I lost a cylinder bolt spring once when removing that ******* "HH" lock. That was a show stopper for sure while waiting for Numrich to send me (2)... But I wasn't pulling the trigger or cycling anything with the side-plate off. OP, take it to your buddy if he is a real certified pistol/revolver smith. Otherwise, send it back to Smith with a detailed note of what you did. Even though this is 100% your fault... Smith will still pay shipping both ways and fix her for free. That's the kind of stand up people they have running S&W!