Hello,
I own a 1920 era hand ejector, a 442, a Pro Series 640, and an M&P 9 compact. I want to learn as much as possible about S&W revolvers in general and mine in particular. I thought I'd purchase something like "The S&W Revolver: A Shop Manual" by Jerry Kuhnhausen. I know it gets rave reviews, but a few reviewers make it sound as if it is a large collection of spec diagrams and shop manual pages. Maybe it is more than that. That's what I wish to find out.
I really want to understand the revolver's components, and how they work. As an end result, I would like to be comfortable doing a detailed cleaning sometime if I wished to. I am wondering if Kuhnhausen's text would supply that sort of warmup, or does it assume the reader is more accomplished than I am.
For example, as part of cleaning the hand ejector today, I removed the grips as I assumed my granddad would never have done that. Well, I removed the strain screw before I knew what it was and the mainspring disengaged. To remedy this, I removed the side plate and of course the gun needs a good, piece-by-piece cleaning. I cleaned carefully a bit without removing any parts, oiled, and returned the side plate (and cylinder, etc.) and all went well. I really would like to be able to pull all the pieces out, know their names (beyond hammer, trigger, etc.), understand the function of each piece, clean them, oil, and put them all back. I want to know enough so I won't do real damage in the effort to take really good care of the revolvers. As an example, I want to understand the timing of the cylinder, not to do anything with it, but to be sure I can't mess it up by accident. Is Kuhnhausen's book what I should buy?
Also, I understand I will need a couple specialized tools and probably a few smithing screwdrivers. But I am only interested in disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly. How much will I have to spend on these few tools?
thanks
I own a 1920 era hand ejector, a 442, a Pro Series 640, and an M&P 9 compact. I want to learn as much as possible about S&W revolvers in general and mine in particular. I thought I'd purchase something like "The S&W Revolver: A Shop Manual" by Jerry Kuhnhausen. I know it gets rave reviews, but a few reviewers make it sound as if it is a large collection of spec diagrams and shop manual pages. Maybe it is more than that. That's what I wish to find out.
I really want to understand the revolver's components, and how they work. As an end result, I would like to be comfortable doing a detailed cleaning sometime if I wished to. I am wondering if Kuhnhausen's text would supply that sort of warmup, or does it assume the reader is more accomplished than I am.
For example, as part of cleaning the hand ejector today, I removed the grips as I assumed my granddad would never have done that. Well, I removed the strain screw before I knew what it was and the mainspring disengaged. To remedy this, I removed the side plate and of course the gun needs a good, piece-by-piece cleaning. I cleaned carefully a bit without removing any parts, oiled, and returned the side plate (and cylinder, etc.) and all went well. I really would like to be able to pull all the pieces out, know their names (beyond hammer, trigger, etc.), understand the function of each piece, clean them, oil, and put them all back. I want to know enough so I won't do real damage in the effort to take really good care of the revolvers. As an example, I want to understand the timing of the cylinder, not to do anything with it, but to be sure I can't mess it up by accident. Is Kuhnhausen's book what I should buy?
Also, I understand I will need a couple specialized tools and probably a few smithing screwdrivers. But I am only interested in disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly. How much will I have to spend on these few tools?
thanks