.32 S&W Long, Hand Ejector

D

dahermit

New member
I have had my eye out for a .32 S&W Long. The Model 31 I had in the eighties was sold to help finance grad school and I have regretted it ever since. I found a .32 Hand Ejector yesterday at my local gun store. It was not in the pristine condition that my 31 had been in, but has been fired very little, as indicated by the wear on the parts, but the blue is 50% or less and the gun is a lot older than my Model 21 was.
This new acquisition has four screws in the side-plate and a screw in front of the trigger guard. The serial is: 3848xx.
The gun store clerk called it a "3rd Model, Hand Ejector". can anyone give me some info on that?
I have ordered a mold, brass, Dillon 550b conversion kit and cannot wait to get it shooting.
One thing that puzzles me, is that instead of a coil hammer spring (as my Model 31 had), it has a flat, albeit shorter than K,L,N, mainspring. Inasmuch as the weight of the trigger pull (unlike my Model 31 was), is very heavy, without having to go to Wolff's site, are there going to be hammer springs available, preferable lighter for it? Even a standard one would be acceptable, inasmuch as I could work on a replacement instead of messing with the original.
32Handejector_zpsc238213b.jpg

The trigger return spring looks to be standard and I have a half-dozen or so with varying weights so that is not a problem.
Bigger is better:
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I don't have my books in front of me right now, but I think that your revolver is a fairly late one, probably into the 1920s or even the 1930s.

It's built on the I frame, which was the original size frame for Hand Ejectors chambered in .32 S&W Long and .38 S&W.

The I frame was made right through the late 1940s, when it was replaced with the Improved I frame, which was slightly larger in most aspects.

The most important change was dropping the flat mainspring and the strain screw in favor of a continuously tensions coil spring.

The Improved I frame still wasn't large enough to chamber .38 S&W Special cartridges, so the frame was enlarged once again and renamed the J frame.

The Improved I frame and the J frame were produced concurrently for a number of years, until the Improved I frame was dropped from production totally in 1965.

I know I ordered a new mainspring from Numrich when, out of the blue one day, the mainspring in my Regulation Police simply snapped at the point where the strain screw bore on it, but I don't know of anyone making either reduced power mainsprings or rebound slide springs.
 
I know I ordered a new mainspring from Numrich when, out of the blue one day, the mainspring in my Regulation Police simply snapped at the point where the strain screw bore on it, but I don't know of anyone making either reduced power mainsprings or rebound slide springs.
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I looked at Numrich and they are "sold out" on the flat mainspring. None on Gunbroker or Ebay. However, it occurred to me that with my supply of discarded flat mainsprings (and rebound springs), I may be able to cut-down (from the bottom, leaving the stirrup on the top), a standard K, L, N, and get it to fit. I could deal with the lack that little "hump" on the bottom end latter.
 
Before you go to the trouble of all that (cutting down main spring is a TEDIOUS job if you do it properly so as not to destroy the temper and spring capacity), go over to the smith & wesson forums to see if anyone knows where you can latch onto one.

See if they also have rebound slide springs. If you want to reduce the trigger pull, you do it primarily by lightening the rebound slide spring, not the mainspring.
 
Before you go to the trouble of all that (cutting down main spring is a TEDIOUS job if you do it properly so as not to destroy the temper and spring capacity),
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Have the equipment and the knowledge (machine shop background), to do it correctly.

go over to the smith & wesson forums to see if anyone knows where you can latch onto one.
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Been there, done that, no joy.

See if they also have rebound slide springs. If you want to reduce the trigger pull, you do it primarily by lightening the rebound slide spring, not the mainspring.
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It looks for all intents and purposes, a standard size spring. I already have several in varying weights. I have found (all my other S&W's) that lightening both springs gets the results I want. I do not intend on doing anything with the original springs, will keep them for posterity...even in its sorry original finish condition, in 100 more years, it will be much more desirable antique with its original parts for whom ever ends up with it.
 
You can easily cut down a K-frame spring (or a Wolff substitute) to fit that I frame. Cut .340" off the end of the K-frame spring, using a Dremel tool cutoff wheel or a hacksaw and some patience. Just take it slow to keep the heat down.

