LogicGS
Member
Well, turns out that it actually was something no one had.
What do to then? You fabricate it yourself, of course.
OK, back up a sec to the beginning.
I had this pistol come across my bench:
It's a fairly new S&W 617-4 that was locked up tighter than a drum.
Eventually I found that the firing pin had broken off while it was extended into the cylinder, and had been subsequently bent enough that it would not retract, locking up the works.
Once I had that figured out, I got it all apart, removed the offending piece, and called S&W to find a replacement for it.
Well guess what? They only made that style of firing pin for two years, and don't stock replacements.
Perfect.
I spent the next ten days trying to track one of these little buggers down, but to no avail. Brownells took a mighty stab at it, but missed horribly. Numerich had bumpkis, as did a dozen smaller and more obscure suppliers.
At this point, I was pretty much SOL.
So, I got out my trusty measuring tools and made myself a print.
Then I bought myself a stick of 1/2" dia 4140H bar stock, and got to work.
Banged it out this afternoon while I listened to the sleet tinkle down on the metal roof of the shop.
For once, I had my camera with me, so I took pics while I worked.
First I hit the lathe and turned the large OD for the rear of the pin:
Then I turned the smaller OD for the front protrusion:
After that, I chamfered the outside shoulder between the two:
Then it was on to the milling machine to cut the retention slot:
Continued Below . . . . . . . .
What do to then? You fabricate it yourself, of course.
OK, back up a sec to the beginning.
I had this pistol come across my bench:
It's a fairly new S&W 617-4 that was locked up tighter than a drum.
Eventually I found that the firing pin had broken off while it was extended into the cylinder, and had been subsequently bent enough that it would not retract, locking up the works.
Once I had that figured out, I got it all apart, removed the offending piece, and called S&W to find a replacement for it.
Well guess what? They only made that style of firing pin for two years, and don't stock replacements.
Perfect.
I spent the next ten days trying to track one of these little buggers down, but to no avail. Brownells took a mighty stab at it, but missed horribly. Numerich had bumpkis, as did a dozen smaller and more obscure suppliers.
At this point, I was pretty much SOL.
So, I got out my trusty measuring tools and made myself a print.
Then I bought myself a stick of 1/2" dia 4140H bar stock, and got to work.
Banged it out this afternoon while I listened to the sleet tinkle down on the metal roof of the shop.
For once, I had my camera with me, so I took pics while I worked.
First I hit the lathe and turned the large OD for the rear of the pin:
Then I turned the smaller OD for the front protrusion:
After that, I chamfered the outside shoulder between the two:
Then it was on to the milling machine to cut the retention slot:
Continued Below . . . . . . . .
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