Driftwood Johnson
Member
Howdy
I'm pretty new here. Yesterday I was looking at Sylvan-Forge's excellent post about disassembly, inspection, select repairs and reassembly of a S&W Model 10 for the first time. When I saw the first photos of the hammer I said holy moley, what's up with that hammer? Then I realized that I had never seen a MIM (Metal Injection Molding) hammer before.
When ever I buy an old S&W I like to take the side plate off and see what's inside. Often there will be years worth of gunk and hardened oil. Just cleaning out all that stuff can result in a gun that is smoother and has a better action without doing anything else. So in the interest of showing some slightly different parts, here are some photos I took while I was cleaning a S&W 38/44 Heavy Duty made in 1930.
First, here is one of Sylvan-Forge's photos for comparison. I hope he does not mind me reproducing his photo here.
Here is a view of the disassembled revolver. I have to say at this point that my hat is off to Sylvan-Forge. I never disassemble the cylinder of a Smith unless I absolutely have to.
Here is a closeup of the machining inside the frame. It is interesting to note that the frames of guns from this era were made long before CNC milling equipment existed. Parts like this were machined on pattern following equipment. The machine operator manipulated handles that kept a guide against a pattern to cut the complex curves inside the frame. That's why the machining marks look a bit irregular. Even with a skilled operator the feed rate of the cutter varied and this shows in the cutter marks left behind. It is also interesting to note that some blueing has rubbed off where the rebound slide moves back and forth.
This gun has the pre-WWII type hammer block. The hammer block is made from a piece of spring steel. It is peened in place into the side plate. The hammer block is normally in position to block the hammer. There is a ramp built onto the hand that engages a tab on the side of the hammer block. Arrows point to these two features. As the hand rises, the ramp wedges the tab on the hammer block over, withdrawing the hammer block and allowing the hammer to fall all the way forward.
Here is the gun, all cleaned out and relubed, ready to be buttoned up. If you look closely you can see there is no pin on the rebound slide for the modern style of hammer block.
Here is another view of the action, ready to be sealed up.
Here is the gun all put back together. Sorry about the grips, they are incorrect but they are what came on it. Incidentally, I just got this gun lettered. It has an interesting history.
It shipped September 10, 1930, delivered to an employee of S&W. This revolver was one of a group of revolvers that was taken to The National Pistol Championship, Camp Perry Ohio in the summer of 1930. This revolver was sold at Camp Perry to a Lieutenant in the Army.
I really like working on these old Five Screws better than the Three Screws. For one thing, it is much easier to replace the cylinder stop and its spring in a Five Screw. The spring and its plunger have their own hole in front of the trigger guard. First you put the stop back in, then you pop the plunger and screw into their hole and cover it with the screw. Much easier than trying to get the spring in while replacing the stop, without mashing the spring or sending it across the room. And of course, there is no lock to worry about, and the firing pin is on the hammer, where it is supposed to be, but that's beside the point.
If you want to try taking apart a Smith, I admit it can be really scary the first time. I cannot recommend Jerry Kuhnhausen's book The S&W Revolver A Shop Manual highly enough. Use it the first few times, and eventually you will be confident enough to take one apart without the book in front of you. But don't keep the book too far away.
P.S. Just so you don't think I'm too much of a snob, I do have a 617 that I bought used last year. It does have MIM parts and the lock in it. I guess I ought to take it apart now to see how different it is.
I'm pretty new here. Yesterday I was looking at Sylvan-Forge's excellent post about disassembly, inspection, select repairs and reassembly of a S&W Model 10 for the first time. When I saw the first photos of the hammer I said holy moley, what's up with that hammer? Then I realized that I had never seen a MIM (Metal Injection Molding) hammer before.
When ever I buy an old S&W I like to take the side plate off and see what's inside. Often there will be years worth of gunk and hardened oil. Just cleaning out all that stuff can result in a gun that is smoother and has a better action without doing anything else. So in the interest of showing some slightly different parts, here are some photos I took while I was cleaning a S&W 38/44 Heavy Duty made in 1930.
First, here is one of Sylvan-Forge's photos for comparison. I hope he does not mind me reproducing his photo here.
Here is a view of the disassembled revolver. I have to say at this point that my hat is off to Sylvan-Forge. I never disassemble the cylinder of a Smith unless I absolutely have to.
Here is a closeup of the machining inside the frame. It is interesting to note that the frames of guns from this era were made long before CNC milling equipment existed. Parts like this were machined on pattern following equipment. The machine operator manipulated handles that kept a guide against a pattern to cut the complex curves inside the frame. That's why the machining marks look a bit irregular. Even with a skilled operator the feed rate of the cutter varied and this shows in the cutter marks left behind. It is also interesting to note that some blueing has rubbed off where the rebound slide moves back and forth.
This gun has the pre-WWII type hammer block. The hammer block is made from a piece of spring steel. It is peened in place into the side plate. The hammer block is normally in position to block the hammer. There is a ramp built onto the hand that engages a tab on the side of the hammer block. Arrows point to these two features. As the hand rises, the ramp wedges the tab on the hammer block over, withdrawing the hammer block and allowing the hammer to fall all the way forward.
Here is the gun, all cleaned out and relubed, ready to be buttoned up. If you look closely you can see there is no pin on the rebound slide for the modern style of hammer block.
Here is another view of the action, ready to be sealed up.
Here is the gun all put back together. Sorry about the grips, they are incorrect but they are what came on it. Incidentally, I just got this gun lettered. It has an interesting history.
It shipped September 10, 1930, delivered to an employee of S&W. This revolver was one of a group of revolvers that was taken to The National Pistol Championship, Camp Perry Ohio in the summer of 1930. This revolver was sold at Camp Perry to a Lieutenant in the Army.
I really like working on these old Five Screws better than the Three Screws. For one thing, it is much easier to replace the cylinder stop and its spring in a Five Screw. The spring and its plunger have their own hole in front of the trigger guard. First you put the stop back in, then you pop the plunger and screw into their hole and cover it with the screw. Much easier than trying to get the spring in while replacing the stop, without mashing the spring or sending it across the room. And of course, there is no lock to worry about, and the firing pin is on the hammer, where it is supposed to be, but that's beside the point.
If you want to try taking apart a Smith, I admit it can be really scary the first time. I cannot recommend Jerry Kuhnhausen's book The S&W Revolver A Shop Manual highly enough. Use it the first few times, and eventually you will be confident enough to take one apart without the book in front of you. But don't keep the book too far away.
P.S. Just so you don't think I'm too much of a snob, I do have a 617 that I bought used last year. It does have MIM parts and the lock in it. I guess I ought to take it apart now to see how different it is.
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