Then using the Dremel grinding wheel or a file and more patience, cut the notch in the end. There is not really a "hunp"; that part of the spring is the same thickness as the body of the spring, there is just a notch cut in to make the "hump". Again take it easy; the notch doesn't have to be deep.

Jim
 
I got a .32 hand ejector like that. Made in 1912. Uses the I frame.

Paid $110 for it and bough origional wood S&W I frame grips for $30 as the black plasitic S&W grips were broken.

Shoots fine but has itty bitty sights.

Deaf
 
Just curious, how do you intend to make the retaining hump?
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After examining several take-offs of standard S&W flat springs, I noticed that some of them had metal filed away in front of the hump leaving metal proud of the surface, actually forming the hump. On some that was not the case, the hump was forged in. A couple of the after market, lighter weight springs, had vertical "V" notch that appears to have been stamped in with punch press and dies. I will try filing the hump (like some of the originals) into a shortened standard spring and see how it goes. At this point, I have the impression that it may work. If that fails, I will see if I can construct a hump with J-B weld and see if that holds up. With a lot of left-over springs that I have no other use for, I may as well experiment.
 
I got a .32 hand ejector like that. Made in 1912. Uses the I frame.

Paid $110 for it and bough origional wood S&W I frame grips for $30 as the black plasitic S&W grips were broken.

Shoots fine but has itty bitty sights.
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Mine was $285 out the door (they wanted $299 + tax). It has what appears to be original wood grips. I noticed what you observed about the sights, really small!
The had an old Colt .32 (.32 New Police I think), but I did not look at it because I am not crazy about the old Colt lock-work and they wanted $100 more than the S&W for it.
 
There is not really a "hunp"; that part of the spring is the same thickness as the body of the spring, there is just a notch cut in to make the "hump". Again take it easy; the notch doesn't have to be deep
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Sorry, I posted before I saw this post. James K beat me to that observation that the "hump" was/is formed by relieving metal along side it.
 
While you guys discuss alterations . . . I'm just going to say to the OP . . . NICE! I love vintage revolvers like this one . . . it has a lot of character!
 
"On some that was not the case, the hump was forged in."

On several of my older Smiths it IS a hump made, as you noted, in the forging process, not by relieving. That seems to have been a very old way of doing it.

It's always been my impression that its primary purpose is to prevent the spring from being dragged up and down as the action is cycled, but I've never been certain of that.
 
Picked up one myself with a 4" barrel, overall condition isn't bad, cosmetics aside, it is in great shape; however not like the 6" RP I found and flipped - THAT was scary accurate - I am hoping this one is decent enough for range plinking. I frames are cool and in 32SWL, a joy to shoot

Unless springs are broken, they all seem to be very sturdy and reliable
 
It is hard to think of anything of less importance in the grand scheme of things, but my 1896 HE (the first swing cylinder S&W) the spring "hump" is definitely formed by cutting a notch. Several S&W HE's of different eras all show the notch. They probably did change it at times, maybe more than once, since the same basic spring was used on the .32 and .38 break tops, and I didn't check those.

Jim
 
Why don't you just back the stain screw out a little? Thats what everyone else seems to do.
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If the screw is not tightened down all the way, it will unscrew further as it it used, eventually causing misfires. Although there are those who leave their strain screw loose, as a pragmatic solution, it is not considered as the correct procedure/remedy for a too heavy trigger pull by all, whereas correctly lightened springs (and a strain screw correctly torqued), will maintain a constant hammer strike.
 
Hello Dahermit. I know backing the screw out is not the "correct" way to lighten the trigger. I have done it and never had a screw move from where I left it, it was just a thought.

Nice gun. I am also a 32 caliber revolver fan. My holy grail gun was a 631 in 32 mag. I finally found one for a price I could live with a couple of years ago. I have seven 32 caliber revolvers and a marlin 32 mag rifle. Plus lots of brass, bullets and a couple of molds.
 
I got a chance to examine several of my older S&Ws over the weekend, and I believe I was mistaken about the mainspring.

All have the relieving cut to form the hump.

"It is hard to think of anything of less importance in the grand scheme of things"

Really? You can't think of anything less important? It's Monday, and I'm at the office. Less important.

I had a chicken parm sub for dinner last night. Less important.

And so forth and so on...

But when it comes to S&W revolvers?

That. Is. IMPORTANT!
 
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