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Old 04-01-2012, 12:28 PM
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Default Ambi-safety 3913 Removable?

Can the Right side safety/decocker on the right side of the SW 3913 I just purchased be removed and plugged?
I see on the Lady Smith version there is only 1 safety.The right side appears to have the hole in the frame that was plugged as part of the LS package..
Any help is appreciated.

My 3913

Lady Smith 3913
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Old 04-01-2012, 12:40 PM
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You can replace it with the Ladysith part. (Same part as the 915, 908, etc) They are about $60 from the factory. OR, you can remove it yourself. I just went looking for my post about it, but I can only go back about 500 posts, and it's before that.

Last edited by squidsix; 04-01-2012 at 12:51 PM.
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Old 04-01-2012, 01:08 PM
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Awesome thanks.
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Old 04-01-2012, 01:13 PM
squidsix squidsix is offline
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What I did was remove the original safety after marking it as to how much to remove.
Than cut it off and sanded it flush, and then tapped the hole, added a stainless threaded machine screw, and cut it flush. End result was actually pretty nice. I posted it here, but can't find it now. It took about an hour total.
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Old 04-01-2012, 01:24 PM
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That was what I thought I could do if I didn't find a factory solution. Or something very similar. I have access to a machinist so I can get some things done "off line" if they are minor.
My preference would be the factory solution so if I sell it there are no liability issues. I can just switch it back.
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Old 04-01-2012, 01:27 PM
squidsix squidsix is offline
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Liability can literally never enter into it, but that's your thing, not mine. I looked at it like this: I don't make $60 per hour, so the hour it took me was worth it.
I did it with hand tools, and had no issues. Midway used to have the part for $40, but they seem to be out.
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Old 04-01-2012, 01:41 PM
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Here is the 915 parts list. Can you steer me right? Do I just need part #1?
Attached Files
File Type: pdf SW 915 Parts list.pdf (58.1 KB, 51 views)
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Old 04-01-2012, 08:57 PM
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Default 3913 Safety

I have a 3913TSW. Don't like the ambi safety because it makes tap rack drills a little dicey. Sent it back to Smith and they put a LS / NL safety on for me as well as Novak 3 dot night sights. I had them de horn the safety, because the sharp ridges act like a cheese grater (at least for me). Also had them sand blast the finish off, since it is made of stainless. Looks great, works great.

S/F,

RAS
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Old 04-01-2012, 09:16 PM
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Rasmithxxx Do you have a pic of that? Also what did that set you back if you don't mind telling?
Thanks
Mike
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Old 04-03-2012, 04:54 PM
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Default 3913 TSW Safety (and other stuff)

Mike,

Here are some pics of gun. S&W charged me $275.63 to furnish and install the night sights and the NL safety. They also de-horned the safety, but would not remove the mag safety for me.

I have also installed a spurred hammer for a potential single action first shot, and the modified Crimson Trace grips from Forum member HillCountry. Holster is a Kramer.

I am on the security team of our church down here in Little Somalia (Columbus), and this is one of my Sunday Go To Meetin' guns.

S/F,

RAS

Eccl. 10:2
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File Type: jpg 3913TSW - 0001.jpg (134.6 KB, 180 views)
File Type: jpg 3913TSW - 0002.jpg (77.1 KB, 160 views)
File Type: jpg 3913TSW - 0003.jpg (116.0 KB, 181 views)
File Type: jpg 3913TSW - 0004.jpg (112.9 KB, 137 views)
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Old 04-03-2012, 05:25 PM
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The standard left-side only manual safety body assembly (which includes the LS/NL assemblies) can be installed in place of the ambi assembly ... however, it might change the decocking "timing" and require a new sear release lever be fitted (involves filing) and installed.

The top of the sear release lever indexes off the bottom of the cylinder of the manual safety body (as it rotates during decocking), and the normal tolerance variations of the individual frames, slides, levers, sears and manual safety bodies might shift the lever's "leg" length out of spec enough to cause a problem with decocking.

Sure, I've a couple the newer levers, made to closer tolerances than the older levers (deliberately too long for the wider tolerances found among older production guns) drop in a couple of guns and fall within the normal timing range (checked with some GO/NO-GO "gages" nowadays - which are actually just the non-cutting ends of numbered metal drill bits ) ... but it's more often the case that a new lever has to be filed and fitted to a particular gun and combinations of parts.

Also, sometimes you might find a manual safety that might not fit and function in an ideal manner (or optimum) manner in a particular slide. I once tried a left-only manual safety from a CS9 (the guy wanted an ambit, so I traded parts) in a 6906. The assembly was just a bit too loose and shifted sideways a bit more than I wanted to see in a duty weapon.

That's why armorers sometimes like to have a few parts & assemblies of the same type at hand, in case the tolerance stack just comes up the wrong way with one combination of parts in any particular gun, and another part will work better.

Nice work on the 3913, BTW, rasmith3442 . The slide stop lever looks current, but the manual safety looks like the early 3rd gen (with the "flatter" profile on the engagement pad).
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Old 04-03-2012, 05:39 PM
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Default My TSW

Fastbolt,

You may recall that I called you last year and picked your brain before buying the gun. Thanks again for your time and the great advice.

