Boy, I hate to be a PIA, but after reading so many forum posts about needing to thoroughly clean these Brinks guns, how do I remove the FP to clean-out the channel and replace the FP spring? I've taken down 3rd Gen slides with the safety levers, but what do I do with the thing that is flush on both sides? I'm stumped and I can't find anything online. Maybe it's my age....again.

Thank you, Dave

To my knowledge, a firing pin retainer comes out of a slide pretty much the same as a safety body. Perhaps seeing the part out of the pistol will help - 4043TSW DAO/TDA Conversion

Thank you, JS. I'm guessing one of the plastic buttons under the slide are pushed in, the FP pushed back and locked in place, then the gadget gets slid out with much fiddling from right to left? Haha, I dunno! Haha.

From "the manual", removal of the 3 and 4 digit slide's manual safety lever to access the firing pin. There is a spring loaded plunger inside the body of the safety so use caution to capture this spring and plunger.

They also left out the mandatory "safety check" wording here too, so, always do a safety check before working on anything, and keep ammunition away from your work area.

Wear safety glasses, eyes are difficult to replace.

Obviously not the best worded instructions, but if I tried to type it all out it would be next week......

(just for future reference, disassembly questions will usually get quicker attention if you place it in the "Smithing" area of the forum)





Carter

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

Thank you, sir!!! I will give that a go and see what I can destroy! Haha, just kidding. I've never broken a gun yet in 35 years but have done few lock-ups.
Dave

I found out today that, at least with mine, the safety tumbler can be pushed straight out to the left and then re-installed straight in, unlike the twisting and turning needed with a safety/decock tumbler. Of course, the FP still needs to be pushed in and keep an eye on the tiny tumbler locking plunger and spring. Easy peasy!

PS...the Brinks 4046TSW was caked with black powder and in some places, it was very difficult to remove. I use Dunk-It to clean my guns and without that today, I would have no idea how to have gotten it cleaned.

Dave, if you don't want to do the "twist and turn" when removing the manual safety body from a DA/SA model S&W, push the firing pin all the way forward through the hole in the breech face and restrain its movement with a pair of hemostats on its tip.

Don't forget, the 4046TSW can be easily converted to DA/SA with just four parts.

Just for fun.

John

Thanks as always, John! I've always wondered why Smith didn't do something early on to make the locking back of the FP far enough to clear the removal of the safety tumbler in the first place. Maybe they just always used a hemostat on the other end! Haha.
Dave