I bought two of the the Wolff Shooters pack J frame spring kits. I checked the FAQ's and did not find a trigger job section.
I have taken my locks out of the guns so I can handle the mainspring (hammer spring). For the trigger (rebound) spring do I just pop up the rebound slide a bit and remove the original spring and then "stuff" the reduced power spring in there?

Any helpful hints before I attack this project?

Thanks

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Still Running Against the Wind

Essentially yes.
Are you sure the rebound spring R&R isn't in the FAQ's?
I can't link to anything from the work computer. If no one does so by quitting time, I'll try to post it.

Wear goggles!! Seriously,(about the goggles its not that hard just takes some trial and error. It will help you to remove the hammer and loose parts so you don't need to worry about them. I use a small flat point screw driver or hex bit to push the spring into the slot on the end of the slide while pushing it down.
I put the 13lb rebound spring in my bobbed hammer 637 along with the reduced power main spring. It has lit off every primer in the last 300 rounds.

Not that I can find. There is a slight mention in the detailed strip section and a pic of the rebound spring tool. When the parts arrive I will fumble through and post if I get stuck. Just like to do any homework first. I do have Miculek's DVD but can't remember if that is in there. I thought he cut them.

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Still Running Against the Wind

FWIW,
I've done it both ways (with and without the tool). Even when using the tool, even the tool is a tight fit inside the rebound slide on the latter model AirLites. I actually had to tweak the tines of the tool together slightly to get it to clear. Don't be surprised if the replacement spring (rebound) is longer than the OEM. It was that way for both my 342PD's. As long as you've got it apart, this is the time to stone the slide?

DETAIL STRIP

Find a perfect fitting screwdriver.

Remove the grip.


Unscrew all the screws on the side plate, don't mix them up.

Roll gun over, push the thumb latch in and open the cylinder.

Slide yoke and cylinder off the frame, go easy not to scratch it.

Roll gun back and find a plastic hammer and tap the frame (near where the grips would be) and the side plate will come loose.

Remove slide plate.

Lift out the hammer block (sheet metal part with a hole on one end, hook on the other).

Loosen strain screw and remove main spring. (J frame insert cotter pin into hole, remove from stirrup).

Pull thumb piece to rear. Press trigger to cock hammer, lift hammer up and off the stud.

Find a screwdriver, and pry the rebound slide off the stud, rebound spring and stem will fly out so keep a finger over opening.

Pull back the hand to clear window, then wiggle trigger off the stud.

You can remove the cylinder stop and bolt but the gains are not worth the trouble.

But if you must, then flip gun over and unscrew thumb piece.

Flip gun back, pull bolt to rear and lift out of frame, watch out for plunger and tiny spring.

Pry out spring for cylinder stop, let the stop drop down and remove stop.

Reverse the operation to put it back together. Find a special rebound slide tool to put the rebound spring back on. It looks like this:


Remember all the guns from J frame to X are nearly all the same internally.

The hammer block sits all the way up before the slide plate goes back on. One end sits on the stud of the rebound slide, the other end sits in front of the hammer. Picture of 500:



Here is a picture of a 686 without the hammer block:


CYLINDER DETAIL STRIP

Once the cylinder in on the table it can be totally taken apart.
Guns which are about 40 years and newer the ejector rod is counter-clockwise. Older than this the threads are clockwise.

Place empty cartridges into the cylinder.

Using a drill chuck, turn extractor rod and unscrew it. (Don't mar the knurl on the end)
There are 2 springs inside, a collar, center pin and the ratchet. Keep finger pressure on the ejector rod so the springs don't fly off the table.

Reassemble in the reverse order. You don't need lock tite on the threads.

You could use a tool like this instead of the drill chuck, if you prefer:



X FRAME CLYINDER:

Here is a picture of what the parts look like.



To disassemble: turn knurled end clockwise, remove nut and slide the yoke off. Be careful not to mar the knurl. I use a clothes pin under pliers.
Then using a drill chuck, turn extractor rod clockwise to remove the extractor assembly.

(all threads are counter-clockwise)


Here is a picture of all the J frame parts spread out for your pleasure.


The larger frames K,L & N have an additional part called the extractor rod collar. This part shows in the earlier diagram of the model 29 I posted earlier.
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NRA Benefactor Member

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NRA Benefactor Member

Just smooth out the flat parts? If I remember, mine is MIM does that matter?

500Magnum,

Thanks for the pics, I did look through your FAQ first
I do not have the rebound tool but will improvise.

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Still Running Against the Wind

A Philips screwdriver works pretty good to instal the new spring as it centers in the spring & once you have it compressed past the pin just start to push it down with your other thumb..
I have the tool & use it to remove the slide/spring but have found the philips works better for me for instalation..
You may have different results..
This Forum is Great & 500 Magnum Nut is "The Man"
Thanks & Enjoy!!
Gary/Hk

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MightShowYouHisSmith&Wesson

Thanks, yes, I agree. All this knowledge and experience all in one place. I hear the big Gorilla is not so bad either.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Mine were both MiM too. Same process, smooth the flats.

Here is a link that prompted me to finally change-out the rebound spring on my Model 60. (I bought it after lurking on this forum some two years ago.) I took the cylinder off while removing the cover plate so that I could clamp the plastic bagged J-Frame to my desk with a bar clamp. It was nice to have two hands to extract the rebound spring and even nicer to easily find the spring. I used a small screw-driver to extract the old trigger bar spring and install #14 (the middle one) from the kit. I did some polishing in the rebound slide area. I did not swap-out the hammer spring as the double-action results were fine for me and this model 60 is for carry. I think it is close to being the best that it can be for what it is. Good luck with yours!


First "action job"

My spring kits arrived today. What rebound spring should I go with (642) ? Start with the 15 lb or go the middle road with the 14lb?


Thanks for the link NautclRltr.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Well I put the 8lb hammer spring and 14lb rebound.

Guess I expected more??, not a whole lot different as to feel.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Did you stone the slide?
If so, it'll feel like your honeymoon.

Don't know if I can remember that long ago

No, I did not stone anything , not sure what parts to do?

I did smooth out the mainspring rod/hammer strut as two sides where rough. Don't know if that accomplished anything.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I've been looking for the end of the knurled end of the extractor rod that unscrews on a 32 cal1903 revolver

The difference between an 8½# factory spring and an 8# reduced power spring is not going to be felt by most folks, so you're not unusual in that respect.

The trick to improving the pull on a J-frame (and other sizes) is to smooth up the action. The difficulty is understanding precisely what that means. "Smooth" does not mean surfaces of a few micro-inches. If you take that much surface off, you'll likely destroy the surface hardness of the part, and "smooth" won't last long. You just need to remove enough metal that the sliding parts don't hang on each other.

I've found that edges, not surfaces, of the rebound slide are where a lot of drag takes place. This is especially true of the edges that are perpendicular to the direction of the slide's motion. I use a fine stone to lightly break the edges, and even on MIM parts, this can reduce drag a lot. I just did this to a 686+, along with polishing the spring channel in the rebound slide, using a 15# rebound spring, and a factory mainspring. Trigger pull went from 14# to 9#, it was much smoother, and there was no problem lighting off any ammunition.

Smooth is much more important on a J-frame, since you can't reduce mainspring weight much without compromising ignition. So smooth away, but go slow and check often.


Buck