Help with SP101 re-assembly

[Monster Zero]

Help!

I took my SP101 apart to put shims in the trigger and hammer and to clean everything up nice.

Got it taken apart, got shims in the trigger and shims in the hammer dog. Ready to reassemble it, putting shims in the hammer too.

Uh oh. Trying to put the trigger return detent/spring/plunger back in place, and... gee, they make it look so easy on all the videos. I don't have the strength in my thumb to mash that plunger all the way down, let alone hold it down and press the pin in using a on from the back side.

Anyone got any secret tips to help me get this done? Otherwise I'll have to take my disassembled SP to the gunsmith, who will want to charge me for putting the whole thing back together.

TIA!

 

[Stevel]

iirc I used the same small screwdriver I used to remove it. It's a two handed operation.

 

[UncleEd]

OOps, I see problem wasn't putting trigger housing back in
gun but replacing the trigger return spring pin. Yes,
just press plunger against a table and insert pin as
explained by others farther on.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Since I like to thoroughly clean the front of a revolver's cylinder after every range session, I've slowly become accustomed to the process of disemboweling a Ruger DA and putting it back together.

First, you didn't try mounting the hammer before putting the triggerguard back on, did you? If so, take it out.

Second, make sure the hand and transfer bar are angled slightly rearward. If they are angled too far forward, they'll bind with the frame as they go back in. Be careful with the hand -- if it goes forward past a certain point, a spring and plunger will pop out and need to be put back in.

With your third hand, use a long, narrow flat-bladed screwdriver to push the rear detent plunger into the triggerguard from below as you reseat the thing. This plunger drags on the unpolished front of the frame lug and causes the most grief during reassembly.

Once the triggerguard is re-seated, pull the trigger back partway before reinserting the hammer and it's L-shaped pivot pin. Not completely necessary, but for some reason it seems to help make the gubbins settle in. BTW, good luck with the shims while you do this! Then you reinsert the mainspring (oriented rearward) and draw the hammer back until the pin or paperclip used to capture the mainspring strut falls out of the little hole. Put the grips back on, check the hammer and trigger to confirm function and you're done.

On Planet Ruger they insist this routine is somehow easier than just removing one screw ala S&W to take out the crane and cylinder for cleaning!

 

[UncleEd]

Since I like to thoroughly clean the front of a revolver's cylinder after every range session...!

Why? Other than being fastidious, the cylinder face can be
cleaned without removing it. Certainly not to sparkle clean.

Now if you are getting a gummy rotation of the Ruger cylinder then
you must tackle, maybe, complete disassembly of the
cylinder plunger, innards. But you can probably clean that
with a generous douse of Gun Scrubber.

Constantly removing and replacing the cylinder screw on a
Smith does that gun no good either.

Disagree but revolvers were not meant to be constantly torn down
and built back again. Smith revolvers have worked perfectly for
decades without such maintenance.

Regarding cylinder faces, keep Hoppe's residue/silicone cloth handy and wipe
the face regularly as you shoot. Residue will not build up
very much if at all and will respond to an easily wipe away.

This is addressed to others really and not your methods which
if they please you are perfectly all right.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Constantly removing and replacing the cylinder screw on a
Smith does that gun no good either.

Explain please.

 

[UncleEd]

You'll wear out the screw, it's tip and threads.
Not an absolute, of course. The screws are
quite soft however.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

You'll wear out the screw, it's tip and threads.
Not an absolute, of course. The screws are
quite soft however.

I keep a few spares (they're cheap) against possible loss but I've yet to wear one out or bugger the slot with an improper screwdriver blade, which seem greater dangers.



On current generation screws, the tip is well undersized to the threads and made from a separate and I suspect harder material backed with a spring. S&W actually calls this screw a "yoke screw assembly".




I suppose you could argue that the assembly might eventually come apart. S&W is likely in full agreement with you, since they sell these with a daub of threadlocker.

With older S&W one-piece yoke screws, the chief danger of wear to the tip would seem to be from friction with the yoke. That would occur while the screw is seated. I think that's probably why they changed to an improved design.



One exception I make to the practice of routinely removing the yoke screw is with alloy framed S&Ws -- I don't know whether the screws enter threaded steel inserts or thread directly into the frame, but I clean my Airweight with the crane mounted. Same goes for the Ruger LCR with aluminum frames.

On most revolvers, removing the cylinder for cleaning does not involve being "torn down and built back again". For example, the sideplate is not removed to take off the crane of a S&W. On many Webley military revolvers the cylinder removal screw is slotted for a large British penny -- soldiers were expected to remove it routinely for cleaning.

The Ruger DA's are an exception, but according to their own advertisement literature being "torn down and built back again" was seen as a feature.



I'm happy to agree to disagree about revolver cleaning practices and methodology. I can be a bit OCD about gun cleaning, but I've yet to damage a gun that way.

 

[Riomouse911]

When I feel rotation being hindered I will take cylinders off to clean/lube the innards. Other than that a good cleaning keeps things rolling along.

Others may never clean (I have bought guns from guys like that) and others may year everything down and make their guns spic and span every time they are fired. To each his own…

Stay safe.

 

[ECVMatt]

Here's a couple... A Glock disassembly tool works great for removing and inserting the trigger guard assembly. Insert the trigger guard assembly, depress the plunger with the Glock disassembly tool and it will snap into place. Another trick is to use a soft hammer to start the same process. Insert the trigger guard assembly and tap lightly until the plunger depresses then snap into place.

Once you have done this a few times it is no big deal, but can be daunting at first.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

 

[JohnKSa]

Trying to put the trigger return detent/spring/plunger back in place, and... gee, they make it look so easy on all the videos. I don't have the strength in my thumb to mash that plunger all the way down, let alone hold it down and press the pin in using a on from the back side.

I usually hold onto the trigger group and push the trigger guard down against something hard that won't be damaged by the pressure to depress the plunger. Then when the hole lines up, I slide the pin in--it should go in easily.

 

[P89DCSS]

I use a vice with polyurethane jaws to hold my hard to disassemble and reassemble Ruger revolvers.

 

[Barbaroja]

I depress the plunger against the edge of a table and then insert the pin.