Smith & Wesson Forum

Go Back   Smith & Wesson Forum > Smith & Wesson Revolvers > S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980
o

Notices

S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 3-Screw PINNED Barrel SWING-OUT Cylinder Hand Ejectors WITH Model Numbers


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 06-21-2018, 12:07 AM
jschenck's Avatar
jschenck jschenck is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: La Vista, NE
Posts: 10
Likes: 4
Liked 27 Times in 7 Posts
Question Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3

I have no experience with these classics. This is the first one I've handled and I bought it!

Is this amount of movement typical/normal?


Last edited by jschenck; 06-21-2018 at 09:17 AM.
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Like Post:
  #2  
Old 06-21-2018, 12:18 AM
Texas Star Texas Star is offline
US Veteran
Absent Comrade
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 20,362
Likes: 24,260
Liked 16,154 Times in 7,408 Posts
Default

I think you mean the firing pin, not the hammer spur.

Yes, most wiggle some. But I've had others that were more solid, I guess via a heavy pressure firing pin bushing and spring. Those feel more spring loaded and you have to wiggle them more to see movement. I think it depends on how the factory was making them at the time.

The one in the video is pretty typical.

Last edited by Texas Star; 06-21-2018 at 12:20 AM.
Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Like Post:
  #3  
Old 06-21-2018, 12:44 AM
Mike, SC Hunter Mike, SC Hunter is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: In The Woods Of S.C.
Posts: 8,833
Likes: 13,927
Liked 13,636 Times in 4,936 Posts
Default

I believe the N-frames had springs behind the floating firing pins and the K's did not. Wiggle doesn't hurt a thing.
__________________
S&W Accumulator
Reply With Quote
The Following User Likes This Post:
  #4  
Old 06-21-2018, 12:48 AM
yfdcap's Avatar
yfdcap yfdcap is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: AZ
Posts: 448
Likes: 379
Liked 396 Times in 164 Posts
Default

Springs being there is very hit and miss. Even in the same model. I would not give it another thought. Shoot and enjoy.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 06-21-2018, 01:06 AM
Birdgun Birdgun is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Marana, AZ
Posts: 628
Likes: 2,108
Liked 3,098 Times in 500 Posts
Default

All of my S&W revolvers with the firing pin on the hammer wiggle like in the OP's video except for my 188? vintage 4th Model in 32 S&W which is fixed.

Good job on the video!

God bless,
Birdgun
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 06-21-2018, 07:52 AM
Art Doc's Avatar
Art Doc Art Doc is offline
SWCA Member
Absent Comrade
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: The kidney of Dixie.
Posts: 10,509
Likes: 49
Liked 13,409 Times in 3,290 Posts
Default

Darn...I wanted to see a loose and floating hammer spur.
__________________
No life story has happy end.
Reply With Quote
The Following 4 Users Like Post:
  #7  
Old 06-21-2018, 07:59 AM
brucev brucev is online now
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: The Peach State! GA!!!
Posts: 5,913
Likes: 14,218
Liked 6,250 Times in 2,325 Posts
Default

Normal for the hammer nose of a K frame. Sincerely. bruce.
__________________
<><
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 06-21-2018, 08:02 AM
UncleEd UncleEd is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: May 2012
Location: North Georgia
Posts: 4,496
Likes: 2,830
Liked 9,062 Times in 3,180 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike, SC Hunter View Post
Wiggle doesn't hurt a thing.
You got that right!
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 06-21-2018, 09:52 AM
jschenck's Avatar
jschenck jschenck is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: La Vista, NE
Posts: 10
Likes: 4
Liked 27 Times in 7 Posts
Default

thanks for the info guys - I fixed the title of this thread. Late night posting = bad wording !
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 06-21-2018, 10:03 AM
Laketime's Avatar
Laketime Laketime is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Virginia
Posts: 3,147
Likes: 2,420
Liked 3,586 Times in 1,597 Posts
Default

My 15-2 has the same amount of play.No problem.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 06-21-2018, 11:04 AM
Triggerman66 Triggerman66 is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Florida
Posts: 99
Likes: 131
Liked 53 Times in 29 Posts
Default

All of my carbon steel K frame guns are like yours, but the same style stainless model 66 has a hammer nose that has a small spring behind it. This keeps forward pressure on the hammer nose. For some reason the factory seems to have added this to their stainless revolvers.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 06-21-2018, 12:55 PM
daddio202's Avatar
daddio202 daddio202 is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Bradenton, florida
Posts: 1,655
Likes: 5,318
Liked 3,465 Times in 917 Posts
Default

Some have springs and some do not! The function is not affected in the least and some of mine wiggle even more than the op's does but all go Bang every single time! As many have already said go shoot it and no bother to worry about it at all.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 06-21-2018, 03:24 PM
JP@AK's Avatar
JP@AK JP@AK is offline
US Veteran
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Palmer, Alaska
Posts: 14,478
Likes: 5,112
Liked 18,983 Times in 6,863 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jschenck View Post
thanks for the info guys - I fixed the title of this thread.
Since you are new to S&W revolvers - at least to older examples - allow me to clarify something for you.

