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What is the Black Art of removing Hammer Strut/Spring without disassembly?


Quiet Burp

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What is the Black Art of removing Hammer Strut/Spring without disassembly of the pistol frame?

 

I have not been able to manage to do it, regardless of anything I have tried it just misses from being able to clear the bottom of the grip and be extracted. 

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On mine there still isn't enough room to get them out of the hammer. Just my experience.

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Sometimes they come out, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they come out one side, but not the other, but it's always a tight fit and often can't be done without removing, or at least loosening, the grip frame after the spring is captured like Doc Shapiro described.

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10 minutes ago, Doc Shapiro said:

Assuming a Ruger?  Take the grip panels off, cock the hammer, and put a small nail or something similar through the hole in the strut that becomes visible.  A paperclip isn't strong enough.

 

Hi, yes I have the spring trapped with a nail, but for the life of me I am unable to lift the mainspring seat over the area of the grip marked with the arrow below.

 

image_2022-07-05_091504398.png.5f7e3ce7ace93743cad4b4cd1277f233.png

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4 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

On mine there still isn't enough room to get them out of the hammer. Just my experience.

 

This is what I'm finding. I've watched some Youtube clips and folks just seem to be able to extract them. No way will mine come out. I have to take the pistol apart.

I was hoping I was doing something inherently wrong so as to be able to speed up the process of trying out different springs without having to completely disassemble each time. 

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Does you NMV have a locking block? If so it probably won't come out.  Even if it does not have a locking block if you try to remove and reinstall the strut without loosening or removing the gripframe there is a substantial chance of bending it.  Look at the video on the Ruger website.  The guy puts the compressed spring assembly into the gripframe before installing it.  I remember Wes Fargo telling me he got a lot of his repair business from Dremel tools and people trying to change the stut without removing the grip frame.    It bends very easy and you cannot really feel it when it bends.  You won't notice it is bent until your action is crummy and you try to figure out why.

 

Look at about 3:30

 

https://www.ruger.com/videos.html?vid=232722630&cat=3769277

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there are 5 screws to remove to take grip off

 

note the bottom two behind the trigger guard--they are different.  The long one will go up and capture the groove in the hammer pin--it can go back either way but the long screw needs to go on the side of the groove

 

two on each side of hammer are identical

 

one on bottom in front of trigger guard

 

once those are all out you can separate the frame and grip

 

don't lose the plunger/spring that comes out of the back of the frame.  It puts tension on pawl which is what turns the cylinder

 

also there is a pin/spring on bottom of grip in front of trigger guard that will be totally free to fall out

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9 minutes ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

Does you NMV have a locking block? If so it probably won't come out.  Even if it does not have a locking block if you try to remove and reinstall the strut without loosening or removing the gripframe there is a substantial chance of bending it.  Look at the video on the Ruger website.  The guy puts the compressed spring assembly into the gripframe before installing it.  I remember Wes Fargo telling me he got a lot of his repair business from Dremel tools and people trying to change the stut without removing the grip frame.    It bends very easy and you cannot really feel it when it bends.  You won't notice it is bent until your action is crummy and you try to figure out why.

 

Look at about 3:30

 

https://www.ruger.com/videos.html?vid=232722630&cat=3769277

 

Thank you, that's how I have been taking out and putting in the springs as in the video. My NMV do not have that block part.

I've taken the pistols apart and put them back together so many times now. 

Its just that I've seen a few vids of folks taking them out without taking the pistols apart and was wondering how they were managing it as it would speed up the process of trying out different springs. 

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46 minutes ago, Doc Shapiro said:

Assuming a Ruger?  Take the grip panels off, cock the hammer, and put a small nail or something similar through the hole in the strut that becomes visible.  A paperclip isn't strong enough.

I use a small finish nail. Then, pull the trigger and push the hammer down and it will release the strut.  The whole process, including changing the trigger spring, takes less than 5 minutes. 

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2 hours ago, Quiet Burp said:

 

This is what I'm finding. I've watched some Youtube clips and folks just seem to be able to extract them. No way will mine come out. I have to take the pistol apart.

I was hoping I was doing something inherently wrong so as to be able to speed up the process of trying out different springs without having to completely disassemble each time. 

Unfortunately, taking the pistol apart won't resolve the problem you're having.  They are always a tight fit, it seems.  Just keep wiggling, prying, forcing a little until you get it out, then grind a tiny bit off the lower end.  Pay attention to which way it comes out.  Many have reversed them and had cocking problems. 

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6 minutes ago, Dusty Devil Dale said:

Unfortunately, taking the pistol apart won't resolve the problem you're having.  They are always a tight fit, it seems.  Just keep wiggling, prying, forcing a little until you get it out, then grind a tiny bit off the lower end.  Pay attention to which way it comes out.  Many have reversed them and had cocking problems. 

Yep that's the way to do it.  Force it, bend it. .  If you have to force it at all you are courting a bent strut.  But whatever.

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What Larsen said.

 

The guns are not all alike.  Some will allow you to remove it but many require removing the grip.  After a few times doing it, it isn't too hard to take the grip off and put it back.  Not actually easy, but doable - with some patience.

 

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21 minutes ago, Dusty Devil Dale said:

Unfortunately, taking the pistol apart won't resolve the problem you're having.  They are always a tight fit, it seems.  Just keep wiggling, prying, forcing a little until you get it out, then grind a tiny bit off the lower end.  Pay attention to which way it comes out.  Many have reversed them and had cocking problems. 

 

Yes, once the pistol is apart the hammer strut/spring virtually falls out. 

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13 minutes ago, Marauder SASS #13056 said:

What Larsen said.

 

The guns are not all alike.  Some will allow you to remove it but many require removing the grip.  After a few times doing it, it isn't too hard to take the grip off and put it back.  Not actually easy, but doable - with some patience.

 

 

You know those Marine movies where they have to assemble their weapons blindfolded? I'm not there, but getting close to that :) 

 

It just threw me when I saw on Youtube some folks pulling out the hammer strut without disassembly. I thought there must have been some trick to it. There ain't no way mine will come out, very close but no cigar and like Mr Pettifogger wrote, no good would come from forcing. If you have to force a part, something's amiss. 

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10 minutes ago, Quiet Burp said:

t just threw me when I saw on Youtube some folks pulling out the hammer strut without disassembly.

 

Believe it or not some folks on YouTube are idiots.

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9 minutes ago, Quiet Burp said:

 

You know those Marine movies where they have to assemble their weapons blindfolded? I'm not there, but getting close to that :)  

I've put enough Super Blackhawk hammers in Vaqueros that I can do the swap in twelve minutes now, starting and ending with the grips on. :) I haven't tried it blindfolded yet. :lol:

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1 hour ago, Marauder SASS #13056 said:

What Larsen said.

 

The guns are not all alike.  Some will allow you to remove it but many require removing the grip.  After a few times doing it, it isn't too hard to take the grip off and put it back.  Not actually easy, but doable - with some patience.

 

Exactly. 
I have a few OM vaqueros. One pair the hammer strut/spring literally falls out after compression, another pair requires full disassembly. Who knows why, the measurements are within a few thousands of each other as far as the struts go. 
Regards

:FlagAm:  :FlagAm:  :FlagAm:

Gateway Kid

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4 minutes ago, Bellatrix said:

I had an older Vaquero. To lighten the trigger, I just unhooked one side of the spring.

 

Done a lot of reading here on the Wire about that and it seems the jury is hung on whether that's a good thing or not. 

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