Fixing up a .32-20

[OrlontheBrave]

Hi Mike,

When the trigger stops its retreat, the hammer has just rebounded back into the frame, the cylinder stop is midway through its forward movement, and the hand is halfway down the window. Right before it gets stuck, I can see the rear of the cylinder move downward ever so slightly. If I pull the trigger again from its stuck position, the hammer moves forward and the firing pin again protrudes past the frame, and the rear of the cylinder moves back up again (ever so slightly).

And it only binds with the cylinder in place. With the cylinder out, I can’t feel any hangup on the trigger return at the point where it usually gets stuck.

It has to be cylinder related, so I think I might finally (belatedly) heed Shotguncoach’s advice of fixing the endshake before trying anything else.

 

[rct269]

Speaking of springs and spring kits, the kit by Jerry Miculek is a bloody marvel in that you have the option of any D.A. trigger pull you want---while he cautions against going lower than 7 lbs., lest your gun won't go bang ------and he advises the use of Federal ammo/primers at that level.

The main reason I'm mentioning this here is because it has a decided forward bend in the hammer spring about 3/8" to 1/2" down from the stirrup hooks which may very well eliminate your situation with hitting the rebound slide. Whether it does or not, it transformed my father-in-law's beater M&P (bought new in 1920, and carried daily in the hip pocket of his overalls for 60 some odd years) from a piece of garbage into the slickest thing you can imagine!! It's now my "point and shoot" practice gun----and it works GREAT!! One word of caution should you decide to try it: Read and follow the instructions!! I didn't of course because swapping out a couple of springs in a S&W is child's play---something I could do with my eyes closed. When I was finished, and opened my eyes, NOTHING would move----locked up as tight as a tick!! Everything worked fine the second time around.

While I wished you well at the outset, I thought you were as nutty as a fruitcake; and no way would I do what you're doing----never mind you've got a ways to go. One thing's for sure and certain, you have some FIRST CLASS help with Mike on the sidelines!! I don't know that he's been there and done that, but if he has, everything worked out just fine!!

Ralph Tremaine

 

[OrlontheBrave]

Hi Ralph,

Thank you! Mike has been more than generous with his time and advice, and without him who knows where I would be stuck. I really appreciate how this forum feels like a proper community. I’ve learned a whole lot about revolvers work in the past few weeks thanks largely to y’all’s willingness to share your knowledge.

I’ve only ever shot stock Smiths before so honestly, even with the SA issues I’m impressed the Wolff springs dropped the DA weight to 10 lbs. I noticed the Wolff mainspring has more of a bend than the stock probably for that very reason, although I suppose it’s not bent enough. If the Model 14 springs I have coming in don’t help I might give bending a chance, but if they do I might have to acquire another k frame to stick the Wolff springs in . . .

While I wait for the bits to arrive, I’ll start work on another, tangentially related project:

 

[rct269]

Well the Miculek mainspring is bent A LOT!!!

Your first reaction to the bend is "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!!!!"

Then you start to wonder---"I wonder why they did THAT?!!"

Then a little voice says, "Because it works!!"

Ralph Tremaine

 

[OrlontheBrave]

I figure if Smith & Wesson can use mainsprings that look like this, then anything is fair game!

 

[rct269]

Yeah, that's the W spring. They had a U spring too---same church, different pew. Both of them worked great!

Ralph Tremaine

 

[rct269]

Actually, I really don't recall one way or the other; but I'm thinking S&W didn't "use" either the U or W springs in any production items---simply made them available to customers to try out. This customer did exactly that----and was very pleased.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[OrlontheBrave]

Hello friends,

The Model 14 bits arrived!

Taking some measurements of the new mainspring, it’s about .026” at its thinnest (just below the prongs) and .067” at its thickest (just above the base). These measurements are close to those of Mike’s M&P, and about .010” thinner than those of the stock mainspring. The rebound spring is also markedly smaller than stock, much closer in size to the Wolff spring. Here’s a pic with the Model 14 bits on the left and the original bits on the right.

With Model 14 springs in, the SA comes out to a crisp 5 lbs, while DA comes out to about 11 lbs. This takes it to about stock: not terribly inspiring, but much improved over how it was before. The new mainspring does not touch the rebound housing when the hammer is cocked. The rebound spring is also stronger than the Wolff 15lb rebound spring and better balanced to the mainspring, so the trigger has no difficulty returning.

I’m still waiting on the endshake shims. When those come in I’ll want to see if they smooth the return and allow me to use the Wolff 15 lb rebound spring in place of the Model 14 rebound spring. Now the question is: what should I do with the heaviest stock springs in existence? I suppose the smart move would be to bag them and stick them with my other parts, but I can’t imagine ever using them in anything and after all the trouble they’ve given me I am inclined to throw them in a lake.

 

[dwh]

I would play around with the heavy original spring. As was suggested by others I would stone down the sides into a wasp waste. It’s worth the effort just as a learning exercise.

Don’t stone the face or the back of the spring you will weaken the spring and it will break.

 

[OrlontheBrave]

Hi Dave,

That’s probably a better idea than chucking them in the lake. You and Muley are right, especially now that I have another functional mainspring I can experiment with this one. Do you know about where I should put the ‘waist?’ Google returned nothing in the way of images.

The shims arrived today. 0.006” worth of shims jammed the gun up, but 0.004” worth of shims allowed it to rotate just fine, and just about eliminated the endshake, bringing it down to a hair under 0.002”. I took it to the range today and 12 rounds loaded with federal primers all went bang. I’ll need to do some further testing, and have just acquired some CCI primers, but still need to get around to buying dies.

The rebound hangup persists to some extent, but with the Model 14 springs in it is much less noticeable, and the trigger returns every time and with some force. I’d say it feels comparable to the factory stock Smiths I’ve shot, which is a marked improvement over how it was when I got it.

Here it is in its current shape with the new stocks.

I figured it needed a little protection to and from the range, so I dug out this old George Lawrence holster. I think it’s a good match for color and condition.

I might return to this project down the road, but for now, provided it passes the CCI primer test, I think I’ll call it complete. Special thanks to Shotguncoach for the parts and vote of confidence, and Mike for his endless, generous advice and feedback. Without y’all I would’ve gotten stuck a ways back.

 

[dwh]

The first thing I do is stone the edges of the main spring smooth. I do this on every mainspring. Be careful not to stone the hooks. I then mark off the middle third of the spring with a paint pen front and back. I stone the area between the markings. Go slow and stone an equal number of times per edge. And test frequently. Different bends to the spring give a different feel to the action.
Good luck.

 

[OrlontheBrave]

The first thing I do is stone the edges of the main spring smooth. I do this on every mainspring. Be careful not to stone the hooks. I then mark off the middle third of the spring with a paint pen front and back. I stone the area between the markings. Go slow and stone an equal number of times per edge. And test frequently. Different bends to the spring give a different feel to the action.
Good luck.

Thank you! I'll give it a shot, and when I do I'll post pictures of my progress.