686 Trigger Job -- Pay for Gunsmith or DIY?

[BrianBoz]

Hello all,
I am completely new to this thread world, so I thank you in advance for your patience. I read through some threads and didn't find what I was looking for...

I just got a 686-6 and the first thing I noticed was the heavy trigger (which I have read about on here)

I bought the wilson combat Custom-Tune Spring Kit (#178) after reading several referrals. I have yet to install this (I am going to get a trigger pull scale to measure the "before"). But I have also read and seen that the "trigger meets hammer" junction can sometimes be smoothed to improve performance. I saw Potterfield do it on YouTube, and the gunsmith wants $100 for it, so my instinct is to try it myself.

My question is this: Is it possible, with research, to do this task myself? Does that procedure make that much difference (on top of the spring kit)?

I was looking online for pics of the hammer and trigger parts "before" and "after" the smoothing job. Does anyone have those pictures available?

Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you guys.

Brian

 

[PH-2]

Brian,

Smooth and Heavy are two different parameters, Reliable ignition is the third. Most Smiths will get smoother with use.
The thing is you can have any two of these. If this is a carry gun, you must have "reliable."
Before changing any springs, you may want to get a copy of Miculek's "Trigger Job" DVD. It literally walks you through the process of smoothing the metal-on-metal surfaces in your gun. Results are instantly noticed, the next time you shoot.
My advice is to begin with the smoothing/stoning and leave re-springing until you have performed those steps and evaluated the gun, afterwards.

Mike

 

[BCDWYO]

I'd second Mike's advise. I know it is possible to do your own trigger work, but I've had several revolvers that underwent trigger jobs by experienced gunsmiths and came back unreliable with certain ammo and primers. That tells me there is a pretty fine line and I wouldn't want to attempt it and mess up my gun.

 

[BrianBoz]

Brian,

Smooth and Heavy are two different parameters, Reliable ignition is the third. Most Smiths will get smoother with use.
The thing is you can have any two of these. If this is a carry gun, you must have "reliable."
Before changing any springs, you may want to get a copy of Miculek's "Trigger Job" DVD. It literally walks you through the process of smoothing the metal-on-metal surfaces in your gun. Results are instantly noticed, the next time you shoot.
My advice is to begin with the smoothing/stoning and leave re-springing until you have performed those steps and evaluated the gun, afterwards.

Mike

Thanks Mike. I appreciate that advise. And I will follow it. After watching some youtubes, am I safe to assume that all I will need (other than the DVD) is the India sharpening stone?

 

[scooter123]

These are very easy revolvers to work on once you've aquired a few things that I consider essential. First and foremost is the S&W Shop Manual by Jerry Kuhnhausen. I got mine from Brownell's and I believe that it's carried by all to the gunsmith vendors. Second you'll want a good 6 inch Arkansas stone in a fine grit or a small selection of Diamond Hand Laps in various grits.

I prefer the diamond laps simply because I already had a set acquited for other hobbies. You can get these from either MSC Industrial Supply or Production Tool by hitting their web site and searching for "EZE-LAP". Either of these vendors will also have a variety of stones, however they are not true Arkansas stone and will wear faster and be more fragile than the natural stone. If you decide you want a good stone just realize it will be a bit expensive and order one from Brownell's or the like.

Third item is one I consider essential but others have figured out how to use a small philips head screwdriver to do the job. That is a Rebound Spring Tool. Because you will need some method of installing the Rebound Slide and Spring.

Your 686-6 is late enough to be both MIM and feature a frame mounted firing pin. Personally I regard both of these features as a positive from the Tuning perspective. MIM parts are so consistent for size and shape that they normally don't require much more than a smoothing to the running face of the Rebound slide. I wouldn't even bother with smoothing either the trigger or hammer because by nature I've found that these MIM parts "wear in" to a very nice interface. As for the Frame Mounted firing pin, this allows you to install an aftermarket firing pin that is a bit longer and features a provision for a bit more travel on the firing pin. This makes it much much easier to achieve reliable ignition with an 8 lbs. trigger.

A trigger pull gage is also something that I would only consider essential if you plan on tuning multiple revolvers, it makes it easy to adjust the lockwork to values that you know work well. However, it's not an essential and if you're only tuning one revolver you can use test firing to determine how light to tune the trigger.

Now for a couple tips. One is to shoot a minimum of 1000 rounds through your 686 or dry fire in 1000 times using snap caps before you do any tuning. This will put wear marks in the frame recess and lockwork parts that will help guide you to areas that may need a bit of extra smoothing. Another is to remember that you can't put material back once it's been removed. Bascially, when you do any stoning or the like proceed in baby steps so you don't stone too much material away.

Finally, the Mainspring is mostly what determines the Double Action trigger weight and the Rebound Spring is what determines the Single Action trigger weight. While there is a small degree of crossover between these two aspect the amount of that crossover is quite minor. If you want a near guarateed formula install a 14 lbs. rebound spring and then tune the mainspring to produce a 8.5 lbs double action trigger. At the same time install a firing pin From Cylinder and Slide and you'll have 100% ignition reliability with Remington, Winchester, Speer, or Federal ammos and also find your single action trigger breaks a bit over 3 lbs., which IMO is perfect.

 

[PH-2]

Brian,

Brother Scooter imparts good "larnin'".
I bought my india stone, rebound slide tool, and 'smithin' screwdrivers from Midway. Proper, hollow-ground screwdrivers are a requirement. You can peruse the offerings and find a set with the rebound slide tool included. The mentioned Kuhnhausen shop manual is a great reference.
I use and refer to it in concert with JM's DVD.
I also like to use CLP on the gun' innards. It will help flush debris and Clean-Lubicate-Protect. I use a dab of Rem-Oil, or similar on my stones. (Can I say that here?)

Mike

 

[rhm0351]

I've done about 100 S&W actions, and all of the advise given so far is accurate. I used the Kuhnhausen book and Gunsmith Kinks series in learning. I still like stoning the sides of the trigger and hammer, hand, rebound slide (all sides), and radiusing the edges of the rebound slide. Before I got my stones, aluminum oxide sandpaper in a 400 and 600 grit over a perfectly flat surface, such as glass, worked sufficiently for action jobs. I like to pinch the sandpaper over the posts just to take any burrs off, too. If you're really feeling dedicated, take some diamond files and hit the channel that the hand travels in to rotate the cylinder and polish the inside of the rebound slide where the spring is, there are typically quite a few burrs in there, I've found.

 

[6actual]

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