[LRRPS]

Hello,

Anyone knows how to change the hammer nose on a Smith & Wesson 629?
What I wonder is how to remove the rivet without damaging it.
In case the rivet has to be punched out and discarded, how can I fit a new rivet in?

Thanks for your replies,
LRRPS.

[Old Fuff]

It’s unlikely you will get the old rivet out without ruining it. New one’s can be obtained from Brownells (www.brownells. com) along with the necessary tools to stake it. Or you can make your own.

[Jim K]

The best advice is to always buy the rivet (or better, 2 or 3) with the new hammer nose. Then just drive out the old one with a punch smaller than the hole and remove the broken hammer nose. Then insert the rivet, and use a tool to expand it. The tools are available, but I made one from a drift punch just by grinding the end to a point with the same contour as the inside of the rivet. Always worked fine. Put the hammer on a flat piece of steel and do one side at a time. If you can be careful, you can do it with the hammer in the gun and don't have to disassemble the gun.

Jim

[Mike Irwin]

Jim gives you a good overview on how to do it, but I need to address one point.

NEVER NEVER NEVER attempt to drive the rivet out if the hammer is still in the frame!

I've seen several guns where home "smiths" have tried to do this, and it almost invariably results in a blown side plate, a bent hammer pivot pin, or worse.

Don't try to cut a few minutes off the process. Take the hammer out of the gun, lay it on a punch block with a hole recessed for the pin, and drive it out that way.

Then stake the new pin into place.

Take a few minutes to do it right, and you'll completely avoid the possibility of damaging your gun permanently.

[Traveler]

I have also seen folks mess up just trying to drive the old rivit out. I recommend drilling it. Pick a drill a size or two up from the hole in the rivit (not the hole in the hammer) and just run it through. It should come out easy.

[Kahr carrier]

Sounds like good advise.:)

[LRRPS]

Thank you for the interesting replies,

The reason I want to replace my hammer nose is because it doesn't strike the cartridge primer strong enough to fire the round in double action mode. It will shoot from time to time but not consistantly.
I tried to adjust the main spring for maximum tension but that didn't cure the problem.
It's not the hardness of the primers either 'coz I've tested many commercial brands such as Winchester, CCI, Federal, Fiocchi.
The only problem I can think of is the hammer nose since I've fired thousands of rounds with this revolver.
Can someone tell me what's the normal length of the nose?
Mine measures 5/16th inch from the base of the hammer to the tip of the nose.

Thanks,
LRRPS.

[Mike Irwin]

Actually, I'm suspecting that it's one of two things...

What you're describing isn't a hammer nose problem.

There are three things that jump to mind immediately:

The mainspring is weak, and needs to be replaced. Easy enough to do. It could be that the original spring isn't any good, or that somone (if a used gun) replaced the spring with a lighter service one from Wolfe or one of the other after-market makers.

To achieve the same thing, someone could have shortened the strain screw.

The third thing that comes to mind is that the hammer is dragging in the frame, which is slowing it down enough to cause misfires.

If the hammer nose is smooth and well rounded, chances are it's fine. If you replace it with a longer hammer nose, chances are good you may start having pierced primers, which can mean BIG trouble with a high-intensity cartridge like the .44 Mag.

[LRRPS]

Mike,

Thanx for the quick reply,
I bought this gun new about a decade ago thus I can rule out the light main spring issue.
The hammer doesn't seem to rub the frame, the hammer nose head is quite round so I think that the main spring is weak.
I'll go ahead and purchase one from Numrich Gun Parts for $5.50.
One more question, I have changed the trigger spring or whatever they call it for a lighter aftermarket spring, does that have any influence on the reliability of the gun?

Thanks in advance.
LRRPS

[Mike Irwin]

One other thought...

When was the last time that you had it apart to give it a THOROUGHLY cleaning and relubrication?

Could be that you've got a lot of crud & crap binding up the works.

As for the rebound slide spring (which returns the trigger), yes, a lighter spring can affect trigger return, which can affect reliability. If your trigger doesn't return correctly, you have a problem.

If, however, you run into a situation where a lighter rebound slide spring won't return the trigger, that means that you need to do a good action job on the gun.

Wolfe sells springs in 13, 14, and 15 pound weights (I BELIEVE that the factory standard spring is normally around 18 pounds) in a set along with a new main spring. I buy mine from Brownell's, but you can find them other places, as well.

[Jim K]

Hi, guys,

I probably should have realized the danger of mentioning replacing the hammer nose without removing the hammer from the gun, but I have done it many times. It works only with flat side hammers, not with wide spur hammers. And no, I have never bent a sideplate or broken a hammer; there is no strain on the frame or sideplate.

But I agree that the problem does not sound like a hammer nose problem. Check the protrusion first and if that is OK, the problem is most likely the mainspring. If the gun has been worked on, there may be other causes.

This is an example of why it is a good idea to ask the reason someone wants to do something odd. If LRRPS had stated the real problem in the first place, Mike and the others could have given advice about the problem instead of getting off on a tangent.

Jim

[Mike Irwin]

"And no, I have never bent a sideplate or broken a hammer; there is no strain on the frame or sideplate."

That's because you SUPPORT the hammer, Jim, the way it should be done.

Unfortunately, few people apparently do that. It's just easier to clamp the gun in a vice and start whacking on the rivet with the hammer just free floating. When you do it that way, every hammer blow puts stress on the either the side plate (if you're going from left to right) and hammer pivot pin, or just the hammer pivot pin (going from right to left).

And yeah, you can do it with the wide hammers if you make yourself a jig.

Don't ask me how I know. :)