Was reassembling it and between eyeblinks, the hand spring evaporated into the air. After 20 minutes of playing crawl across the shop, I am pretty sure it's gone forever.

I need to replace the handspring, obviously. Will a new flat Model 10 handspring work? Or will I need to get a factory original from Numrich?

I can't help with a replacement but I can offer help finding the old one. There are a couple of methods. First is to use a vacuum cleaner with a pair of panty hose stretched across the opening. Second is to sweep the area with a powerful magnet. So far, they have been successful for me.

__________________
So many S&W's, so few funds!!

I don't have the exact Hand Ejector Model you are asking about (mine is 1905 - 4th or 5th chg.) so I am not able to answer intelligently. What I might suggest (if you can not find a proper one meant for that model) is to TRY the one for the M10 and see if it indeed works. You might even be able to modify it if it's close.

PS: I know where your spring is......... It's in the same place my Colt National Match Gold Cup Series 70 Sear Disconnector Spring is. I've launched two of them over the years (spring is a miniature 1/16" x 3/8" little bugger) and I've never found either one. Thankfully I have a few extra. Good luck!

PS #2: I have found other small screws and parts by sweeping the floor thoroughly with a very fine brush broom and looking through the sweepings. Worth a shot ......

Welcome to the forum.

You haven't told us which 3rd Model HE, .32 or .38?

If you didn't see which direction the spring went, it's a real long shot to find it in the sweepings. If it headed towards shelves or equipment, it likely never made it to the floor.

You haven't said which vintage 3rd model you have; they span over 25 years before WW II. Doesn't sound like you're talking about the coil spring in the trigger.

Therefore you'll need to give us a serial # of your 3rd Model so we can tell which spring it had. It depends on the vintage for which model hammer block safety (and therefore which hand spring) it has.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

Or is it possibly a 3rd model .44 ? If that's the case, I'd think that any K or N hand spring thru about 1975 or so would work. I could be wrong - anybody got better info ?

Larry

Welcome to the Forum.

What caliber is your revolver? A serial number range would also be helpful. K and N frame revolvers use the same trigger. I and J frame triggers are smaller.

Did you punch out the pin that holds the hand spring inside of the trigger? That is the only way that I know of that you could lose the spring.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

This is kind of an oddball gun. I am fairly sure it's a Hand Ejector, 3rd model; it's not a standard S&W M1917. It internally mostly is a Model 10. It's chambered for .45 rounds but the original barrel was long since removed.. Lots of proof marks on the frame and cylinder, which was shaved down to accept half-moon clips.

SN is 656**. The trigger hand spring is not captive on this model; the hand itself has two pins, one of which serves as a shoulder for the hand spring to rest against.

For anyone wondering-- no, a Model 10 Hand Spring will not fit on the older Hand Ejector models.

Here are some pictures of my trigger. I must have lost a piece somewhere. It looks like there should be a lever spring inside of the trigger? If anyone has an old Model 10 or 1899 or something similar, and can confirm what I need to get, I would be extremely grateful.

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Okay. Wow. I am a friggin moron.

I found it by looking at an older 1899 being disasembled. I didn't realize that there is a spring nestled close against the trigger lever itself. Wow.

Just... ugh.

i ar profeshunal gunsmith