Daddydet;
I don't know how i blew up my IM replay. This is the rest of it and I hope you find it.
Here is what to look for, after making sure the revolver is unloaded. (1) excessive cylynder gap. a bussiness card can be sliped between the barrel and cylinder of a normal pistol. If two fit is is marginal, if three fit it is excessive. (Side note: in extreemly worn revolvers there will be flame cutting in the top strap (underside of the top of the frame) above the barrel/cylinder strap. Etching is OK but a deep cut is cause to pass on buying) (2) Pitted firing pin. Inspect the face of the firing pin for damage or pitting. Look between the rear of the cylinder and the frame with the trigger pulled all the way to the rear. There should be no day light between the tip of the firing pin and the cylinder. That is to say the firing pin is actually in the chamber a bit. There is a bit of differance as to how deep it should go. On older guns the cylinders were counter sunk for the case rim on new ones there is no counter sunk surface. What you are looking for is the ability of the rounded face of the firing pin to reach the primer. If you can simply test fire the gun. Pitted firing pins are cheep and replaceable but a bad one is a reason to lower the price by $30.00 or so. With the cylinder open inspect the firing pin bushing. This is the inset round device were the firing pin comes throgh the frame. It should be flush with the face of the recoil shield, (part of the frame facing the rear of the cylinder) and the firing pin hole should not be struck but the firing pin. Look for burrs. Open the cylinder and push the cylinder release latch to the rear, (it is spring loaded and pushing it back puts it in the normal position when the cylinder is closed) this will allow you to dry fire the revolver with the cylinder open. You can watch the firing pin come through the bushing. (3) Worn out hand, While watching the firing pin come through the bushing you can also watch the hand rise and fall. The hand is the small device that pushes up on the star and rotates the cylinder. The contact surfaces of the star and hand should be crisp and sharp. They are not allways square but they should match and not be too rounded. This area does not often show excessive wear but I have seen some that were dry fired many thousands of times to the point that they were not reliable revolvers. (4) Sprung crane. The crane is the part that appears to be part of the frame when the cylinder is closed but swings out. The ejector rod runs through it to support the cylinder. Some shooter snap their wrist to close the cylinder. You may have seen this in the movies. This will spring the crane. To check for a sprung crane simply close the cylinder and (we are still unloaded....right) point the gun at your face and inspect the line where the crane meets the frame. You should see a fine, well fitted seam where the pieces meet. With a sprung crane there will be a noticable gap that widens the closer it gets to the top. A piece of thin paper should not fit in the crack. The tighter the better. Fixing a sprung crane is a deal killer for me. Accuracy is affected and really good repair jobs may be expensive. (5) Bad timing really requires gauges to test. Bad timing is when the cylinders do not line up with the bore. In mild cases there will be "spitting" which is small shavings of the bullet coming out the cylinder/ barrel gap, (another good reason for shooting glasses). Often these are irritating but, suprisingly, have little effect on accuracy, (my mod 29 44 mag does this with lead bullets). Actually test firing the gun is the best way to check for bad timing. No revolver is perfectly alligned with the barrel on every chamber. In fact some of the old target shooters would shoot groups using the same chamber for the whole group. They would then mark their most accurate chamber. Bad timing can be caused by a whorn hand, whorn pawl, sprung crane or a combination or all three, Shoot the revolver if you can. If you can not shoot it then check the cylinder for looseness. There should be very little fore and aft play in the cylinder, You should be feel a little by holding the grip and, using your thumb and fore finger to grip the cylinder try to move it back and forth along the axis of the chambers. There should also be a little play in the rotation of the cylinder with the gun in the normal condition of hammer down and cylinder closed. There should be a little less play when the hammer is cocked.
Also check the functioning of the trigger return spring. The trigger should return rapidly keeping pressure on your finger as you release it after firing. Look under the extractor star. Push the extractor rod in as if ejecting the shell and look between the star and the rear of the cylinder. This area is often neglected in cleaning and rust may be found there. The only revolver "jams" I have seen is when powder residue built up under the extractor star to the point that it caused the bottem of the ammo cases to be rubed aginst the recoil shield.
The 19 is an excellent choice for a novice shooter. No safeties to forget. Ammo from mild 38 spl wadcutters to hotdamn 357 loads mean you can find any shooters comfort level and accuracy. Over the years I have given away three 19s, one to a nephew, one to a friend and one to my antigun father in law who got real interested after one of his friends was killed by a man who carjacked his motor home. I had my father in law hitting paper plates at 40 feet in one box of ammo. He actually enjoyed himself and got another anti gun buddy to go shooting with him. His buddy then bought a Mod 66 S&W. I hope this helps and you that you can wade through my spelling and typos. I got to run and don't have time to proof read. Good luck with the 19 I hope the lady likes it.