Hi Standard Sentinel problem

[Col. Harrumph]

Does anyone know how to get the hammer & hammer spring out of this DA revolver? Youtube is full of folks shooting and cleaning their prizes, but nobody with a GoPro has ever taken theirs apart in detail. The coil hammer spring runs on a strut, but if there's a hole at the bottom to stick a pin through it's too small for my old eyes to see.

 

[Pat Riot]

I had a Sentinel Mk IV. I completely disassembled and reassembled it once replacing all the springs and living it before giving it to my sister.

I cannot recall each step in the process but I do recall using a pair of needle nose vise grips. I cocked the hammer then gripped the hammer spring guide (strut) beneath the ledge on the grip frame then released the hammer, drifted out the pins and removed it, but I think I may have had to removed the grip frame to get the hammer out. I cannot fully remember the process. I did it nearly 6 years ago and I don’t have the gun to look at now as a reference.
I do remember using a rag to stop the strut from going airborne when I released the vise grips.
The sad thing is I do. It remember how I put it back together. I do recall a lot of cursing of High Standard engineers…

Sorry I can’t be of more help.

Maybe this may be of some help;https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/high-standard/revolvers-hs/mkiv-sentinel

 

[Col. Harrumph]

Thank you Pat, but it turns out to be a lot simpler with my R-103. All you do once the action is separated from the frame is push the hammer forward beyond its normal range of motion, and the hammer strut and spring assembly will pop out. And I do mean pop, so be ready. Incidentally I removed the hammer block wire and the cylinder pawl first. I don't know if that is necessary to getting the hammer spring out, I removed them as a precaution against having to search the floor for them later.

 

[Pat Riot]

Thank you Pat, but it turns out to be a lot simpler with my R-103.

Good! I have been second guessing myself ever since I posted above. I am glad you figured it out.

 

[Col. Harrumph]

Well now I have the opposite problem. Having got the hammer spring and its strut out, I can't get 'em back in. Pat, I commend your cursing the designers. Somehow I have to capture the hammer spring while compressed, using just my pinky fingers I think.

 

[Monac]

The gunsmith and author J B Wood wrote several books about handgun disassembly and re-assembly, including one about revolvers: https://www.amazon.com/Digest-Book-.../ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

According to one of the reviewers on Amazon, it includes the High Standard Sentinel Mark IV. Unfortunately prices for it are high, with the cheapest used one listing at about $55. Even the Kindle electronic version is about $21. However, I think that is the last edition of a book that was in print for a long time, so maybe there are cheaper copies on Ebay or one of the used-book websites.

Nowadays, though, I would hate to buy such a big book for just one job, because I am strapped on space for books, but it's all I could think of. Any chance your local library would have a copy?

 

[retDAC]

Well now I have the opposite problem. Having got the hammer spring and its strut out, I can't get 'em back in. Pat, I commend your cursing the designers. Somehow I have to capture the hammer spring while compressed, using just my pinky fingers I think.

Does the guide rod have a hole near the bottom?

 

[Col. Harrumph]

OK time for an update, and a thank you to all who responded. I got her back together by brute force. Unlike a J frame, which has a removable platform for the hammer spring to rest against and a hole at the bottom of the strut to stick a drill bit through, the High Standard has neither. Its spring rests on the frame itself and there's no hole through the strut. I finally succeeded in installing the spring/strut assembly by feeding it in from the top, behind the hammer (which was rotated forward until the firing pin almost touched the bottom metal), and forcing it down into the frame with a largish pin punch (15/64", it's what I had) while guiding the strut into the frame's guide hole with my third hand. Once pushed down far enough, I rotated the hammer back so that it captured the top of the strut and done. So simple!

Incidentally if the trigger falls out, which it just might as its pin is not a snug fit, you must reinstall that first, otherwise when you release the hammer the whole thing will fly apart. Again.

 

[retDAC]

Congratulations! Good Job!

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I looked at the schematic of that gun on Numrich's and that was the only way I could see to do it. I didn't want to say anything because I have never even seen a Sentinel before so what would I know.
It is similar to an H&R but has no separate piece at the bottom for the guide and no pin hole.
Thanks for letting us know, I'll tuck that away in the old memory bank.
Good job figuring it out.

 

[Pat Riot]

I am trying to remember how I did it when I reinstalled the hammer strut and spring. I just can’t recall. I think it tried compressing the spring then using needle nosed vise grips and pliers but couldn’t get it back together. I think I just pretty much did what you did, @Col. Harrumph , but I do recall busting my thumbnail in the process.

Congrats on getting it back together. It’s a bear to do, that’s for sure.

 

[Col. Harrumph]

Correction: I wrote above that I used a pin punch. I should have said roll pin punch. The hollow allowed me to grab one of the prongs at the top of the strut, for much better control of the part.