1006 and 1066 - hammers interchangable?

[nipster]

I recently bought my first 10mm handgun, a S&W 1066. Like it alot. I was looking for a used 1006, but had not been able to find one, but this one just popped up locally at a good price, so I jumped on it. The only thing I really dont like about it is the hammer. it is a factory bobbed hammer, guess they came that way based on some research. I was wondering if the 1066 hammer which has a spur on it is interchangeable, and if this process would be pretty straight forward. I'm new to 3rd gen S&W autos, my only other S&W auto is a 2nd gen 645.

If this belongs in the "smithing" forum, I apologize in advance.

 

[Mack]

Yes hammers are the same.

 

[nipster]

Thank you, how difficult is it to do? I assume not as easy as a revolver hammer.

 

[lawman90]

While I'm not sure on all that needs to come out for this job, you do have to remove the sideplate assembly - something that can be easily damaged if done wrong.

 

[Gunhacker]

It's a bit involved... the biggest challenge is dealing with the sideplate, which has the hammer pin attached to it.

The sideplate is multi-purpose, one leg is used to keep the slide stop lever in place, the other leg as has a set of "fingers" that fit in a grove on the of the sear pin, those fingers can be bent/broken during disassembly/assembly if not handled correctly... and sideplates are expensive to replace, and starting to become difficult to obtain.

The hammer pin also holds the disconnector and firing pin safety actuator levers in place on either side of the hammer... getting all of that to line up as you push the hammer pin through the frame can be frustrating.

Have you done any work on your 645 or would this be the first time you'd be trying to do some work on a S&W pistol?

When I decided to try my hand at swapping the spurless hammer with a spurred one on my 4006CHP, I already had a lot experience working on my revolvers, and I considered myself as having enough basic gunsmithing skills to tackle it by getting the AGI "Armorer" DVD on the S&W pistols.

There are videos on youtube showing the complete disassembly of 3rd gen's, take a look at what's involved and the tools needed.

Only you can judge whether of not you're up to the task.

 

[nipster]

Have you done any work on your 645 or would this be the first time you'd be trying to do some work on a S&W pistol?

No. I have done MUCH work on S&W revolvers, think I pretty much know them inside and out, but this is kind of my first venture into S&W autos.

I looked at a couple videos on youtube, but they went too fast to be of real use to me.

I also may try to trade this at some point for a 1006 anyway, as that is what I was really looking for anyway. This would be a fairly even trade, right?

 

[Gunhacker]

It sounds like you could pull it off with your experience... I really liked the AGI DVD, putting all of the nebulous cleaning instructions included on it aside, it was very useful. I too had only worked on revolvers previously before doing the hammer swap.

Would a 1006 be a fair trade for a 1066? Well in my opinion... more than fair, a 1066 is less common and a bigger bargaining chip.

 

[lawman90]

For what it's worth, I just took apart the relevant parts on one of my 4506's just now to see what it is like. All you have to do is push out the little pin that holds the sideplate's "fingers" towards the sideplate, and carefully pull the fingers around this pin. Once this is done, you just have to pull the sideplate out. Take note of where the levers are installed in regards to the hammer. Honestly it's fairly simple, and it is easy to align everything back in order by looking through the hole where the pin goes through.

To reinstall the sideplate, put the right side of the frame against a solid, flat surface such as a table so that the pin that holds the sideplate fingers juts out. Then, using a screwdriver on it's side, push down on the fingers of the sideplate, they should snap over the pin properly.

Also, I am on a similar venture in finding a new hammer for two of my 4506-1's. Mine are spurred, but not chrome plated. I was thinking about using the hammer from a 645 to do the job, but they have a half-cock notch. Option 2 was to get the hammers (and triggers) flash chromed/Robar'd/Duracoated in the appropriate color. You could probably do this on the MIM type as well, check Numrich for the appropriate parts - I believe they still have some non-MIM hammers left. Good luck!