Broken hammer - drop in replacement?

[tacotime]

Broken hammer spur on mid-70's blue J frame, a bit short now. What are the chances of a drop in replacement hammer working correctly right off?

And what is the most likely function error condition to encounter with a drop in replacement hammer?

Thanks.

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

If you get a new replacement hammer it will likely need to be fitted. They are made at the upper tolerance in key dimensions and it was assumed they would need some fitting. That said, I've heard of them dropping in and working fine.

A used hammer was already fitted to some gun somewhere along the line. It might drop in an work fine in yours. It might need fitting. The risk is, though, it might not work at all and might not be able to made to work.

So to summarize, a new replacement hammer will work, may drop in, but may need fitting. A used hammer may drop in, may need fitting, or may not be able to to work at all.

I'm not a smith, this is what I've been told. Let me add that if the spur broke off your hammer it may still have some value to someone looking to make a DOA revolver. I should be able to sell it and make back some of your money. Used hammers are bought and sold all the time. The vast majority of the time they work fine or can be made to work fine.

 

[Bert Man]

Sometimes a different hammer will drop right in and sometimes it will need to be fitted. Your best chance for drop-in sucess is to remove the sear lever from the front of the old hammer and install it in the new hammer. In many cases that will work with no hand fitting necessary The sear is secured to the hammer by a pin through the hammer. To remove the sear you drive it out of the hammer with a 1/16th inch pin punch. NOTE: Be careful when the pin is driven out as behind the sear there is a very tiny spring which fits into a small hole in the hammer body. If the spring gets away from you it will be EXTREMELY difficult to find. A good way to avoid that is to perform the operation inside a plastic bag so the spring will be captured inside.

The most frequent installation problem occurs when using a new sear lever as it must be filed to fit with a Barrett file to obtain proper clearance. That is not a job to try if one has never done it before. Another much less common but occasional problem can involve the engagement of the rebound seat of the hammer with the top of the rebound slide. If either of these two situations occur I highly reccommend bringing it to a gunsmith competent with S&W revolvers.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[ken158]

Bert Man nailed it - and saved me a lot of typing!

 

[chief38]

I've experienced about a 50% / 50% drop in or not. If it won't I just fit them.

 

[3rdgeargrndrr]

Just send it in to Smith and worry not about the function. At least thats what i would do

 

[kaaskop49]

attn tacotime

Is this the same gun that you cited in that other thread, the one with an improper or poorly fitted hammer block? If yes, lot of issues with that little gun.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[tacotime]

Yes, it was the same gun, and the out-of-spec hammer block was modified and now function is at 100%. Other than the broken spur and some inherited rust, the gun turns out to shoot nicely, cracking off a 1.5 inch group at 20 yards off a rest.

I just like the look of the full hammer spur, leading to the replacement question.

I was glad to hear so far no one mentioning the sear engagement surfaces, or is that coming?

I once bought a used revolver that later was found to be be able to push off the hammer. To my surprise I was able to restore the sear and it is fully functional now... but I wouldn't want to have to do it again.

 

[tacotime]

Is there much procedurally to a hammer change other than possible fit issues? Seems like from years ago I recall a chance of a spring flying away... the TRS maybe?

 

[tacotime]

The result was exactly what chief said - 50% chance.

I had two hammers to try. One worked fine SA but hung up DA due to a slightly larger dimension below the step. Required fitting would be minimal. The second one works perfectly on all functions with no fitting.

Thanks.