Hi there!

As I explained in my introduction thread, the primary reason why I registered here is that I'm experiencing an (to me) unusual issue with my S&W 36.

It is an older gun, my gunsmith says it has been made before 1980 and because of that I can't find - at least not here in Germany - some of the replacement parts I needed.

I could adapt some of the bits, but the gun seems to be more reliable in DA than in SA (which ist to me the unusual thing).

My guess is that the replacement hammer nose that I bought is a bit too short and in SA does not hit the primer with sufficient force.

Anyone experienced anything similar?

Thanks @all in advance!

Make sure the mainspring is tight and in good repair. Open the cylinder. With the cylinder open, while pulling back on the cylinder latch to put it in battery, cock the hammer. While still holding back on the cylinder latch the whole time, press the trigger to release the hammer. Don't let got of the cylinder latch. You will be able to look at the hammer nose to see how far it protrudes beyond the face . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

It is strange if your 36 is having more light strikes that don't fire the round in DA than SA. But my first suspicion would be that the main spring is to weak. It is possible that the firing pin is to short though. Check this, open the cylinder, push the release that opens the cylinder back, this will allow the trigger to operate with cylinder open. Pull the trigger and keep it pulled. This will cause the firing pin to stay in fire position. Now slide something the thickness of an American dime (1.35mm) against it on recoil shield. Firing pin should stick through about that much.

Another thing to check is end shake. Does your cylinder move back and forth much. Should not move over .002 inches (.005mm). Check by pressing cylinder forward and using a feeler gauge too measure gap, then press cylinder back and measure again. Subtract back measurement from forward one. Easy fix as the make and sell thin hard shims that you install in cylinder when it is off yoke tube.

Shims here Revolver Cylinder Shims
spring here Smith & Wesson Mainspring S&W 31 32 34 36 37 38 42 49 - MPN: 071040000

You shouldn't have a problem shipping these to Europe, just a spring and some small thin washers. What else do you think you need for it?

Thanks. I had already tried all this except pulling the trigger while holding back the cylinder latch, but the hammer nose seems to get the same far out no matter whether or not I hold the latch back.

In other words, I can see it stickin' out also by pulling the trigger without holding back the cylinder latch.

Is this an issue?

Sounds like it's good, without actually seeing it. Next thing is to check to see if the main spring still has all its coils, and then move on to what steelslaver said about endshake, which is also good advice . . .

__________________
Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Thanks a lot!

This is exactly what I needed to know I believe. Hammer nose does not actually stick out enough,I will have to see how I sort out the issue (using a small file to grind the hammer around the firing pin could be an option?)

Yeah, very useful information, even though my cylinder feels rock solid (I mean, that of the gun )

I had a similar issue on a small blank gun I have and I solved just exactly that way.

Thanks again!

I will have to check it; my problem is, that most spare parts I could need for my old 36 seem to have been discontinued, maybe in the USA are some vintage retailers?

EDIT @M.M.: if with "main spring" you refer to that inside the grip, well that's alive and kicking.

Another thing to look at. When you have a light strike that doen't fire. wait a couple second to make sure it isn't a hang fire, then open the cylinder and look at the dent in the primer. Is there one? Does the gun actually cycle the cylinder every time you pull the trigger in DA?. The hand that goes through the recoil shield and engages the ratchet might be hanging up or have a weak spring. Make sure everything is clean. No burr or crud in window for hand in recoil shield etc.

It is also possible the hammer is dragging on the frame a bit and losing power. Are there rub marks on hammer where it is riding on the frame. Once again they make a shim for this that goes on the rub side of post hammer rides on. But there could be a bur on frame or side plate that is rubbing hammer and slowing it down. Look at the bosses (area right beside the stud the hammer rides on in frame and the matching one on side plate. Are they smooth and burr free? They don't have to be polished, yet should not have any high spots that are wearing into hammer near its hole.

Yes the spring inside the grip. On a model 36 it should be a coil spring and some one could have clipped off a coil or 2 to try to make trigger pull lighter or it could be a lighter after market spring.

There are many parts suppliers
Midway USA
Numrich gun parts
Brownells

Before you go to filing on hammer. Check to make sure the hole and area behind it are very clean. Midway has replacement hammer noses (firing pins) for hammer mounted J frames.

