy who’s representing S&W is a titanic understatement. 

He’s walking the gun back to the repair section.  He says they expect to ship my gun tomorrow.

Right now I’m seriously POed.  Up until now, this was a case of carelessness and failure of Quality Control in the manufacturing process.  Now I’ve been lied to.  Flat-out lied to. 

I am not happy.

this is when I generally enter "put your supervisor on the phone" time.

[Japle]

UPDATE: 1/26 @ 10:07AM:

Jon just called from S&W CS. They’ll install the unfluted cylinder (he said they have it ready to install right now) and they’ll leave my action job alone.  He said they’d tested the action and it was safe, so they could ship it.

So we have some progress.

[CNYCacher]

UPDATE: 1/26 @ 10:07AM:

Jon just called from S&W CS. They’ll install the unfluted cylinder (he said they have it ready to install right now) and they’ll leave my action job alone.  He said they’d tested the action and it was safe, so they could ship it.

So we have some progress.

Are you keeping the screwed-up cylinder?

[Japle]

UPDATE - 1/30/12:

Got a call today from Paul Pluff, Director of Marketing Services at S&W.  We had a long conversation about S&W’s inspection, QC and testing.  According to him, they fire 40,000 psi proof loads through their .357 Magnum revolvers.  The fact that this cylinder, even with 40% of its wall thickness missing on one chamber, passed the proof test is pretty damned impressive. 

We discussed the liability problems S&W faces if this cylinder is left in the hands of someone they can’t control.  I told him I completely understand their position.  I have the FedEx shipping label they emailed to me and I’ll ship the cylinder back tomorrow.  I hate to part with it, but I have to respect S&W’s position. 

Darn!!

We discussed several other issues which I don’t need to go into.  The bottom line is, S&W is aware of the severity of their mistake.  They intend to make it right, and then some.

[geronimotwo]

i would be disappointed to have to send back the cylinder but, if you are satisfied with the outcome, i guess i can live with it.  i hope you enjoy your new smith (again).

[Fly320s]

Bummer about sending back the cylinder.  I wonder if they would be happy if you milled off the "gear" on the rear face to make the cylinder unuseable.

[Pharmacology]

Bummer about sending back the cylinder.  I wonder if they would be happy if you milled off the "gear" on the rear face to make the cylinder unuseable.

I had a similar line of thought.  Perhaps S&W would be satiated if you could prove to them that the cylinder was rendered inoperable.

[Japle]

Too late.  I dropped it in the FedEx box this morning. 

[Harold Tuttle]

i hope they mount the cylinder on a trophy stand and attach a small plaque engraved with "DeRP!"

[Japle]

I was planning on chucking the thing in my lathe, drilling out the center so it could never be used again, mounting it in a shadow box and hanging it in my den. 

[MrsSmith]

I was planning on chucking the thing in my lathe, drilling out the center so it could never be used again, mounting it in a shadow box and hanging it in my den. 

A shadow box? That's a bit girly, don'tcha think?

[Perd Hapley]

i hope they mount the cylinder on a trophy stand and attach a small plaque engraved with "DeRP!"

I heard it will be the prototype for their new model - the Friday Afternoon Special.

[Japle]

UPDATE 2/3/2012:

The FedEx guy showed up today with my 686.  As they promised they would, S&W installed an unfluted cylinder and didn’t mess with my action work.  

It looks pretty good, don’t you think?

[AmbulanceDriver]

Have to admit, the first thing I did was count holes....  :D

[Viking]

Looks really nice!

[Fly320s]

Have to admit, the first thing I did was count holes....  :D

Me too!