I need to replace a broken “Hand Spring” (part number 7080) in a S&W Model 60 .38 Chiefs Special Stainless Revolver.

The hand spring is not the “straight on both ends” kind of spring that is shown on page 40 in the Jerry Kuhnhausen book, but one with a 90 degree bend on the short end.

The spring’s coil is fitted onto the trigger’s “Hand Spring Pin” (part number 7082), and is not the kind of spring that will freely fall out of the trigger.

Over the past couple of days I’ve done hours of YouTube watching, Googling and reading on the S&W Forum and the Highroad.org, looking for information on the replacement of the “Hand Spring” aka “Torsion Spring.” All of the info I’ve come across, deals with the replacement of the (straight on both ends) hand spring that can be “laid” in the trigger and secured in place by tension, and not the one I have where the springs coil is threaded onto the “Hand Spring Pin.” It is obvious that the hand spring pin, that is holding the spring in place, must be removed in order to make this repair.

My question is, has anyone here had any experience making this type of repair and if so how difficult was it to remove the Hand Spring Pin? What kind of tool did you use to remove and reinstall the pin and is the original pin reusable once it has been removed.

By way of background, I am a retired federal law enforcement agent, and the original owner of this revolver. I made this purchase in February 1980 ($209) as a backup weapon but rarely carried or fired it. I retired 14 years ago and placed the weapon in storage at that time. A couple of weeks ago I took it to the range and it fired fine. I brought it home and did a few hundred dry fires (using Snap Caps) and the firing pin broke. Called S&W and they sent me a replacement hammer/firing pin and when I removed the side plate to make this repair I discovered the broken hand spring. I picked up a couple replacement hand springs yesterday at a local gun show but that was before I realized the above mentioned problem with the spring coil being held in place by a pin.

Any help you can provide would be appreciated. I would like to make the repair myself, but if push comes to shove I’ll see about another call to S&W.

The pins are very easy to remove but have a domed/ radius end.
Make sure you use a proper "cupped" punch when removing these pins.

Thanks for the reply, VM, but what do you mean, " . . have a domed/ radius end."? Are you referring to the replacement pin, or to the punch needed to remove the pin?

If you look at the pins in your trigger (use a loop if your eyes are like mine) you'll see that they have a slightly rounded end.
Proper gunsmithing pin punches have cupped tips for driving these pins in and out.
If you use a std. flat head punch you will damage the end of the pin.
If you need more assistance, send me a PM with your phone number and I'll call you.
I'm not a gunsmith but use these punches and am comfortable helping you

Thanks, I can make out the “slightly rounded end” on two of the three pins in the trigger. The third one, the one that needs to come out is probably about 1/5th the size of the other two and is really hard to tell much about, but with the right tools I think I could make the repair. I’ll do some research and see if I can determine the size of the punch I need to do the job and give it a go. I’ll post back once I either fix or break it. . . . I've attached a picture of the trigger with the broken hand spring protruding at the top.

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trigger & hand spring.jpg (33.5 KB, 44 views)

Picture of the item being worked on. Pin #7082 is the one I’ll need to remove to make the repair.

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Trigger --.jpg (14.6 KB, 48 views)