Is your gun actually marked model 36 in yoke cutout or is it older than that. If it is marked 36 is there a dash and a number following the dash

Yes thanks, I checked all that and it's Ok

OK guys thanks again I have now enough information to process, I will let you know what I find out. Dents are always well placed in the middle of the primers. All possible mentioned issues I don't answer are checked and OK, then

up to this point:

- the hammer nose seems not always to stick out enough to fire the primer

- I will check that back and forth play of the cylinder, but I don't think that will be relevant

- gun is actually marked 36 on the assy yoke but there's no dash

one last question then I have to take off, I'll check back in this evening at about 8:00 PM MET, for most of you it will be easy daytime.

Is it an option carefully filing the hammer around the firing pin in order to allow it a bit more reach?

I will provide some pictures of the gun if that may help

Seen this only now, OK thanks

Ranzerox,

I would not grind in the hammer channel for the hammer to travel farther forward.

What I would do is check the firing pin for clearance in the slot of the hammer channel.

Are there any marks on the firing pin? You should paint the front edge of the firing pin blade including the tip with a black marking pen. Then cycle the action a couple of times. Observe the black ink for contact marks with the frame that may not be allowing the pin to extend it's full length thru the hole in the recoil shield.

Good luck,

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

see post below

If you're getting good, even strikes on the primers, what ammo brand are you using? Some primers may just be extra hard to detonate. ??

Thanks. No I never meant grinding in the hammer seat, only on the hammer around the pin, in order to allow it getting deeper and stickin' out of its hole a bit farther.

Aside from that, one of my guesses ist that the firing pin could be already too short, because it is made for more recently (after 1980) made guns...

But I will try that with the marker I think it's a good idea and at least I will know where it might be appropriate to file a bit.

Yeah, I already thought about that and I bought Sellier & Bellot pre-primed shells (I load powder and bullets myself, it's part of the fun!), they seem to be more sensitive and the results are already getting better.

A large part of the difficulties I have is, that testing here in Germany is quite awkwardly due to the very restrictive gun law...

sorry I've been messing with the quote/edit features

Hi guys,

I've been away for a few days but I ain't been inactive; I actually solved most of the issues with my gun by following your advice

Especially the shim between cylinder and cylinder yoke (to reduce play between cylinder and firing pin) was the pivotal factor but has also been a challenge; since ordering a few shims in the States to have them shipped to Germany seemed pointless to me, I decided to take the challenge and forge on one

The inside was not smooth, it was a small steel washer designed to lock screws into wooden parts and I have used a tool Germans call Dremel from the name of the leading make (something like "speedo" is often used for swim briefs), it's a kind of hobby drill, and a small conical grinder, until the inner rim was smooth and fitted snugly on the yoke assy.

It still did not fit in its groove though, and I proceeded to grind down the outer edge manually, using some fine sandpaper (320 to 400 grain). It took a while and a good bit of my patience, but now the gun works reliably

Next step would be re-calibration of the barrell (obviously I'm not gonna do that myself) but I'd like to remove the barrell myself. I did not find any such tutorial anywhere in the web, some of you knows more?

Glad for any answer as usual

Removing a barrel requires the proper tools to keep from warping the frame.

I cringe at reading about you taking a grinder to your 36 since you obviously do not know what you are doing.

If you suspect the firing pin (hammer nose) is not long enough why have you not pursued that? It is easily fixed and reversible, unlike the metal you are removing from that poor gun.

He wasn't removing metal from the gun. He was fabricating a shim from a washer, removing metal from the shim. Apparently, the revolver in question had excessive end shake. Shimming the yoke corrected his problem.

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SWCA 3297 SWHF 583

My bad, I read that as him modifying the yoke.

Thanks!

Hey, take it easy guys, I'm not that sensitive

And perhaps my way to express myself (remember, I'm no native speaker!) could be a little confusing


I'm still very thankful for all the good advice and hints I got here. Regarding the first quoted sentence: I actually found a couple of videos on you tube that show how to bypass the lack of proper/specific tools, this one seems to be the "homemade" edition


(dunnno how to embed clips, sorry) and this looks like more professional (and really requiring to know what one is doing)


both are a little too much for me (I don't even have a vice...) and maybe I'll give up the challenge and take the gun to a real pro...but I'm still interested in your opinions

What sort of "re-calibration of the barrel" are you referring to?

Are you talking about the barrel to cyl gap?
If so what does it measure using feeler gauges?

Or do you mean to adjust the front sight to correct windage?

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819