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Colt Main Hammer Spring


El Muerto Negro

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Hello,

 

I have a pair of 3rd Gen Colts 357. They are several years old with action job's from a top Gunsmith. I keep breaking the main hammer spring 2 or so a year. Now I keep hearing how this spring should not go. Any ideas, who does your springs?

 

EMN

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+1 on the Wolff springs I have them in my Colts and Uberti's!

 

Did your gunsmith replace the springs? My gunsmith used to file the Colt springs down until we both discovered Wolff springs. The question is why are the Colt springs breaking?? I have NEVER broken a Colt mainspring and I've had Colts for 20 years!! :blink:

Edited by Rye Miles #13621
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+1 on the Wolff springs I have them in my Colts and Uberti's!

 

Did your gunsmith replace the springs? My gunsmith used to file the Colt springs down until we both discovered Wolff springs. The question is why are the Colt springs breaking?? I have NEVER broken a Colt mainspring and I've had Colts for 20 years!! :blink:

Yes he works the springs. I keep hearing how they should not break. I'll have to get insight. Idk why they keep on breaking. This is a recognized smith and I love my Colts I just don't like the spring going.

 

EMM

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Have you watched the gunsmith "file" the springs? Perhaps his process is embrittling the spring or otherwise weakening it. Almost certainly, in fact. Snapping a main, or hammer spring in that manner is rare, I'd say. Carefully knocking off the 4 "sharp" edges with a file or belt sander (don't let the spring heat up!) should help spread the stress on the spring.

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I have not had them break. I've used Wolff, some from Happy Trails, some no-name from Brownells. I have even ground down a couple myself. When I do that I hold it in my fingers. Can't overheat a spring if I can still hold it in my fingers. My fingers aren't that tough!

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I do not want to say the Smiths name. As he is highly respected in CAS. I'm just at a loss of what to do. I could try a different spring from someone else and see if it breaks. If not then something going on with the Smiths springs. If it breaks something in the gun is putting tremendous stress on the spring.

 

EMN

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I do not want to say the Smiths name. As he is highly respected in CAS. I'm just at a loss of what to do. I could try a different spring from someone else and see if it breaks. If not then something going on with the Smiths springs. If it breaks something in the gun is putting tremendous stress on the spring.

 

EMN

Breaking a spring in a Colt is a once in a lifetime type thing if at all. Regular breakage means something is wrong. What to do? Real simple. Buy a Wolff or Lee's Gunsmithing spring and put one of those in and see if it breaks. They they break there is something radically wrong with your guns. If they do not break then you need a new smith.

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This is a symptom that can come from of an over length hammer spring contacting the back of the hammer in front of the hammer bearing ( roller ) often times. I have only broken one Colt hammer spring, but it was a 45 Colt 1878 (artillery model )manufactured gun. It broke about 10 years ago, guess a 130 year life span is all they are good for!

If your breakage is at random points and the spring has been thinned along its length, this can be due to the grinding being done cross wise to the length of the spring rather than longitudinally and the finish polishing not removing the grinding marks which create stress risers. It's something to look for! Hope you update us when you find the cause!

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I do not want to say the Smiths name. As he is highly respected in CAS. I'm just at a loss of what to do. I could try a different spring from someone else and see if it breaks. If not then something going on with the Smiths springs. If it breaks something in the gun is putting tremendous stress on the spring.

Howdy

 

If he is a highly respected smith, and the springs he works on keep breaking, something is wrong. I'm not saying you should mention his name, but hammer springs breaking in a Colt is quite rare.

 

There are several ways to tune a hammer spring so it exerts less force. Done improperly can cause damage. Just for the fun of it, check and see if there are horizontal grinding marks running across your springs. If so, the grinding marks set up what are called Stress Risers, providing a perfect place for a spring to snap in half. Tuned springs should be perfectly smooth, with no horizontal grinding marks left behind.

 

Hopefully your problem will be solved with the Wolff springs.

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This is a symptom that can come from of an over length hammer spring contacting the back of the hammer in front of the hammer bearing ( roller ) often times. I have only broken one Colt hammer spring, but it was a 45 Colt 1878 (artillery model )manufactured gun. It broke about 10 years ago, guess a 130 year life span is all they are good for!

If your breakage is at random points and the spring has been thinned along its length, this can be due to the grinding being done cross wise to the length of the spring rather than longitudinally and the finish polishing not removing the grinding marks which create stress risers. It's something to look for! Hope you update us when you find the cause!

very good point. The spring is too long or stress risers from grinding the wrong direction will kill a spring
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Maybe you're shooting it so fast that you're work hardening the spring and causing it to break... :D :D :D

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Jim Martin for all of his action work uses main springs from Superior Industries in L.A. No one knows their way around a Colt SAA better than Jim, so if their his choice they have to be about as good as you can get.

 

Best regards,

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Jim Martin for all of his action work uses main springs from Superior Industries in L.A. No one knows their way around a Colt SAA better than Jim, so if their his choice they have to be about as good as you can get.

 

Best regards,

Can you provide a link please. Can't find them on the web.

 

Thanks

 

EMN

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Not difficult but hour glassing a Colt mainspring needs careful polishing. Like Driftwood said, any scratch, grinding marks will make it let go like a dry twig.

And you need a get the taper even. Rule of thumb, no thinner than 1/3 of spring.

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"Can you provide a link please. Can't find them on the web.

Thanks

EMN"

 

Ken Baumgartner

(323) 263-4513

Superior Industries

3365 Union Pacific Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90023

 

Best regards,

Edited by Slate
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Put in the Wolff springs. Just check the lenght cause I had a few long ones that were hitting the frame and not bending. I have them in all my Colts,. My game guns and my pleasure guns. Also their wire bolt/trigger spring. Instant action job from fractory springs!!

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I had a top gun guy tune my SAA in 1986. He hourglassed the factory mainspring in my Colt... it broke about a year later. I then bought a factory replacement spring from Colt, and hourglassed it myself. Kept it about 1/4" wide and polished the entire circumference of the spring. It's still in the gun. The 2nd Colt got the same treatment on it's factory spring about 1994. It's still in the gun. The trick is to NOT let the spring turn red as you grind away any unwanted spring. It ain't a 5 minute job.

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  • 1 year later...

PLUS ONE to Pettifogger

 

Skip all the WAG(s) and fit a new after-market Main Spring.  Notice I said "fit."  The top of the spring must not touch the back radius of the hammer.

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