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Hammer spring change on a J frame

7K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  pisgah 
#1 ·
I'm trying to learn to do some minor stuff myself so I need some basic help.

I want to change out the hammer and rebound springs on my S&W Mod 60. to lighten the hammer pull somewhat. I've already smoothed the rough areas on the internals. I have a Wolf spring kit with an 8 lb. hammer spring and 13,14, & 15 lb rebound springs. Does anybody know what the standard weight of the original springs are and which one of the rebound springs am I supposed to use for the 8 lb. hammer spring. If it's a matter of choosing the one that works the best, what function do I look for to choose between the 3?

Any help would be appreciated.
 
#2 ·
#3 ·
Going to give some advice than 90% of the posters are going to ignore, but i'll give it to you anyway.

On J-frame defence use centerfires, will smooth the gun but normally not change springs. It has to pass firing RIFLE primers. Will drill out the flash holes of 5 38 cases (usually the nasty ones not really fit for reloading..and trust me, you need to drill out the flash holes to keep the gun from locking up from primer set-back). It has to fire all 5 single action and double action before i'll trust it.

The rebound spring can usually be shortened a tiny bit or replaced...but if you get really fast at DA work, your finger can get ahead of the spring...which will tie the gun up. I'd have to practice for a several months before I could do that again, but you really can.

On rimfires, the fact is a .22mag. round just takes more "oomph" than a .22LR round. Any crud.excess oil, etc. under the extractor star will act as a shock absorber, reducing the hit to the rim...keep 'em clean and not over oiled/greased.
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The only other mention is the old K-fames in .32-20, and am adding it just for future reference. They all seem to be a bit "stiffer". but am guessing that's because of the compromise primer used in .32-20's. IF you only use pistol primer reloads, they can usually be lightened a bit.
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the other mention is a test you can do at home. Can back out the strain screw on a K.L.N frame S&w until the gun still fires every time, but accuracy goes to pot. What I think is happening, is micro-hang fires. Can smack a primer enough to set it off, but not have it set off consistently...will go "bang" but won't shoot worth snot. to be consistant, a primer needs to be struck smartly..and a slow heavy hammer just isn't as good at that as a fast lighter one is.
 
#4 ·
Which weight rebound spring? Whichever one works. For the sake of a light-as-possible pull, you want it as light as you can go, but go too light and the trigger will not return reliably or you may find the revolver tying itself up under fast DA fire. Personally, I never use a lighter hammer spring -- too easy to cross the line and get misfires from light strikes -- and I clip AT MOST 2 coils off the return spring, clipping and trying about 1/2 a coil at a time. For the rest, I count on added smoothness from polishing the action.
 
#5 ·
Rebound spring followup

Although interesting, you're the first reply to actually address my question. So thanks for that. I figured that function - through testing - was the best course, however, I'm still wondering what the default hammer and rebound spring weights are. Any idea or know any way I can find out? I've been told that by using a lighter hammer spring you need to use a heavier rebound spring. If true then the original spring would probably be more than 15#. I'm also wondering just how much lighter the 8# hammer spring is over stock.
Any suggestions?
 
#6 ·
Although interesting, you're the first reply to actually address my question. So thanks for that. I figured that function - through testing - was the best course, however, I'm still wondering what the default hammer and rebound spring weights are. Any idea or know any way I can find out? I've been told that by using a lighter hammer spring you need to use a heavier rebound spring. If true then the original spring would probably be more than 15#. I'm also wondering just how much lighter the 8# hammer spring is over stock.
Any suggestions?

Factory standard for the hammer spring is 8.5, the rebound spring 18 (it is the same for J, K, L, and N frames). There is really no relationship between the two -- function needs to be 100%, and the exact weight doesn't really matter.
 
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