Questions From a New Model 15 Owner

benzo · #1 09-05-2009, 02:03 PM

Folks,

1. Why is the firing pin on the hammer rotatable and held in by a roll pin?

2. And, who can tell me about a set of black plastic, K Frame grips with the internal wording:

"Pointer"
W. Murad
San Carlos, Cal.

They must be a bit old. I bought a set and had no idea that they were so big. Having said that, the size and the huge thumb rest seem to fit my mid-sized right hand quite well. I like them.

Bob

Camster · #2 09-05-2009, 02:16 PM

The firing pin must be able to pivot as it would be more likely to break,as it is a part making an arc when it moves,not a straight on hit of the cartridge.

ChinaSeaSailor · #3 09-05-2009, 02:45 PM

welcome aboard from Houston

benzo · #4 09-05-2009, 03:10 PM

Ahh. that makes sense. Do all revolvers have this feature? Sorry for the dumb question.

s&wchad · #5 09-05-2009, 04:58 PM

Welcome to the forum.

No, all revolvers don't have that feature. Colt SAA's have a rigidly mounted firing pin on the hammer, but it's cone shaped.

Camster is correct, it's about the geometry.
S&W called that style firing pin a hammer nose. On some models, there's a little spring between it and the hammer. There's a tight fit between the pin and bushing in the recoil shield that it passes thru. If there was too much clearance, primer metal could flow back into the bushing seizing the gun, or a pierced primer could send hot gasses back into the shooters face. Because the hammer swings an arc and the hole in the bushing is bored straight thu, the hammer needs to pivot or it would sieze. A few years ago, I bought a S&W Model 1917 at auction for $175. The action was froze up (I made sure the auctioneer pointed that out) and you couldn’t pull the trigger or cock the hammer. The gun was in otherwise nice shape. When I got it home and apart, I couldn’t figure out what the problem was, the insides were nice and clean and everything appeared fine. I finally noticed that the gap between the hammer and hammer nose was filled with a hard yellowish substance (I assume dried Cosmoline). I soaked the end of the hammer in solvent for a while, scraped out the crud and the gun’s been fine ever since.