First Hammer Bob
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:32 am
You vets might chuckle and shake your heads, but you have to start somewhere, right?
I did as much homework as I could, visited with a couple of local gunsmiths, and put patience ahead of everything else.
I carry a Smith 36 in a SmartCarry holster which means snagging can become a serious issue impeding the ability to draw the gun. I realize a SmartCarry is a deep carry system and there will be no "quick" draw regardless.
But having the hammer snag inside my waistband is more of a possibility with this method of carry (my only current option for reasons I can't discuss here).
I chose to take one, careful step at a time, test my skills, and only remove a partial amount of the hammer spur. One can always proceed further and remove all the spur at a later date.
I masked off all areas which filings and dust might collect, carefully put the gun in my bench vise with it's nylon, no-mar, inserts and using a small file, marked a starting line on the hammer.
With a fresh cutting wheel in the Dremel,
I slowly began a cut across the hammer from side to side, stopping to inspect (with my flip-down magnifying glasses thanks to flyfishing for years) and let the metal cool.
After patiently cutting off the spur, I chucked up an aluminum oxide wheel
and carefully polished the cut surface until it was smooth and made a gradual transition from the back, uncut surface to the top, back edge of the hammer.
I still have enough surface to safely cock and de-cock the hammer, but until I go to the range this weekend I won't know if the weight removal affects the hammer strike. If it does (I've had trigger/action work done previously) I'll just have my local gunsmith adjust it accordingly.
Aesthetically, I'm really pleased with this first effort. And even more pleased I didn't really screw anything up!
Before:
After:
I did as much homework as I could, visited with a couple of local gunsmiths, and put patience ahead of everything else.
I carry a Smith 36 in a SmartCarry holster which means snagging can become a serious issue impeding the ability to draw the gun. I realize a SmartCarry is a deep carry system and there will be no "quick" draw regardless.
But having the hammer snag inside my waistband is more of a possibility with this method of carry (my only current option for reasons I can't discuss here).
I chose to take one, careful step at a time, test my skills, and only remove a partial amount of the hammer spur. One can always proceed further and remove all the spur at a later date.
I masked off all areas which filings and dust might collect, carefully put the gun in my bench vise with it's nylon, no-mar, inserts and using a small file, marked a starting line on the hammer.
With a fresh cutting wheel in the Dremel,
I slowly began a cut across the hammer from side to side, stopping to inspect (with my flip-down magnifying glasses thanks to flyfishing for years) and let the metal cool.
After patiently cutting off the spur, I chucked up an aluminum oxide wheel
and carefully polished the cut surface until it was smooth and made a gradual transition from the back, uncut surface to the top, back edge of the hammer.
I still have enough surface to safely cock and de-cock the hammer, but until I go to the range this weekend I won't know if the weight removal affects the hammer strike. If it does (I've had trigger/action work done previously) I'll just have my local gunsmith adjust it accordingly.
Aesthetically, I'm really pleased with this first effort. And even more pleased I didn't really screw anything up!
Before:
After: