Installing new hammer?

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Curt Fesler

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I'm no gunsmith but I do have some tools including gunsmithing screwdrivers. I have a Model 68-2 S & W 6" Revolver that was converted to double action by the PD I once worked for. I ordered a new hammer (Model 66) that from outward appearances looks like it will work. How big a job is it to remove the side plates and install the new hammer? Is this work better left to an expert? I have a buddy who can do it but he is busy with other projects at present and I'm not sure when he will be able to get to it.
 
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First, if you are lucky, it will drop in and work without any further fitting. Since you've never worked on them before, you would be much better off letting someone who knows exactly how they should fit check it out after it's installed. Common issues with hammer swaps are failure to reach full cock or easy push-off.
As for the disassembly to get to the old hammer, there are several parts that you need to understand how they work in order to get them back in place. Unless you are VERY good at taking things apart and putting them back together for the first time, you should get Jerry Kuhnhausen's book.
I could probably do a hammer swap with a blindfold on, but I've had all varieties of Smiths apart hundreds of times. Without a rebound spring tool, it takes a bit of skill to re-intall that spring without extreme frustration, sore fingers, or a lost spring. Without understanding the hand spring, it's tough to re-install the hand and get the hand spring behind the pin.
Good luck!
 
Hey Chris,
I am going to follow your advice and wait on my buddy to do it but I will be watching and learning while he is doing it. If I lived closer I would drop by for a lesson.

I had a police officer from another jurisdiction drop by a couple of times while off duty on a social call. He would always look my model 14 S & W over and do a complete tear down cleaning and lubing everything. I should have paid attention. I can't see doing that all the time but I would love to have the skill. When he finished the revolver was very smoothe.
 
Thanks again!
I watched the video last night and learned a few things. MY gunsmithing screwdrivers are lacking (a few broken tips) so I ordered a new set of Wheelers delux. I understand they have mixed reviews but they should be good enough for me and my minimal work and tear downs.
 
As far as the screwdrivers are concerned, the Brownells sets are very good and I do believe they are guaranteed for life against breakage.

As far as the new trigger is concerned, as the previous posted said, sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. From my personal experience, you have at least a 50% chance of getting lucky of having it drop in. There have been times I had to fit them, and the fitting is not all that hard if you understand what the parts are suppose to do, touch and how they interact with the other parts. If you are a novice at this, and if your luck is not good (meaning it won't "drop in"), you are probably better off having a Smith or someone knowledgeable fit it for you. If you are able to watch the fitting process, you will learn for the next time you encounter this problem.

Chief38
 
Some of my buddies that use Wheelers, swear by them. I personally am not happy with any of the sets available as they come. They are all good. However, when I'm working on a 99 % gun or an engraved masterpiece, I find that I need to fit and polish the tips.

You won't need to do this but I want the hollow ground tip to fit all the way to the bottom of the slot of every screw and screws differ in slot depth so I extend the hollow grind higher up the shaft.
Next you'll find that many screw slots do not have a flat bottom slot so I put a slight curve on the tip edge to match.
Lastly I polish the sides of the tip to reduce the shank a few thousands less than the width of the tip and make it like a mirror so there's no chance of touching/scratching the inside edge of the screw hole.

I have had much better luck with a very high percentage of hammers and triggers "dropping in" S&W guns. If you try it and don't get a drop in fit, you can always take it in to have it fitted. Let us know how it goes.
 
Did you get a new hammer? If so, the sear usually needs to be fit. If you install the sear from the old hammer on your new hammer you'll probably have a "drop in".
 
OK,
The job was done over at my buddies the other night. The hammer dropped in fine but the revolver didn't work in double action mode. We switched the arm that floats (sear???) with the longer one on my old hammer. We drove out the pin, made the switch and now it works. The double action mode is a little rugged and I need to do something about it. Single action is perfect. The pistol needs to be tricked out some to improve the double action mode. I hope there is an easy way to smoothe out the double action mode without completely tearing down and removing all the parts.
 
Curt Fesler said:
I hope there is an easy way to smoothe out the double action mode without completely tearing down and removing all the parts.
Click to expand...
No, unfortunately it's going to come apart if you want it better. Probably should take it to someone with the skills to check the sear fit and correct the fitting if necessary. It can work DA but still be binding and need fitting. After that it's parts smoothing and checking and more fitting and springs.
 
Curt Fesler said:
OK,
The job was done over at my buddies the other night. The hammer dropped in fine but the revolver didn't work in double action mode. We switched the arm that floats (sear???) with the longer one on my old hammer. We drove out the pin, made the switch and now it works. The double action mode is a little rugged and I need to do something about it. Single action is perfect. The pistol needs to be tricked out some to improve the double action mode. I hope there is an easy way to smoothe out the double action mode without completely tearing down and removing all the parts.
Click to expand...

We should have told you to keep the sear that came with the gun, but anyway it works. You can't really do an action job without tearing it apart. However, what you should do 1st anyway before action work is dry fire it double action about 200 hundred or more times in double action mode. Flush all the oil out of it with a cleaner or lacquer thinner first.

You will accomplish two things: wear in the parts which should vastly improve the DA by the end of the 200 times and may even be good enough for you once you oil it up again. Secondly you will 'mark' the parts which will clue whoever tunes it for you where the contact is and the polishing needs to be
 
Jim,
I like your method and will try it. My buddy who helped me with it has a new S & W pistol in 45 ACP that uses moon clips. HIs pistol is as smoothe as glass, something I'm not after. He will help me with this pistol when I get ready. Why anyone would want a modern day revolver shooting 45 ACP is beyond me. I'm not after a glass smooth action, just something that is reasonable and what Jim said might get the job done.
 
If you are refering to the post about the sear needing to be fit, I"m not even sure what the sear is. I assume it was the floating bar that is pinned to the hammer. On the new hammer it was shorter than the old one so we had to pull a switch to make it work. If it had been fit properly most likely it would work a lot better than it does right now. But it does work, not at the desired level I would like.
 
Curt Fesler said:
If you are refering to the post about the sear needing to be fit, I"m not even sure what the sear is.
Click to expand...
Understandable. You're correct it's the "floating bar that is pinned to the hammer". Doesn't make much sense but the "sear" is what S&W calls it. Gotta look at a parts diagram to figure out what is called what. On the forged hammers the new ones are too long and need to be fitted, or you use the old one on your new hammer which usually gets you close.
 
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