Guys, I need some spring help

K

keko

New member
I have two S&W revolvers and I am going to change out the mainspring, cylinder stop spring, and rebound spring on each. They are a 681 and an older K frame (.38 special in SS) with a heavy barrel.

I am planning to use Wolff Springs since I have had so much good luck with WolFF Springs on my semi-autos.

The two revolvers will be used for the range 99.99% of the time; maybe home defense on a rare occasion; never for carry.

My questions:
1) Should I go with a reduced power mainspring or standard mainspring?
2) What strength rebound spring have y'all had the best results with: 13, 14, or 15 lbs?
3) Would you use the extra power or standard cylinder stop spring?

I know how to change the mainspring and rebound spring. Is the cylinder stop spring easy to change? Any URL's out there that show how to do the spring changes? Additional information certainly will only help me.

Thanks much!!!
 
Springs

I have changed springs on some Smiths but I never have changed the cylinder stop spring unless it was bad. If Wolff is the ribbed flat mainspring, I never stuck with them as they seemed to make the hammer strike a bit weak, even though they lightened trigger pull. Can make for a hair trigger on SA from my exp. I have used the reduced power trigger return springs with some success. Not always the lightest spring. Sometimes you get crappy trigger return with a light spring. In one K frame I found a factory mainspring that reduced trigger pull a fair bit without making it too light so I have aftermarket springs lying around unused. You can start with 13# trigger spring and see how it feels. Must fully return trigger in fast cycling to be effective. It is kinda an experiment to see which one works best. You can reduce force of a factory spring by backing out the tensioning screw a turn or two but not too much. If the spring straightens out too much, it will bind instead of springing. You should not be able to push the hammer out of cock with your thumb on the cocked hammer. If it does "push off" you have too light mainspring. I also have used the replacement coil spring kits in J frames with good success. If you are trying to set up a target gun, you can go as light as you want with safety checks, like thumb pushoff. Gotta bust the primer 100%(except maybe in target shooting) so that is why I go for a bit lighter on most guns but not super light. The Kuhnhausen book on S&W fixing and tuning is a good guide to use. Jerry Kuhnhausen " The S&W Revolver A shop Manual" is available from Brownells or at gun shows where they have a vendor selling new gun books. But all in all, useing the "kit" springs and putting in the lightest units generally has been unsat for me.
 
If it does "push off" you have too light mainspring.
Click to expand...
If you have push off then you have more than spring problems. Either your hammer or trigger has had the sear surface misadjusted or damaged.
For your springs, unless the cylinder stop spring is damaged I would leave that as is. You should try all the main and trigger return springs to see what gives you the lightest pull weight and positive trigger return along with a positive ignition. It's a matter of matching the springs to what works best in your revolver.
 
Every one of my S&W revolvers save 1 or 2 has Wolff replacement springs.

I normally use the reduced power mainspring, and have never had a problem with ammo ignition.

I prefer the 13-lb rebound slide spring for my target guns, but in my carry guns I go with either the 14 or the 15 pound to ensure proper trigger return.

You may find that the 13-pound spring won't return the trigger on all S&Ws. That's when I break out the kit and do a complete and thorough action polishing on the hammer, trigger, rebound slide, and frame where the parts contact. A few hours of work will often allow the 13-lb spring to function flawlessly.

At this point I've done spring jobs on, probably, 150 S&W revolvers, sometimes action jobs, as well, and Wolff springs have never given anything but good service.
 
STop spring

ON the old models there was a screw in the front of the trigger guard that you removed to get the spring out. As it is now, you have to depress the stop below the opening in the frame, and then pry the whole thing out, or get something under it and pull straight up. You can see the potential for the spring flying away when it clears the frame. Watch that. To install one, you put the spring in the hole in the front of the stop, then compress it with a real small screwdriver or such, while simultaniously pushing the stop down onto it's frame pin. When you get the stop and the spring started into the frame cutout, you continue to push it down into the frame until the stop can pop back up into it's cutout under the cylinder. Make sure that the spring is fairly straight in it's hole, adjust by pushing it around till it is reasonably lined up if it is not seated correctly. Smith saved the cost of the extra hole and screw, but now you have the potential of damaging or losing the spring without due care. Good luck with that. I did not mention polishing parts as the other poster did, as you probably should have a book like I mentioned to know what and how, it would take a long description on a posting. Otherwise if you have the stones (not the metaphorical ones, though that might help. Polishing stones!) and have a good idea what to do, it can help. I NEVER mess with stoning the sear engagement myself, it can make an unsafe condx. unless you know exactly what to do. Haven't needed to for non-target match guns. The book I mentioned is pretty helpful!
 
Use the factory mainspring for total reliability with ALL ammo.

Put the 14lb rebound spring in to give a very nice trigger return.

No need to replace the cylinder stop spring unless it it weak or damaged or rusty.

BHP9
 
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