Quote:
Originally Posted by millerj7
Could you or someone enlighten me about the screw or pin underneath the cylinder latch? What it's purpose is/was and maybe what era it signifies?
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It is actually not a pin, but the end of the hammer pivot stud, and it forms the axis upon which the hammer pivots from the uncocked postion to cocked and back.
On the early guns shown here, the stud was threaded into the frame and the rounded end shows through in the small divot below the cylinder release.
In the postwar period (late 1940s) this was replaced with a stud that pressed into the frame, and from that time forward, it is polished flat to the frame on the gun's left side. Sometimes you can barely see the outline of it, but most often the blue or nickel finish hides it pretty well and it is virtually invisible.
The change was made first on the K frame guns, with the management order being issued on January 18, 1946. I've not been able to identify the date of the change order for the N frames, but well-informed sources here on the Forum assure me it was later.
I hope this helps.