The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > The Smithy

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 6, 2013, 12:53 AM   #1
Chowder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 3, 2012
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 449
Spring kit DYI

Howdy,

I recently started a website out of boredom and to practice my writing skills. Part of this website is writing DYI's on any project I might be working on. My first DYI is installing a wolf spring kit in my S&W model 18.

Since 99.9% of the men and woman on this website know more than me about firearms I am looking for feedback on this write up. I am looking for ANY critique you can give me. From the writing itself to how I did the installation. Also correcting anything I may have done wrong or just a better way of doing things.

Thank you all in advance for your feedback I have learned so much from all of you in the past.

Here is the link to the DIY post.http://sharpasamarble.com/

Last edited by Chowder; March 6, 2013 at 01:29 PM.
Chowder is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 11:57 AM   #2
oneoldsap
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 16, 2009
Location: I live in the foot of the Green Mountains of Vermont
Posts: 1,602
DIY = Doing It Yourself . DYI ?
__________________
Don't forget to have your liberals spayed or neutered !
oneoldsap is offline  
Old March 6, 2013, 01:27 PM   #3
Chowder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 3, 2012
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 449
Quote:
DIY = Doing It Yourself . DYI ?
Do yourself it... whats wrong with that lol. Good catch I posted this on my first night on night shift so I had been awake for a bit.

Also, the new Domain is sharpasamarble.com, I fixed the link. And it is under the projects tab. Thanks.
Chowder is offline  
Old March 7, 2013, 09:21 AM   #4
Unclenick
Staff
 
Join Date: March 4, 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 21,024
Chowder,

Looks pretty good. I spotted one typo. Correction in red:

Quote:
The Brownells rebound spring tool is a live {should be life} saver and well worth the less than 10 dollars I have spent on it.
The next two sentences also could stand some modification for clarity. I have a terrible mind for puns and word play. The one plus to this disease is that if something can be read incorrectly by the obtuse, I will spot it. 95% of people would read these two sentences and understand perfectly, or else understand when they actually tried it; but there's always that 5%.

Quote:
To remove the rebound spring simply push in the spring with the tool and angle upwards.
What exactly is angling upwards? The gunsmith? The tool? The spring? The rebound slide? I would specify that and maybe show a second photo shot from below the gun while angling up.

Quote:
Be careful when the rebound spring has been removed because you can shoot it across the shop.
This sentence should maybe say "be careful when releasing tension on the rebound spring, as a slip of the tool will allow it to shoot across the room", or something like that. As it is currently worded, it suggests the removed spring may be shot across the room. Of course it may, but unless it is possessed by the spirit of a Mexican jumping bean on steroids, you'd have to do it on purpose.

That's all on the write-up. I can suggest another thing to do to the revolver, however. An old Smith & Wesson Armorer's School trick is to take a bottle of Break Free CLP and shake it well to suspend the Teflon, then mix a slurry of it with some JB Bore Compound. The slurry is used to lubricate the reassembled action. The gun is then operated double-action (use snap caps in the .22) until you feel the JB break down and the double-action pull smooth out. What this does is the JB polishes the moving surfaces and works the Teflon into them to produce a silky smooth feel. Clean out and re-lube with the Break-Free and work it a little more. Afterward I like to clear the Break-Free off with Gunzilla and just wipe it dry and reassemble it. The Gunzilla leaves a lubricating layer that's thin and doesn't attract dust.

I would not operate the gun single-action with that slurry in place. You don't want to mess with a crisp single-action trigger that already is at the release weight you want.
__________________
Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member
CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor
NRA Certified Rifle Instructor
NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle
Unclenick is offline  
Old March 7, 2013, 12:52 PM   #5
Chowder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 3, 2012
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 449
Thanks for the proof read Unclenick! It is always great to have a second set of eyes on my writing. The way things are written always makes sense to the person who actually wrote it haha.

I rewrote the section on the rebound spring removal, I like your idea of a upward angle picture and once I get a tripod or an extra hand I think I will do that. It now reads:

Quote:
To remove the rebound spring simply compress the spring with the tool, the peg that holds the spring tension will slide into the notch in the tool. Once the spring is compressed lift upward so the rebound spring and block lifts at an angle and is released from the peg. Make sure to release the tension on the spring slowly so it does not "spring" from the block and most likely somewhere unreachable, because we all know small parts never land right in front of us in a well lit area.
Thanks for the tip for smoothing up the action. I have taken this revolver apart completely before this project but finally feel I know the inner workings enough to start tinkering and tuning. These S&W are much simpler to work on that I original feared, I used to be a mechanic though and have built engines so I suppose that helps with visualizing how things work. Thanks again for the input it was very helpful.
Chowder is offline  
Old March 9, 2013, 09:55 AM   #6
oldgunsmith
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 9, 2013
Posts: 278
With spring kits that are supposed to "smooth the action" I like to compare the primers/rims of ammo fired before and after the new springs go in. I'm not comfortable with firing pin marks that are obviously less pronounced than the original.
oldgunsmith is offline  
Old March 9, 2013, 10:25 AM   #7
Chowder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 3, 2012
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 449
I used the standard power main spring so it beat the hell out of my snap caps while testing the pull. Going to the range today most likely to give it the official test.
Chowder is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:07 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.05148 seconds with 10 queries