S&W K/L Hammer not cocking right
Ok, I’ve got a pair of stainless Smiths that both have this issue. A Model 66 that is my Dad’s and a 686-6 that was an LE Trade-in. The 686 worked perfectly before I swapped in reduced power Wolff main & rebound springs.
The issue is when cocking the hammer back it takes a little bit more effort at the very end to get the hammer to catch. I’m fairly new to working on revolvers. What can I do to make these work as they were supposed to?
This is hard to diagnose over the internet as it is a funky problem. Does the problem exist with the grip panels removed?
Scott
Only Hits Count - The Faster the Hit the more it Counts!!!!!!; DELIVER THE SHOT!
Stephen Hillier - "An amateur practices until he can do it right, a professional practices until he can't do it wrong."
Which rebound spring did you use? It may be too light.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
Looking at the 686 first.Originally Posted by rsa-otc
Yes, it is the same without the grips on. I took them off & the sideplate off, then put the original hammer spring in. The problem went away. So I compared the stirrup end of the 2 springs. There was a bit of roughness in how the new spring fit on the stirrup. I filed the edges down to smooth things out. That helped the spring to stirrup smoothness. So put it back together & tested. Same issue. I took just the plate off and watched how things were interacting with each other. The stirrup end of the spring is not bent as tightly as the factory spring and the ends of the stirrup hooks on the spring appear to be rubbing on the hammer itself just as it is about to fully cock.
The springs in S&Ws are balanced to make the action function correctly. Try cocking the hammer with the original hammer spring but with the strain screw not all the way in, it will likely act the same as the reduced springs.
Simple answer, use factory springs. If one wants a slicker action, careful polishing of parts usually improves things. Some of the slickest S&Ws Ive had had factory springs in them.
Here you can see where the spring is rubbing on the hammer itself.
And I just learned that it’s a good idea to slowly lower the hammer instead of pulling the trigger whenever you have the sideplate off...
You're going to break your hammer pin stud if you run the action with the sideplate off. It needs to be supported on both sides.
The hammer spring might be knuckling at full cock. All the springs need to be balanced. Play around with spring tension with the strain screw. A lot of S&W revolver smiths just bend the factory spring.
Last edited by BN; 09-14-2018 at 12:26 PM.
I am assuming that you are using "Wolf" Springs. It is hard to see in the picture. If you are, one of the frustrating things about the Wolf Main spring and their "Power Rib" is that the rib extends so far down to the base of the spring that the strain screw in many cases enters the rib and doesn't put enough tension on the main spring. There are three ways to rectify this issue,
1. Put the factory spring back in the gun
Barring that
2. See if you can source a longer strain screw from either Brownells or some other parts house.
3. Use the old timers trick of placing an expended primer over the end of the screw taking up some of the slack.
Some times on older guns you will find that the end of the strain screw was filed into a point, rounded or just shortened to what ever the gunsmith preferred for their action job.
I use Wolf springs exclusively when replacing the main spring is indicated and find this issue extremely infuriating. I wish Wolf would just send a new longer strain screw with their Main springs or shorten up the power rib so this isn't an issue.
In all reality when doing a trigger job I stick with the factory main spring and just play with the rebound/return spring till I get the feel I want. This way there is no question of reliability setting off hard primers.
Hope this helps.
Last edited by rsa-otc; 09-14-2018 at 01:17 PM.
Scott
Only Hits Count - The Faster the Hit the more it Counts!!!!!!; DELIVER THE SHOT!
Stephen Hillier - "An amateur practices until he can do it right, a professional practices until he can't do it wrong."
I dont know of any instances of this from that reason, but it always concerned me because of hearing of a couple instances of the studs breaking in use. I run the screw in far enough to keep the spring from falling out while putting them together but dont torque it until the sideplate is on. Easier than fishing around getting the stirrup unto the spring with the plate on.
You can watch the action function by pushing the hammer forward manually, the rebound slide will take care of the trigger. If the cylinder is out you need to hold the cylinder release back for the hammer to move. I still wouldnt cycle the trigger a lot without the plate on, i do it to check that everything is in its place and moving freely, like when fitting a new hand.
I bought a Smith with a Wolff mainspring it it. I put a factory in it and divested myself of the Wolff spring somehow.
Last edited by Malamute; 09-14-2018 at 01:30 PM.
I filed down the stirrup end of the Wolff spring and now it works like it is supposed to.
So, I moved to the Model 66. That was a super easy fix. The strain screw had been backed out quite a bit. Screwing it back in fixed the hitch I was feeling. Naturally the trigger pull is heavier.
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