The safety is actually a newer one. When I had S&W dehorn the edges, the process also removed the coating. Since the safety is stainless anyway, I just had them bead blast the coating off.

Vito, the gunsmith who did my work also raised your concern about the safety timing. If the hammer drops before the safety rotates fully, there could be an AD in someone's future. Word to the wise, folks.

S/F,

RAS
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Old 04-03-2012, 06:07 PM
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RAS, I remembered our conversation by some of the comments in your earlier post.

Glad it worked out well for you.

Did they (or you) file down the outside pad on the manual safety? The newer ones are more steps/serrations (like the slide stop lever on your 3913). Nice, regardless.

Yep, Vito's cautionary comment is a word to the wise. Many folks don't realize that the manual safety both rotates to a point where steel covers the end of the firing pin, shielding it from the hammer, as well as it having a set of machined shoulders which capture the corresponding shoulders on the firing pin, to prevent its movement (but not in 1st gen guns, of course). The manual safety has to rotate far enough before hammer fall for those safety features to come into play, though. The engagement of the sear release lever's "foot" against the right side of the sear's nose, pushing it out from under the single action cocking notches on the hammer, has to occur within a "timing" spec that allows for safe hammer drop.

Also, if the leg is too short (worn down, or simply too short for that gun and its aggregate other parts), the lever may fall "late" after the manual safety has bottomed out (as the hammer is jarred off the sear nose), or not at all.

So, not good if it falls too soon, and not good if it falls too late.

This timing range used to be checked by eyeball and very slow manipulation of the safety & hammer, but it's easier (and less difficult to teach, no doubt) to use the set of 3 bits as gages when fitting the new lever.

Then, of course, there's making sure the lever's foot is filed down while maintaining the original factory angle of the foot, which is critical for safe & good operation.

This is one of those instances where it's really worth the extra money to have the decocking timing checked by someone who understands the gun and is trained to work on it, and have them fit & install the $2 part.
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Last edited by Fastbolt; 04-03-2012 at 06:12 PM.
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Old 04-03-2012, 06:40 PM
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Fastbolt is THE man, it's great to have someone with his knowledge and expertise here.
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Old 04-03-2012, 06:51 PM
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Default Thanks for the help

Nice pics Rasmithxx. I appreciate the example and the pics.
Fastbolt: So if I am understanding you correctly, if I don't know what I am doing (and I admit I don't) have it done by someone who does. l plan to send it back to S&W. It's worth the extra $ for the peace of mind it was done at the OEM. I will call them for a quote. Also if I have a problem with it they will take care of it as warranty work since they did the mod. I have great respect for you "Smitthy" guys. I like to tinker a bit too but when it get into tolerancing work that's where I get off the bus:
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Old 04-03-2012, 07:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ladder13 View Post
Fastbolt is THE man, it's great to have someone with his knowledge and expertise here.
Not quite. The folks who have taught me, and continue to teach me, are the folks to whom we should be grateful.

I've certainly pestered folks with enough questions of my own ...
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Old 04-03-2012, 07:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mbliss57 View Post
Fastbolt: So if I am understanding you correctly, if I don't know what I am doing (and I admit I don't) have it done by someone who does. l plan to send it back to S&W. It's worth the extra $ for the peace of mind it was done at the OEM.
Yep, why risk doing something (albeit unintentionally) that could compromise the safe & reliable operation of a firearm?

Granted, to someone who knows what's involved and how to do it ... and has done it ... it's a pretty simple installation. Even fitting a new sear release lever isn't a particularly difficult thing to do (once you'd learned how to do it and have successfully done it at least a couple of times).

I remember back before I'd been to my first armorer class, and was a firearms owner & enthusiast who simply wanted to work on my own guns. There were times I ended up taking a box of parts to a gunsmith (or the former armorer where I worked) after I'd gone down the wrong road and had a non-functional gun, or had ended up with an inconsistently functioning gun that wasn't really safe to operate. I shudder to think back to those times.

Then, to show how things can go, I remember after becoming an armorer, and the times someone brought me one of our agency guns in pieces, and/or with mangled parts, after they'd either tried to "work on" the weapons themselves, or had let someone else (unauthorized) do so.

I've also had an occasional personally-owned gun brought through our range in the hands of someone who said that their "friend, experienced in working on guns, had tuned that gun" for them, and they wanted to use it as an off-duty weapon. However, once it demonstrated poor function when they were trying to complete some course-of-fire, and they were told the weapon wouldn't be authorized until it had been properly repaired (by someone else, at their expense) ... and exhibited proper functioning on the range ... they'd get all bent out of shape.

I sometimes like tinkering as much as the next fellow, but I've run up against my limits often enough to have become a bit cautious. Especially when it comes to equipment that can cause serious injury or death.

I've returned an occasional gun to a company, even as an armorer, if I think something might be beyond me ... or I don't have the time for some trial and error work ... or if I'd rather they make the mistake (especially under warranty) in an uncertain situation. They've typically been glad to oblige, too.
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