S&W Rebound spring
- Thread starter kell
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Bert W.
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Buy the springs. The engineering has already been done.
InTheField
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Yep, buy a spring kit. They are available from Midway and Brownells, and include a variety of rebound and hammer spring weights..
Be aware that lightening the trigger rebound spring will only do so much in reducing the double action pull. I usually can reduce this spring down to the 12 or 13 pound options without negatively effecting the trigger return itself. That 12 and 13 pound number is NOT the resulting trigger pull rate, it is just a measure of the spring itself.
Replacing the hammer spring is what really controls the double action pull strength. Can't go too light or you will get misfires. You will find some experimentation may be required.
Some kits include extra length firing pins that can help reduce misfires when using reduced power mainsprings. Be forewarned that I have found some "extra length" firing pins end up being shorter than the factory ones. Best measure with a caliper.
Polishing the internals can also be a great move in smoothing up pulls and making the use of lighter springs plausable. This is often recommended as the first step.
Think twice about doing this stuff on self defense guns as perfect function is a priority. Also, be very sure you remove the side plate correctly. Do NOT pry it off. Youtube is your friend.
Be aware that lightening the trigger rebound spring will only do so much in reducing the double action pull. I usually can reduce this spring down to the 12 or 13 pound options without negatively effecting the trigger return itself. That 12 and 13 pound number is NOT the resulting trigger pull rate, it is just a measure of the spring itself.
Replacing the hammer spring is what really controls the double action pull strength. Can't go too light or you will get misfires. You will find some experimentation may be required.
Some kits include extra length firing pins that can help reduce misfires when using reduced power mainsprings. Be forewarned that I have found some "extra length" firing pins end up being shorter than the factory ones. Best measure with a caliper.
Polishing the internals can also be a great move in smoothing up pulls and making the use of lighter springs plausable. This is often recommended as the first step.
Think twice about doing this stuff on self defense guns as perfect function is a priority. Also, be very sure you remove the side plate correctly. Do NOT pry it off. Youtube is your friend.
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Master Blaster
Member
Also if you put a weaker return spring in it can prevent the trigger from returning reliably. The hammer "main spring "and the rebound slide return spring are balanced against each other so the trigger returns with enough force. Too weak a return spring could lead to trigger short stroking which will jam your revolver! The use of grease as a lube and cold weather can make this issue worse.
halfmoonclip
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- Feb 4, 2011
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- 2,889
Good advice here; I have a range of rebound slide springs, and swap them around for best effect.
Bobbing 1.5 coils was the old-school trick; it should work, but if it doesn't, you'll be waiting for a new spring.
Smiths aren't hard to work on, but you need to know what you're doing. Listen to In the Field, and do some homework.
BTW, mainsprings are a sometimes thing. Even factory mainsprings vary in thickness and strength. Usually, the ribbed, reduced power mainsprings work, but sometimes it takes the thickest OEM in the drawer to get reliable ignition. Never have tried a reduced power coil spring for a J frame.
Moon
ETA- Some tools are necessary; really good screwdrivers, brass hammer for 'twanging' the frame, some kind of tool (there's a factory one, and you can make one by grinding a screwdriver) for removing the rebound slide. It's a PITA without a tool.
M
Bobbing 1.5 coils was the old-school trick; it should work, but if it doesn't, you'll be waiting for a new spring.
Smiths aren't hard to work on, but you need to know what you're doing. Listen to In the Field, and do some homework.
BTW, mainsprings are a sometimes thing. Even factory mainsprings vary in thickness and strength. Usually, the ribbed, reduced power mainsprings work, but sometimes it takes the thickest OEM in the drawer to get reliable ignition. Never have tried a reduced power coil spring for a J frame.
Moon
ETA- Some tools are necessary; really good screwdrivers, brass hammer for 'twanging' the frame, some kind of tool (there's a factory one, and you can make one by grinding a screwdriver) for removing the rebound slide. It's a PITA without a tool.
M
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Thanks to all for the replies. I've ordered a spring kit, but in the meantime, I cut 3 coils off my Mdl 10-7. Trigger fails to return every time, so I put the 3 coil piece threaded into the longer piece. Works fine now. 2 coils off Mdl 19 and Mdl 649 give excellent trigger in single action mode. There's no push off or hammer release when whacked with a soft hammer. The DA pull is not significantly changed.
I watched a very short Jerry Miculek YouTube where he used a pen (looked like a BIC) to re-install the spring. Works great. So does a center punch. Don't slip - Don't launch. Same video also talks about main spring tension if you want to modify DA pull.
I watched a very short Jerry Miculek YouTube where he used a pen (looked like a BIC) to re-install the spring. Works great. So does a center punch. Don't slip - Don't launch. Same video also talks about main spring tension if you want to modify DA pull.
This is a related post. I have an old Mdl 1905 3rd change that has the sweetest single action trigger. As I was looking around in there, I found that someone had lobbed off some coils from the rebound spring. This gun went off several years ago when droppped. It wasn't cocked. Nothing was bent or damaged except the hammer spur being slightly bent from the impact. The gun still works perfectly. The only theory I could come up with as to how this revolver could fire when dropped was that it hit just right on the hammer and inertia pulled the rebound slide to the rear. Now that I see that the rebound spring is weakened, this theory seems more plausable.
I'd be glad to hear anyone's ideas.
I'd be glad to hear anyone's ideas.
edwardware
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- Feb 23, 2010
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- 4,426
There is a semi-religious aversion to cutting springs that's only partially supported by mechanics.
Cutting a spring to reduce it's initial force (the marignal force at its installed-at-rest length) will result in a different (lesser) change to its final force (the marginal force at its fully compressed length in the gun). Because of that, cutting an 8# spring to 6# inital force isn't the same as installing a reduced weight 6# spring. . . but it's really really close in more applications.
The lesson is: go ahead and cut any spring that you already have a replacement for, and the costs of correcting a failure aren't high (hard to re-assemble, mission critical, etc). Sounds like you're already learned this, and observed that the failure mode for rebound springs is slow- or incomplete reset.
Good on you for experimenting!
Pat Riot
Contributing Member
I use a Schraeder Valve Tool (think tire air valve) to install rebound springs. It works pretty well.
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I had to do some soul-searching to cut into that spring.
Good idea. I've always found some way. I mean, someone put this thing together in the beginning. Sometimes it can be really hard, but when you get it, you got it!
halfmoonclip
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- Feb 4, 2011
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Kell, that older Smith would have lacked the hammer block found on later models.
Not sufficiently familiar with a Smith that old; presume it has a rebounding hammer.
As regards the rebound slide bouncing out of the way, it is possible, I suppose. Near as you can tell, there was no internal damage?
Had a (civil) go round with another poster here about the safety of older Smiths with rebounding hammers but no hammer block. Assuming a reasonably strong rebound slide spring, I'm doubtful that inertia would send the trigger/rebound slide to the rear on a drop on the hammer.
But if it was a little well worn, it might be that it simply got bounced out of the way. I'd let someone knowledgeable have a look at it inside.
Moon
Not sufficiently familiar with a Smith that old; presume it has a rebounding hammer.
As regards the rebound slide bouncing out of the way, it is possible, I suppose. Near as you can tell, there was no internal damage?
Had a (civil) go round with another poster here about the safety of older Smiths with rebounding hammers but no hammer block. Assuming a reasonably strong rebound slide spring, I'm doubtful that inertia would send the trigger/rebound slide to the rear on a drop on the hammer.
But if it was a little well worn, it might be that it simply got bounced out of the way. I'd let someone knowledgeable have a look at it inside.
Moon
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