I was introduced to this hand gun from my grandparents. It was my Grandmas father originally It is a Smith and Wesson .32 Double Action Top Break 5 Shot revolver. The Serial number is 840XX. Does anyone know the exact model and around what year it was built. Second, the mainspring is broken and I need to purchase a new one. Any recomendations of where to purchase and advice to make sure I get the right piece.

Thank you for any help.

It is a Fourth Model, which is the big one, 239,000+ made 1883-1909.
It is an antique, pre 1899, with SN under 209,300.

It is going to be tough to get fixed. A collector here once described these as S&W's answer to the Colt Lightning, a first generation double action with fragile parts. All the spares are long gone, all that can be done is cannibalize another gun and hope it did not break the same bits. A friend has a .38 DA in pieces lacking a commonly broken part.

I took off the grip and found out that the Mainspring is broken. This may be the only issue with the gun, is it possible to find a Mainspring that will work with my gun?

Parts are getting harder to find on these old guns. Try gun parts or Jack First. I know they have parts on the safety hammerless top breaks and some on the .32 and .38 top breaks. If not, you can fabricate one. They are not hard to make. Just purchase some spring stock and view the DVD from AGI on making springs and heat treating. I made a v spring for my S&W Model 1 1/2 .32 single action top break. It may take you four or five times to make one but once you take your time and follow directions, you can do it.

Nick

Try Numrich Gun Parts Corp.
egunparts.com: The Leading E Gun Part Site on the Net
(845 ) 679-7424
the catalog #25 shows this part as item #329320
mainspring for $6.50
The catalog shows just about every part , screws , trigger guards , hammers triggers even barrels and cylinders.
If they are actually in stock only a phone call will tell.
This is my go to place for parts,

gary

I needed a mainspring for a safety hammerless and found this post while searching the forum. Here is an update of the useful info provided by gwpercle in 2012.

Numrich Website:
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/

Phone: 866.NUMRICH (866.686.7424)

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Dana K. Williams

Welcome to the Forum. Your revolver was shipped around 1885, so it is an antique and that allows you to sell it without FFL involvement and makes it slightly more desirable. I believe the mainspring for the 32 DA and 32 Safety revolvers are the same, so check for either one and you should be fine. There may be more mainsprings that will fit, but not sure.

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Gary
SWCA 2515