Model 1 1/2 "rebounding hammers"

[ClickBang!]

Hi All,

I have seen several posts (here and elsewhere) about rebounding hammers on older S&W breaktops. However, looking at the interior of an old box lid for .32 1 1/2 DA breaktop, I see these instructions:

"While Carrying the Pistol fully Charged, allow the hammer to rest in the safety catch. After the first discharge, allow the hammer to rest on the exploded cartridge until the next discharge, and so on until all are fired."

It's interesting to me - nothing in these original S&W box instructions suggest that there is an automatic rebounding hammer mechanism on these revolvers. "Allow the hammer" seems to imply that the user must either a) cause it to occur or b) not manually override it. What immediately comes to mind is the old H&R Model 1900 single shot exposed hammer shotgun. Those had a true rebounding hammer that you could not override. Upon pulling back the hammer and firing, the hammer would automatically rebound. Once you released the trigger fully, there was no option to reset or "allow" the hammer to rest on a spent case. It had already rebounded.

Based on the box lid instructions, it seems like allowing the hammer to rest on the spent case was a safety feature of sorts. However, this would be impossible if the hammer rebounded off of the spent case primer, right? I know that it's possible to manually move a 1 1/2 CF revolver into a "1/8th cock" if you will, manually - and this seems to be the "safety catch" the original box instructions are referring to. Am I missing something here?

 

[mmaher94087]

Except for the first 100 or so .32 SA revolvers, the .32 SA, top break (ca. 1878) was the first S&W at the time to have the 'rebounding lock'. The other DA's and SA's had half-cock notches. Later, the .38 SA, 3rd model (Model of '91) had the rebound feature. The .32 SA box lid instructions cite the rebound feature.

 

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,

It was my understanding that all of the .32 S&W CF SA's have
the rebounding hammer. The first 100 (or so) were made with
the half-cock notch on the hammer. It was reasoned that the
half-cock wasn't necessary because the rebounding hammer
rebounded and the firing pin would automatically retracted.

The labels were already printed and S&W was a very price con-
scious and instead of throwing out the the labels and printing
new ones, they just blacked-out the lines that refer to the half-
cock and used them.

Cheers!
Webb

 

[BMur]

What they also did was stamp in ink over the directions PATENT REBOUNDING LOCK. Sort of a correction or addendum to the instructions. Some instructions never got the updated stamp I guess. You can find these little inked addendums on several boxes and calibers.
These little 32’s seem to have several features that were eliminated/ modified and somewhat difficult to track.
The rebounding feature on this variation is all about the mainspring arc. There is no solid piece that interrupts the hammer.
It’s an early design.
Early Bulldogs actually have a rebounding hammer feature dialed into the mechanism that prevents /physically blocks the hammer from contacting the case primer. These little 32’s don’t. They rely on spring tension only.



Murph

 

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,

I was thinking about the 1-1/2's in the Factory wood case.

Edit: I added a pic of the instructions inside the lid of the case.
This one, one can see through the inked-out lines and see what
was printed originally

Cheers!
Webb

 

[mmaher94087]

The first 100 or so had half-cock notches and the rebounding feature which proved to be irritating with the rebounding feature and were eliminated (sort of). The notch still exists on the hammer, but the notch has been "bridged" so that the trigger doesn't engage the notch. The die for the hammer forging has been 'nicked' which is a word used to indicate an alteration to the die rather than making a new one. In this case, the die was nicked to allow the edge of the half-cock notch to be filled so that the trigger skips over the half-cock on the way to the full cock.

Murph has a nice example of an early pasteboard box lid instructions with the "Rebounding lock" over stamp. The instructions say to carry the loaded arm with the hammer in the "safety catch". On later boxes, the 'rebounding lock, information was printed as the last line of the inner lid instructions and the reference to the safety catch eliminated.

Smith & Wesson made rather scarce wood boxes for these revolvers for the 3 1/2" barrel. Three-inch barrels have been found in these boxes. These wood boxes were the only boxes made at Smith & Wesson; all other boxes were subcontracted to outside vendors. The inner top labels were originally printed with the words "Half cock the arm". Frugal Smith & Wesson updated these already printed labels by overprinting a blackout over the words 'Half cock the arm'. The third printing eliminated the half cock the arm all together.

 

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,

Smith & Wesson made rather scarce wood boxes for these revolvers for the 3 1/2" barrel. Three-inch barrels have been found in these boxes. These wood boxes were the only boxes made at Smith & Wesson; all other boxes were subcontracted to outside vendors. The inner top labels were originally printed with the words "Half cock the arm". Frugal Smith & Wesson updated these already printed labels by overprinting a blackout over the words 'Half cock the arm'. The third printing eliminated the half cock the arm all together.

Case in point, see pics.

Cheers!
Webb

 

[ClickBang!]

Hi There,



Case in point, see pics.

Cheers!
Webb

Thank you all for weighing in on this topic. Fascinating. And can you imagine a firearms maker today simply using grease marker or whiteout to correct printed instructions? The insurance people and the lawyers would have a fit. Times sure have changed. It’s an interesting footnote in firearms history to see these photos of the box lid instructions.