Do you know if innards are interchangable?

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Yes & Yes

Quick answer: with the exception of K22 hammers which only fit K22s, forged hammers and triggers interchange between short action (i. e. post WWII) K, L and N frames. MIM hammers only work with frame mounted firing pins but still interchange between K, L and N frames.

If your 686's firing pin is mounted on its hammer then all modern target hammers with attached firing pins will fit except for the too small J frame hammers.

I hope this helps.
Gil
 
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The triggers are the same, but the hammers are different between K, L, and N frames.
Not sure about an L frame target hammer.

Bill Mahnke SWCA #1915
 
I haven't tried it yet, but according to the S&W parts manual the .500 wide target hammer for the 617 will fit the L frame with the frame mounted firing pin. As to why, the 617 is a rimfire that stikes at the top of the rim, the L frame uses a larger diameter cylindeer and the dimension must coincide. Take a look at the parts manual for the 686 and the 617 on S&W's PDF archive, you'll see that there is a .500 wide target hammer with the same part number in both listings.

Now, one big issue will be finding that particular hammer, Brownells doesn't list S&W part numbers and Numrich won't let you search by part number. Quite simply, the number may be in the catalog but I haven't yet been able to find one.
 
surveyor_nm said:
The triggers are the same, but the hammers are different between K, L, and N frames.
Bill Mahnke SWCA #1915
Click to expand...

Long action K and N frame hammers do not interchange but short action K, L and N frames with forged parts all use the same hammers and triggers excepting of course the rimfires.

scooter123 said:
[...] .500 wide target hammer for the 617 will fit the L frame with the frame mounted firing pin. [...] Take a look at the parts manual for the 686 and the 617 on S&W's PDF archive, you'll see that there is a .500 wide target hammer with the same part number in both listings. [...]
Click to expand...

Karnivore did not type a dash after 686. If his 686 is a no dash a K22 hammer obviously won't fit.

I have not changed hammers or triggers in any revolvers with MIM parts. Do forged K22 hammers interchange with K, L and N centerfire MIM hammers or is it only MIM K22 hammers that do?

It sounds like a mostly unnoticed benifit of the change to MIM parts was standardization of hammers.

This website does force us to pay more attention to details.

Best Regards,
Gil
 
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Short-action, forged hammers (i.e. "post-war") will NOT interchange between the frame sizes.

MIM hammers WILL interchange between K- and L-frame sizes (they are the same part).

MIM hammers will NOT interchange between K/L-frame and N-frame sizes.

MIM hammers will NOT interchange with forged hammers, rimfire nor centerfire.

Forged triggers WILL interchange between frame sizes.

MIM triggers WILL interchange between frame sizes.

MIM triggers WILL interchange with forged triggers.
 
valkyriekl said:
Short-action, forged hammers (i.e. "post-war") will NOT interchange between the frame sizes.
Click to expand...

That is a common missconception. Only J frames use a different size.

Otherwise, thank you for the information on what MIM parts interchange. I haven't done any switching of MIM parts but I''ll put that information with my spare hammers & triggers even though they are all forged.

Best Regards,
Gil
 
Gentlemen,

I very much appreciate the info. I am trying to trade a buddy out of a 686 6" with the hammer mounted firing pin. I really want to have the .500 T/H on it.


Thanks, Karnivore
 
Innards Interchange Study, pt. 1

I ran a little experiment just now to illustrate the differences in hammer sizes. I took six of my S&W revolvers - Models 19-3, 686-1M, 25-2, 617-4, 686-5, and 629-5 - and disassembled them to where I could attempt to fit the hammer from each gun into every other gun. Three of the guns (19-3, 686-1M, 25-2) have forged innards, and the other three have MIM innards. There is one of each frame size for each construction method: K-frame (forged: 19-3; MIM: 617-4), L-frame (forged: 686-1M; MIM: 686-5), and N-frame (forged: 25-2; MIM: 629-5).

First, I arranged the guns and removed their sideplates:




 
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Innards Interchange Study, pt. 2

Next I took pictures of the hammers in their uncocked and cocked positions, to establish a 'baseline' with correctly-fitting and functioning parts:

25-2:


686-1M:


19-3:


629-5:


686-5:


617-4:
 
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k22fan said:
That is a common missconception. Only J frames use a different size.
Click to expand...

k22fan,

Give it up, you are absolutely wrong.

The internal parts of K-L-N size frames are identical/interchangeable EXCEPT THE HAMMER! The larger frames are taller above the hammer axis and internally the same below this point.

The other exceptions would be the hand and, and possibly, the bolt
 
Innards Interchange Study, pt. 3a

I removed all of the hammers, arranged them side-by-side and took comparison pictures:

Forged hammers: (L-to-R: K-frame, L-frame, N-frame)




 
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Innards Interchange Study, pt. 3b

MIM hammers: (L-to-R: K-frame, L-frame, N-frame)






It's subtle, but the different hammers have different sizes and shapes. The forged K-frame, forged L-frame, and forged N-frame hammers are all different. The MIM K-frame and MIM L-frame hammers are the same, while the MIM N-frame hammer is larger.
 
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Valkyriekl,

I'm keeping an open for updates while I eat my supper. Heck, this is better than a ball game!:D

Gil
 
Innards Interchange Study, pt. 4a

Now the fun part: attempting to install hammers in various frames. First up: installing forged L- and K-frame hammers in an N-frame.

L-frame hammer in an N-frame:


Note the gap at the top, and that the hammer is resting against the recoil shield:


With the hammer resting against the recoil shield, the hammer nose does NOT protrude into the frame window:


I could not cock the hammer for single-action; the geometry is too incompatible. Also note the gap between the frame/cylinder locking bolt and the back of the hammer:
 
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Innards Interchange Study, pt. 4b

K-frame hammer in an N-frame:


An even larger gap up top, and this time the hammer rests well away from the recoil shield:


Obviously, the hammer nose does NOT protrude into the frame window:


Also, I could not thumb the hammer back to assess whether it could cock for single-action.

My conclusion here is that K- and L-frame hammers will NOT work in an N-frame.
 
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Innards Interchange Study, pt. 5

N-frame hammer in an L-frame. Pretty predictable results; the hammer won't even fit in the frame!:


K-frame hammer in an L-frame: the hammer fits, but there's a gap:




I don't think I attempted to cock the hammer for single-action or attempted to put the hammer into full lockup (hammer in 'fired' position, trigger pulled all the way back).

My conclusion here is that N- and K-frames won't work in an L-frame, either.
 
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Valkyriekl,

You're right! There are 4 sizes of forged short action hammers.
What do I do for pennance?

Gil
 
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