Whats wrong now

[Smokepole14]

My hand spring broke on my 58 remmy so i ordered a new one from dixie gun works. It came in yesterday but the timing was off so i filed it back down pretty close to the original one but the hammer want stay at full cock it will only stay at half cock. When i take the cylinder out it works great but with the cylinder in it will fully cock but then goes back to half cock. What is the problem hear do i need to file the hand spring some more or is it something else. Does anybody know how to fix this problem if so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mykeal]

That problem is usually the result of the trigger/bolt spring being bent, broken or not properly installed (loose screw, upside down, etc.). In particular, the leaf that controls the trigger may need to be bent a bit further down. It should have a noticeable downward slant near the free end.

 

[denster]

When you say you filed the hand spring do you mean to say that you installed a new hand and spring and filed down the hand? If so then the hand is still too long and is carrying the cylinder to lockup before the hammer reaches the full cock notch.
Since the hammer will engage both full and half cock with the cylinder out the problem is not with the trigger/bolt spring.

 

[Hellgate]

You may want to keep the old hand and with a shallow chisel, flare the crimp on the hand to remove the broken spring and make another spring out of a wide bobby pin. Cut a section of a bobby pin to length, shape it, file/grind a pair of notches on the edges insert it into the hand, recrimp it then stake it where the two notches are so it can't work its way out. That way you have the original length and a "new" spring. I sandwich the hand between two thin pieces of wood to hold it in a vise for the removal & reinstallation of the new spring.Two of my guns are thus "fixed" and work fine. I do not know how long the fix will last but for now I'm happy.

 

[mykeal]

the hand is still too long and is carrying the cylinder to lockup before the hammer reaches the full cock notch.

He wrote that the hammer would go into full cock, but fail to stay there. How does the cylinder being in battery (bolt fully engaged) prematurely prevent the hammer from remaining in full cock? Are you saying the cylinder being 'locked up' prevents the hand from moving further, thus stopping the hammer from rotating into the full cock position completely? If that's the case I would expect the hammer would not reach the full cock position, rather than fail to remain there. Perhaps I misunderstood what he meant.

I had this problem on one of my Rogers & Spencers and a friend's Colt 1860 Army; both were corrected by fixing the trigger/bolt spring (one by replacing, the other by bending). But perhaps it's not the same problem.

 

[denster]

He also said that with the cylinder out that it worked fine and the hammer stood in full cock. I presumed that when he said with the cylinder in that it would not stand in full cock he was mistaking cylinder lockup and hammer back as full cock when in fact the sear had not cleared the full cock notch.
If the trigger engages both notches and works with the cylinder out but not with it in, the problem is not with the bolt trigger spring but with something else. The most probable cause, since he has replaced the hand, is that is the problem.

 

[Smokepole14]

All it was I didn't file the new hand down far enough. I set it beside the original one and filed it some more now it works great and the timing is write on. Preciate the help

 

[denster]

Glad you got it worked out.

 

[mykeal]

Yep, well done.

My assumption, based on the description, was that the hammer reached full cock but the sear did not fully engage, which would be a weak/broken trigger spring leaf. This would the case whether the cylinder was installed or not, of course. However, as was the case in my R&S and the friend's '60 Army, removing the cylinder apparently took the load off the hand, and in turn the hammer, and the sear sat on the notch very happily. In both cases it took very little to knock it off the notch, but it did appear to remain in full cock with the cylinder removed. I thought that might be the case here.