The hammer blocks were/are removed by many who did action jobs. It is found that the action may function a little smoother without this piece. This is due to the person performing the work taking a shortcut or, most likely, not knowing how else to proceed.

These parts are stamped in a punch press operation. As such, they have the broken, rough edges common to all parts made this way. The flag at the top is then twisted 90 degrees to the bottom part. Let's start by making sure the shaft part between the 2 ends is straight. Sometimes they are slightly bent.

Then we need to address the rough edges caused by the blanking process. It is obvious to look at the outside and see the results. What many don't think about is the triangular hole at the bottom. That hole rides on the pin on the side of the rebound slide and is the main cause of roughness in the cycling of the action. It only takes a few strokes of the file to smooth out the sides of the triangle, making for a smooth travel across the r/s pin.

The top of the flag can catch on the hammer on one side and the frame on the other side as it returns up when the r/s goes forward. A bit of a chamfer on each side here eliminates any chance of hanging up.

All of my guns with very light actions still have the hammer block in them. There is no good reason to leave this out.