Your Combat Magnum does not have a "floating . . . firing pin." That term belongs to rimfire and much later centerfire revolvers. It describes a firing pin mounted in the frame, as opposed to one mounted on the hammer.

The firing pin mechanism on your revolver is referred to as the "hammer nose" and it pivots on a hollow rivet. The reason for the pivot is so the firing pin can follow the channel through the recoil shield to the cartridge primer when the hammer falls. Visualize the trajectory of the hammer falling and notice that as the hammer falls, it is not moving in the direction the firing pin must follow as it travels through the bushing on the recoil shield. It has to change direction slightly, so it must pivot on the hammer body. Until the mid-1990s, all S&W centerfire hand ejector revolvers used this system. After that, they migrated to floating firing pins.
__________________
Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Last edited by JP@AK; 06-21-2018 at 03:27 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 06-21-2018, 10:33 PM
350mag 350mag is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 184
Likes: 17
Liked 135 Times in 63 Posts
Default

Great analysis. The hammer fall is a radial action and the firing pin has to transfer to linear at the recoil plate.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply With Quote
The Following User Likes This Post:
  #15  
Old 06-21-2018, 10:54 PM
jschenck's Avatar
jschenck jschenck is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: La Vista, NE
Posts: 10
Likes: 4
Liked 27 Times in 7 Posts
Default

Makes perfect sense - radial vs. linear movement. So, terminology is what I clearly am struggling with a bit here and I sure do appreciate the lesson on what the proper name for these components is. So, to be clear - my 686 has a firing pin which gets it's energy from the falling flat faced hammer. My 19 has a floating attached hammer nose relative to the hammer body to allow for the slight deviation of movement as the hammer finishes its travel in the recoil shield.

What I find interesting is to the casual observer my two 4" mid-frame S&W 357's are nearly identical!

I am enjoying learning the difference - The recessed cylinder is part of what make the 19 really enjoyable!



Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3-img_0108-jpg

Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3-img_0107-jpg
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_0107.JPG (75.9 KB, 1415 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0108.JPG (97.2 KB, 1425 views)

Last edited by jschenck; 06-21-2018 at 11:02 PM.
Reply With Quote
The Following User Likes This Post:
  #16  
Old 06-25-2018, 11:28 AM
CAJUNLAWYER's Avatar
CAJUNLAWYER CAJUNLAWYER is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: On da Bayou Teche
Posts: 18,407
Likes: 18,440
Liked 58,599 Times in 9,622 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike, SC Hunter View Post
I believe the N-frames had springs behind the floating firing pins and the K's did not. Wiggle doesn't hurt a thing.
I always liked a little wiggle in my wimmen and my Smith hammer mounted firing pins! FUnny story I'll tell on myself. When I got my very first revolver (a 67) I noticed the wiggle and immediately ran off to a friend's father's house in a panic as I thought I had done something to break it (was too afraid to tell dad). To his credit-he never laughed, nor did he tell my dad!!
__________________
Forum consigliere
Reply With Quote
The Following User Likes This Post:
  #17  
Old 06-25-2018, 02:29 PM
McShooty McShooty is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Missouri
Posts: 348
Likes: 71
Liked 405 Times in 94 Posts
Default

No, the wiggle does not hurt a thing. As others said, you should have some wiggle. In my experience also, N-frame hammer noses are spring loaded but K frames are not. To wit, my 27-2 is sprung but my 19-4 is not. I would like someone to explain why.

Having said that, if your hammer nose has too much wiggle due to wear or some other condition, the nose may arc too high and hang up on the frame upon attempting to fire. This results in a light primer strike or possibly no primer strike, either way, failure to fire. Think this is rare - I saw it once.
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 06-25-2018, 11:40 PM
tenmikemike's Avatar
tenmikemike tenmikemike is offline
Member
Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3 Loose Floating hammer firing pin on my 19-3  
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Phoenix
Posts: 55
Likes: 281
Liked 29 Times in 16 Posts
Default

The up-n-down looks normal but that side-to-side would worry me quite a bit!
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Hammer Spur On A 64-5 DAO KidVermin S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present 4 05-16-2017 11:43 AM
Who's got a Spur to Spare? (MIM Spur Hammer) JohnHL Smith & Wesson Semi-Auto Pistols 0 06-10-2016 11:46 PM
WTB - 457 Hammer with a spur jimmyj WANTED to Buy 0 07-18-2015 10:31 PM
Spur Hammer Spad Smith & Wesson Semi-Auto Pistols 4 03-01-2010 08:45 PM

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
smith-wessonforum.com tested by Norton Internet Security smith-wessonforum.com tested by McAfee Internet Security

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:18 PM.


Smith-WessonForum.com is not affiliated with Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: SWHC)