ALERT - (now with updates) WHEN CHANGING RECOIL SPRING ON MODEL 41..........

[chief38]

NOTE: PICTURES ADDED 02/15/19 IN ANOTHER OF MY POSTS BELOW (#15). I WOULD SUGGEST LOOKING AT THEM CLOSELY.

NOTE #2 : More pictures ADDED 02/17/19 - post #26 & #27

If and when you ever change your Recoil Spring on a M41 and intend to buy Wolff Springs you MUST know this fact! While the original S&W Recoil Spring IS finished on both ends, the Wolff Springs are NOT. They are only finished on one end and that finished end MUST face the Muzzle. If you put the unfinished side forward, it will jump the front of the Recoil Guide Rod and jam up the gun bad!! This has actually happened to two friends and I've witnessed both occasions - so I am not whistling Dixie! Getting the gun apart ain't pretty - so please heed this warning.

So WHY buy a Wolff replacement Spring instead of one from the Factory you might ask........ Well, S&W only sells the standard Recoil Spring weight ( 7.5 pounds I believe ) and if you need a lighter or heavier one, Wolff is where to get one. Just be aware while it does NOT matter which direction you install the Factory Spring, it DOES matter if you use a Wolff Spring.

HINT: If you do use a Wolff Spring you might want to dip the finished end in red pain or something so you never forget - just a suggestion.

 

[graydog]

Thanks for that info

Graydog

 

[Barrie]

I also say Thank You for the tip.

 

[Walter Rego]

Chief38, excuse my ignorance but what exactly do you mean by "finished" ? Does that mean like the coil is ground flat ? I usually install recoil springs that have one end tighter than the other with the tight end towards the rear of the guide and the more open end towards the front. I have not fired my Model 41 since I installed a new Wolff spring and forget what it looked like.

 

[Barrie]

You should be able to see which end is finished nicer the the other end. That will be the finished end.

 

[kidcom]

Thanks chief38. Attached is a pic showing the two ends of a Wolff 41 recoils spring. To bad that it's a "Wolff Spring In Sheep's Clothing"

 

[aprilian]

Also, the inside wire end of the muzzle end MUST be checked for sharp point. I got one which tore up a guide rod. For a pistol which is on the edge of having enough recoil energy, using any of that energy to scratch the rod will cause failures. I have a couple used guide rods thanks to this particular issue - I AM a slow learner.

 

[armorer951]

I contacted Wolff, and they advised that the information concerning spring orientation is included in the instructions that accompany the product......

________________________________________________


Customer Service <[email protected]>

11:13 AM (11 minutes ago)

to me

Hello,



Thanks for your email and advise. Please be advised, instructions to place the open end of the spring at the muzzle end of the guide rod are printed on the recoil spring packaging included with each recoil spring we sell.



Regards,

John Andrews

Wolff Gunsprings

 

[chief38]

Chief38, excuse my ignorance but what exactly do you mean by "finished" ? Does that mean like the coil is ground flat ? I usually install recoil springs that have one end tighter than the other with the tight end towards the rear of the guide and the more open end towards the front. I have not fired my Model 41 since I installed a new Wolff spring and forget what it looked like.

The finished end of a Spring has the last coil wound flat and is right up against the second to last coil (like your Rebound Springs are in a Revolver) and will stand up on its own if you place it on a table top. The unfinished end looks like a Corkscrew. NEVER place the unfinished "Corkscrew" end of a Wolff Recoil spring towards the muzzle on a M41!! The sharp end will jump off the Guide Rod and jam up your M41 like nobody's business!! Wolff makes a large variety of different weight Recoil Springs for the M41 but for some stupid reason only finishes ONE END!! S&W finishes both ends but they only have the standard weight 7.5 lb. Spring available. If your M41 runs fine with the standard Factory weight Spring - leave it alone. When it gets tired, buy another from S&W. Should you need a different weight Wolff Spring - mark the finished end with red paint or something just so you will not inadvertently put it in backwards.

 

[chief38]

You should be able to see which end is finished nicer the the other end. That will be the finished end.

You can - but the suggestion to mark it was just an extra precaution.

 

[chief38]

I contacted Wolff, and they advised that the information concerning spring orientation is included in the instructions that accompany the product......

________________________________________________


Customer Service <[email protected]>

11:13 AM (11 minutes ago)

to me

Hello,



Thanks for your email and advise. Please be advised, instructions to place the open end of the spring at the muzzle end of the guide rod are printed on the recoil spring packaging included with each recoil spring we sell.



Regards,

John Andrews

Wolff Gunsprings

Armorer951:

You can attribute the note on the package to me. After both of my friends had to sent their M41's back to S&W for extensive repair work to open up the gun and one had to be completely re-blued (that is how bad the guns jammed up) I got on the phone and had a discussion with Mr Wolff. Wolff Spring Co. reimbursed BOTH of my friends (hundreds of dollars) for all the repair and re-bluing work S&W had to do because of the Wolff Springs. I suggested and actually urged him to finish both sides of the the M41 Springs (as does S&W) but he out and out refused. His answer instead was to put a warning on the package. When both of my friends purchased the Wolff Spring 2 years ago, there was no warning! All the years they had owned their M41's they never had to pay attention to orientation, they inadvertently installed the Spring the wrong direction. So that is when and why Wolff started with the warning note and not prior to these two incidences! As a businessman myself, I think Mr Wolff made a big mistake - especially after he laid out so much money for the repair reimbursements, but it's his business and his choice.

My intent here is to warn guys who are buying new Wolff M41 Recoil Springs as they might not even read the package. After all - if you own a M41 for many years and never had to concern yourself with Spring orientation - why would one even start look?

