hOW HARD IS IT FOR A LAYMAN TO REMOVE THE SIDE PLATE?

[sd307]

I have crusied youtube and the threads here for a sideplate removal tutorial and come up empty. May be I over looked it.

Any way I know that you have to use a special flathead and not bugger the screw heads, then hit the grip part of the frame with a hammer or other object, is ther anything else to be aw are of?

What I want to do is replace the original trigger and hammer on a 19 with a target hammer and trigger that I have done a polish job on based off the midway tutorial on you tube.

I am just afraid to take the side plate off with out being 100% certian of what I am doing.


Thanks for any advice telling me I'm nut would not be offensive

[ken158]

Remove grips and plate screws, (remember which screws came from which holes) hold gun by front and gently tap the grip area with wooden or plastic handle of your screwdriver - plate will pop up. If you have not done this before, fitting a new hammer and trigger is more than dropping them in... and replacing the plate is somewhat tricky due to the hammer block.

[dpsix]

Trying to do it yourself is always half the fun. I would first recommend getting Jerry Kuhnhausen's S&W Shop Manual. By the way, to get the trigger out you must remove the rebound slide. If you don't have a rebound slide tool, it it just short of impossible to get the thing back in. Good luck.

[kobsw]

Be very carful removing the screws. The wrong screw driver will mess-up a good screw. In addition if the blade slides out of the slot, well you know.

I will use WD-40 on the screws for about 24hrs on guns that I've not previously removed the side plate from.(You don't have to wait that longe but I do).

Take your time and follow ken158's instructions ***DO NOT PRY THE SIDE PLATE, EVER***

Let us know how you do...

[jepp2]

Take care not to allow the side plate to fall on the floor. As you strike the grip area, the bottom of the side plate will begin to work up out of the frame. The last blow that frees it, it will "pop" out so to speak.

Folks seem to have more problems putting it back on, due to the hammer block being out of position. Either the book suggested or the Jerry Miculek video are money well spent.

[125JHP]

Get a large plastic bag and put the gun inside when you take the rebound slide/spring out... it saves you from hunting around on the floor or buying another. Same for putting it back in. While you have the rebound slide out, you can smooth the slide surface on the inside of the frame and it will smooth up your trigger pull some.

[sd307]

Originally Posted by 125JHP

Get a large plastic bag and put the gun inside when you take the rebound slide/spring out... it saves you from hunting around on the floor or buying another. Same for putting it back in. While you have the rebound slide out, you can smooth the slide surface on the inside of the frame and it will smooth up your trigger pull some.

WHOA, what is the rebound slide spring? I thought I was ready to do this but I am beginnig to think not so much.

I was under the impression I could do this without removing the cylinder bolt. I am glad I took the time to ask.

Thanks

[stantheman86]

Trust me, it's not worth the headaches

If the gun works well as is, I would consider leaving it alone. I dropped a target hammer into a Model 10 and it was too "thick" and it hung up on the sideplate when installed....also have had triggers "gag" on a hammer not fitted to it......they will probably work, but if they don't they will need fitting which = lots of headaches I don't trust my skills enough to monkey with this stuff, so after my brief attempt at "gunsmithing" on some beater Model 10's I decided it's usually best to leave well enough alone.



The thought of removing the trigger from a S&W makes me break out in cold sweats, it can be a major PITA and not something I try to do often. Heck even the thought of tapping a sideplate off makes me cringe.......I have several Smiths that have gone decades without having the plates popped off, many not since leaving the factory so I see no reason to do so now!....... including two from the 80's that I have had since new.....so I see no reason to do it if it's not needed.

[chief38]

Working on older Smith's is a pleasure for me because no matter what the size frame is, they are all pretty much the same. When I started working on guns 32 years ago, I had no books, videos or instruction manuals, I just started taking guns apart and learned by actually doing. You will need some mechanical inclination, common sense and a quality set of hollow ground screwdrivers. I would also suggest that you do this when you are alone (no distractions) without the TV or radio on, and just make any notes on parts fitting in a certain way that you are unfamiliar with. If you have a "mechanical mind" taking a Smith apart and putting it back together will soon be a "piece of cake".

IF IN GENERALyou are not mechanically inclined, leave well enough alone. I have had some of my friends call me and ask me if they could come over so I could put their guns back together after they have spent hours trying. I will gladly do so, but while doing it I notice that some of the screws they took out are buggered up, some of the metal gets scratched from slipping screwdrivers, etc. Not a hard job, but it's not for everybody!

Regards,
chief38

[125JHP]

I too advise not messing with it. Taking it apart is really easy, getting it all back together is not very hard either. Its what you do in between that can become a big problem.

I will smooth and polish certain parts to smooth out the action but I won't touch the sear areas of the hammer or trigger. I also don't think they make the hammers and triggers as drop in parts, they should be carefully fitted to the gun and to each other - which takes a certain amount of gunsmithing knowledge and practice. I won't attempt it on working gun - too much could go wrong and I don't want that on my conscience.

[stantheman86]

I am also a fan of leaving guns "factory" I don't get all the hype about "slicking" up perfectly good revolvers. I have bought a few that have been "slicked" so well they don't set rounds off anymore.

[sd307]

Well I got out and shot it quite a bit this weekend, I must admit she shoots great so I will not do any mods between that and the advice here. I was breaking clays at 60 yards, thats good enough for me.

I had envisioned turning this 19 into a "Combat Magnum Masterpiece" with the target trigger and hammer.

[l.carroll]

there's a guy on youtube named, Thenagantman, and he does a pretty good job of showing how to safely break down your S&W revolver if you must.

The revolver is a S&W model 10 service pistol.

[2hawk]

The recommendation on the Kuhnhausen book is a good one, it is worth it's price for anyone who wants to work on, or just better understand their revolver.

Another place to get some tips is here:
MidwayUSA - Video Library
Scroll down to the "S&W Project", there's a few short videos there.