How difficult is it to swap factory hammer and trigger in a K or N frame Smith? I realize it’s a subjective question but is there any wizardry or special tools required?
Swapping Hammer & Trigger
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It may or may not work, simply because of tolerances. Replacing a set of trigger/hammer should work, but not always.
While replacing just the hammer, swapping out the double action sear usually works.
Good luck.
While replacing just the hammer, swapping out the double action sear usually works.
Good luck.
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No wizardry required -- the parts drop right in, but Muley Gil mentioned, the critical bit is the relationship of the DA sear to the trigger. It should be fit to the trigger.
If you're buying the trigger and hammer as a matched pair of take-offs, they'll likely mate pretty well. Otherwise, your best bet is to either be sure to use the DA sear that came with your trigger, or else fit the sear yourself. New ones are best for this.
I am no gunsmith and definitely not "a biologist" but I replaced both the hammer and trigger on my M 28-2 and hammer on my 586.
No special skills needed. Many youtube vids out there.
A member with name D Brown has a nice tutorial thread on replacing the L frame hammer. Use search function.
I upgraded to target widths.
With the hammer you can swap your existing double action ' sear' (?) from the current hammer onto the new one and that saves alot of fitting time.
In all cases I did not have to doo any fitting. Polishing some parts ( not the case hardened surfaces) is nice to do.
But I used new NOS parts.
Have at it! Take pictures of the innards and document each step on a note pad Label each part over a large piece of paper.
Use a smallish phillips screw driver head to relieve that trigger return spring for assembly. Keep an eye out for that spring launch. Easy to place fingers over to subdue it.
No special skills needed. Many youtube vids out there.
A member with name D Brown has a nice tutorial thread on replacing the L frame hammer. Use search function.
I upgraded to target widths.
With the hammer you can swap your existing double action ' sear' (?) from the current hammer onto the new one and that saves alot of fitting time.
In all cases I did not have to doo any fitting. Polishing some parts ( not the case hardened surfaces) is nice to do.
But I used new NOS parts.
Have at it! Take pictures of the innards and document each step on a note pad Label each part over a large piece of paper.
Use a smallish phillips screw driver head to relieve that trigger return spring for assembly. Keep an eye out for that spring launch. Easy to place fingers over to subdue it.
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Doing this procedure inside of a large plastic bag is a good idea too.
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I bought a large clear plastic box and have been Very Careful.
OP:
Have you taken those parts out of a revolver before? If not it may seem difficult and I suppose it is the first few times. Also if you have to replace the sear and or hand that is another issue if you have never done it.
Have you taken those parts out of a revolver before? If not it may seem difficult and I suppose it is the first few times. Also if you have to replace the sear and or hand that is another issue if you have never done it.
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Thank you for the kind words Denis. Here is a link to the thread you referred to: Forged Target Hammer on L Frame?
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My lifetime's experience has been that around 60%-70% of the time the parts drop in and work fine. The other times they do need slight fitting (such as the DA sere). You won't need any really specialized tools, just a hollow ground proper fitting screwdriver for the side plate screws and a simple makeshift tool to remove the rebound slide spring. The rest you can just do by hand and use a tweezers for.
Doing this on a S&W Revolver is pretty straight forward and simple. I would advise you to watch some of the hundreds of video's available to get acquainted with the procedure. Do not force anything and do not rush. Lay out the parts from left to right as you take them out and assemble them from right to left in the reverse order. Most importantly of all - - - use common sense! Hopefully you have a mechanical mind, go slowly and understand how each part interacts with the other. Do not dry fire the gun with the side plate off - you can chip the top of the frame because the hammer will slide up the stud and hit it - resulting in a chip. You do have the percentages in your favor and the fine adjustments (if needed) are not hard to do.
Doing this on a S&W Revolver is pretty straight forward and simple. I would advise you to watch some of the hundreds of video's available to get acquainted with the procedure. Do not force anything and do not rush. Lay out the parts from left to right as you take them out and assemble them from right to left in the reverse order. Most importantly of all - - - use common sense! Hopefully you have a mechanical mind, go slowly and understand how each part interacts with the other. Do not dry fire the gun with the side plate off - you can chip the top of the frame because the hammer will slide up the stud and hit it - resulting in a chip. You do have the percentages in your favor and the fine adjustments (if needed) are not hard to do.
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There are many video's to watch, (some terrible and some good - you should know which ones to quickly disregard) and there is a great book by Jerry Kuhnhausen called the S&W Shop Manual I believe that pretty much gives you every detail an fitting procedure.
Working on revolvers is rewarding, can save you big big bucks and gets more important every day with the increasing prices on shipping guns, lack of qualified Gun Smiths, and long wait times. 50 or so years ago sending out a gun for repair or modification was a minor detail, today it is a major hassle - and quite costly as well.
If you are going to "get into" vintage guns, working on them gets more pertinent every year!
Working on revolvers is rewarding, can save you big big bucks and gets more important every day with the increasing prices on shipping guns, lack of qualified Gun Smiths, and long wait times. 50 or so years ago sending out a gun for repair or modification was a minor detail, today it is a major hassle - and quite costly as well.
If you are going to "get into" vintage guns, working on them gets more pertinent every year!
Having quality screwdrivers that fit the screws is important. Removing and reinstalling the side plate needs to be done in a specific manner to avoid damage.
Patrick L
Member
I too am no gunsmith, just an "advanced tinkerer" who knows his limitations.
I've been fortunate. Back in the day I swapped lots of hammers and triggers, probably a dozen or 15. I never ran into a situation where they didn't just drop in, and that includes just swapping out one or the other, not necessarily matched sets. Sometimes purchased new, sometimes used. And I never had to change the DA sear.
But I realize I may just be extraordinarily lucky. I agree the tolerance stack may or may not work out in your favor.
If it seems to work, BE SURE to test for push off THOROUGHLY.
Good luck.
I've been fortunate. Back in the day I swapped lots of hammers and triggers, probably a dozen or 15. I never ran into a situation where they didn't just drop in, and that includes just swapping out one or the other, not necessarily matched sets. Sometimes purchased new, sometimes used. And I never had to change the DA sear.
But I realize I may just be extraordinarily lucky. I agree the tolerance stack may or may not work out in your favor.
If it seems to work, BE SURE to test for push off THOROUGHLY.
Good luck.
OP
I’m thinking of buying a beater model 10 or similar to wrench on and get familiar with before I even think about opening up one of my “nice” guns.
In order to do gunsmithing you must know the proper cuss words.
Also at times banging your head against the wall is required.
Also at times banging your head against the wall is required.
I bought a model 66 from an auction that had a hair trigger and would push off with very little pressure. Having never had a revolver opened up I watched a couple of videos and went to work. I first changed out the sear, that didn't do the trick. So I changed out the hammer, did a little shaping on the sear and it now has no push off. Trigger feels great 6lb double and 1.9lb single. Changing out the parts was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
dsf
Member
I've found getting the cylinder bolt to drop clear of the cylinder cuts to be an occasional challenge. Not that they cylinder bolt cams down way to late or causes the cylinder to not turn at all. Sometimes tricky to detect that there's tad resistance, hesitation.
Then try doing it on a DA Colt...
