Magic Cotton in the Trigger Return Spring

Texas Rifleman · Mar 22, 2010

Sorry. I couldn't resist the title.

I brought this up in an old thread but I think my next question needed a new one.

If the fiber dampener in the Sigma's trigger return spring is removed, is it a problem?

Read below for why I ask...

"I bought a SW40F from a friend and after reading the manual decided to clean it. I used a Q-tip around the trigger return spring and cleaned everything up really nice. I used a Q-tip to get some powder out of places I couldn't get with my fingers. I didn't want to spray gun scrubber on a poly frame. After I was finished I noticed there was some "cotton" inside the trigger return spring. I was sitting there thinking, "Holy crap. I must have really worked that Q-tip into the spring. Look at all the cotton I got in there!"
So I spent the next fifteen minutes getting all of the fiber out of the spring."

Whoops!

If it is a problem, how do you replace it? Does anyone have instructions, video, or pictures? If it's not a problem I'll leave it alone.

WR Moore · Mar 22, 2010

The "tampon" is in there from the factory as a vibration damper. High volume testing indicates that the trigger return spring does, in fact, fail rapidly (~2500-3000 rounds) without it. [This wasn't part of the test. They were using air pressure to blow dry the weapon after cleaning/cooling and lost the widget that way.] It is not available separately. Since a new trigger return spring is less than $3, buy a new one.

This is why you read the directions carefully and very carefully examine the weapon to determine the "as found condition" of the various parts before cleaning.

Texas Rifleman · Mar 22, 2010

WR Moore said:
The "tampon" is in there from the factory as a vibration damper. High volume testing indicates that the trigger return spring does, in fact, fail rapidly (~2500-3000 rounds) without it. [This wasn't part of the test. They were using air pressure to blow dry the weapon after cleaning/cooling and lost the widget that way.] It is not available separately. Since a new trigger return spring is less than $3, buy a new one.

This is why you read the directions carefully and very carefully examine the weapon to determine the "as found condition" of the various parts before cleaning.

Which directions are you referring to? The weapon was in excellent shape when I received it. I could tell it hadn't been shot much. The guy I bought it from rarely shot it (from what he told me). Even if I had seen the tampon in the spring before I cleaned the pistol I still would have thought there was something wrong with the spring. I have field stripped many pistols and detail stripped six different ones and have never seen a manufacturer use a tampon in a spring. S&W really should have mentioned this part in their manual.

For Example:

"Don't be alarmed. Yes, there is a tampon in your trigger return spring. Leave it alone. It's there to dampen our weak spring that we should have engineered better."

I'm not trying to knock S&W or the Sigma because I love both. Just pointing out some obvious stuff here.

WR Moore · Mar 22, 2010

Actually, there have been several makers who put vibration dampers inside coil type tension springs which were stretched, not compressed in action. This isn't limited to handguns. Why the designers chose that particular type of spring, I don't know. I do know that the springs lead a long life if the dampers are left in place-20K rounds being the suggested change interval in the M&P which uses the same spring. To be frank, the 2500-3000 round life of an undamped spring is probably more than a great many shooters will ever fire in their lives.

I was referring to the instruction book when I mentioned directions. Since the manufacturers devote considerable sums in the design and testing of new products, it's best to assume that various things you observe in the weapon are supposed to be there. If you have doubts, the manufacturer is the first place to look for authoritative information.

blastfact · Mar 22, 2010

Texas Rifleman said:
Which directions are you referring to? The weapon was in excellent shape when I received it. I could tell it hadn't been shot much. The guy I bought it from rarely shot it (from what he told me). Even if I had seen the tampon in the spring before I cleaned the pistol I still would have thought there was something wrong with the spring. I have field stripped many pistols and detail stripped six different ones and have never seen a manufacturer use a tampon in a spring. S&W really should have mentioned this part in their manual.

For Example:

"Don't be alarmed. Yes, there is a tampon in your trigger return spring. Leave it alone. It's there to dampen our weak spring that we should have engineered better."

I'm not trying to knock S&W or the Sigma because I love both. Just pointing out some obvious stuff here.

It's a dampened spring! And they are used in many application and come in all sizes and weights.......

I made a very brief mention of the dampened spring. It never came to my simple mind that this would confuse folks. It's not there for big vibrations, but harmonic control that would wear the spring at a accelerated rate.

YouTube - Sigma 9mm, Part 4, Turning a pigs ear into a silk purse

Texas Rifleman · Mar 22, 2010

It's all good. It was actually your video that brought the dampening spring to my attention and I am very thankful for that! I had removed it before I saw the video.
Like I said before, I've taken apart a lot of pistols and had never seen a dampened spring before. Now I know

. The pistol was used and the dampening material was black and oily. I mentioned in another post that upon first visual inspection the material was near invisible because of its blackened condition and that I only noticed it when actual q-tip material got stuck in the spring (at which point I stopped using a q-tip

).
Ironically I used the cotton from a q-tip to use as new dampening material and cut part of the stem of the q-tip to make a slave pin to both remove and re-install the trigger assembly so I could add the new material. See pictures below of the new material.

Magic Cotton in the Trigger Return Spring

Texas Rifleman

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WR Moore

Texas Rifleman

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WR Moore

blastfact

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Texas Rifleman

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