 

[chief38]

Armorer951,

There is also another reason I believe Mr. Wolff took the "penny wise and pound foolish" way out.....

Wolff sells what they call a "calibration set" of M41 Springs that include 5 or 6 different weight springs. If one opens up the packages and tries different springs until they find the one that works for them, the packaging could be discarded, misplaced or thrown out. Even if the owner judiciously marks the springs with the correct weight, the warning note is gone. If those springs are given to someone else, they don't have a warning to read and again, Spring orientation on a M41 was a non issue with the stock spring so many just don't realize the new ones are direction sensitive.

I'd bet Wolff has a whole lot of Springs that were made at one time and I suppose they don't want to have to throw them away and remake new ones with two finished ends. I get that, but marking with red paint (as S&W has in the past marked their Rebound Springs different colors for different weights) would have at least spurred guys to go back to the package and at least question why one end is red.

Anyway, at least I feel I did my part by calling Mr. Wolff and by posting this for M41 owners to be aware of. At least he did something!

 

[D Brown]

Totally and Thoroughly Confused

I contacted Wolff, and they advised that the information concerning spring orientation is included in the instructions that accompany the product......

________________________________________________


Customer Service <[email protected]>

11:13 AM (11 minutes ago)

to me

Hello,



Thanks for your email and advise. Please be advised, instructions to place the open end of the spring at the muzzle end of the guide rod are printed on the recoil spring packaging included with each recoil spring we sell.



Regards,

John Andrews

Wolff Gunsprings

This statement from Wolff Gunsprings completely contradicts the procedure outlined by Chief38 in Post #1 where he states that the Closed, or Finished end of the Recoil Spring should be oriented towards the muzzle.

Could someone please clarify which statement is correct, and which one is liable to truly cause problem.

They CAN'T BOTH be right!

Thank you.

 

[chief38]

This statement from Wolff Gunsprings completely contradicts the procedure outlined by Chief38 in Post #1 where he states that the Closed, or Finished end of the Recoil Spring should be oriented towards the muzzle.

Could someone please clarify which statement is correct, and which one is liable to truly cause problem.

They CAN'T BOTH be right!

Thank you.

The closed end of the Spring MUST face the muzzle as I stated in my original post! The closed end is what gets stopped by the hole in the Slide. If the open end fasces forward, it will corkscrew through the hole and jam up the M41 beyond your wildest imagination! Since the 1/4" deep hole in the Frame that the mushroomed end of the Recoil Guide sits in prevents even the unfinished Spring end from going anywhere, it can't cause any harm. I am not in possession of a newly shipped Wolff Spring and the warning was put on after my conversation with Mr Wolff so I can not see what he has written. Also Armorer might have posted it incorrectly.

Again, the finished end (facing the Muzzle) prevents the Spring from corkscrewing through the hole in the front slide. IF your M41 functions fine with the Factory 7.5 lb. original Spring and it has gotten tired, get another one from S&W! Their Springs are finished on BOTH sides and no thinking is involved. ONLY use the Wolff Springs if you need something other that the 7.5 lb. weight!

 

[chief38]

Here are pictures I took of one of my friends guns that we were able to take apart. There was however internal damage and S&W had to do the repair work. As you can see, he installed the UNFINISHED end forward (not aware there was now a difference) and it corkscrewed through the slide. The FINISHED side FORWARD would have prevented this from happening. My other friend was more unlucky and S&W had to get take gun apart, but in doing so more extensive damage was done. His gun ended up being refinished! What Armorer posted is INCORRECT!

 

[chief38]

I contacted Wolff, and they advised that the information concerning spring orientation is included in the instructions that accompany the product......

________________________________________________


Customer Service <[email protected]>

11:13 AM (11 minutes ago)

to me

Hello,



Thanks for your email and advise. Please be advised, instructions to place the open end of the spring at the muzzle end of the guide rod are printed on the recoil spring packaging included with each recoil spring we sell.



Regards,

John Andrews

Wolff Gunsprings

Please look at my photos in my added post. ^^^^^^^ Either Wolff wrote the instructions incorrectly or you posted them incorrectly. IF you in fact just paraphrased what the Wolff Spring Company has now written on their packages, you might want to email them once again and have them correct that statement as well.

 

[D Brown]

I too want to add my thanks to Chief38 for this thread.

This, in my opinion is important enough to warrant "Sticky" status.

Have you considered asking the Moderators to consider this Chief38?

Thanks again!

 

[chief38]

I too want to add my thanks to Chief38 for this thread.

This, in my opinion is important enough to warrant "Sticky" status.

Have you considered asking the Moderators to consider this Chief38?

Thanks again!

I have not, but since they monitor every post maybe they would consider it once they read it. Mod's.....?? I just hope those of us who do buy Wolff Springs for the M41 see this prior to installation. I also just wish that Wolff would manufacture the Spring as S&W originally designed it and this would have been a non-issue.

 

[armorer951]

I sent another e-mail to John Andrews at Wolff asking him to double check the wording he used in his reply to me concerning the recoil spring's proper orientation. (see post #8)

I wanted to confirm their instructions in the package state that the open end of the spring should be placed to the rear, and the "closed" or finished end toward the muzzle. (not the other way around)

I also want to confirm this was not just a mental error or mis-statement by him in the earlier correspondence, in which he stated just the opposite.

In the meantime, does anyone here have a current Wolff model 41 recoil spring package that shows the current instructions/warning concerning proper orientation of the spring? thanks

 

[03Fatboy]

ALERT - WHEN CHANGING RECOIL SPRING ON MODEL 41..........

I have a Wolff spring pak (not current) and the instructions don’t say anything about orientation of the spring upon installation. This issue is a bit concerning. I think I may toss it and not worry about it. I have had it for a couple years and am only using the factory weight anyways.