Brass vs Stainless Shims

dyl · November 16, 2011, 11:32 AM

Hey all,

If given a choice between brass and stainless steel hammer/trigger shims, what are the advantages/disadvantages? Out of pure novelty I've been contemplating j-frame shims and they can be had in either brass or stainless.

So far my only guess is that brass may be softer than aluminum and wouldn't harm the frame as much. But longevity might be an issue then wouldn't it?

Just for fun, I'd like to hear your opinions/experience.

drail · November 16, 2011, 03:15 PM

If you are simply shimming a trigger or hammer it should not make that much difference because you are not applying much of a load in the direction of the shim. It merely holds the hammer/trigger in place so it has no wiggle room. The load is pretty much all on the pin that the hammer/trigger rotates on. Brass or stainless would both work just fine. When stainless rubs against another piece of stainless of exactly the same alloy galling can occur. Brass avoids that problem. Aluminum is very soft unless some type of hard anodize coating is applied. All of the shims that I have ever used have been stainless but I believe that was just to prevent corrosion. Sometimes you have to sand/stone one down a few thousandths and brass would be easier to work with. Brass would probably be easier and cheaper to manufacture as well. There should be no wear to the frame or the part if the fit is good and you use oil on both sides of the shim. They pretty much never wear out in my experiance. The key is to keep oil on it. With any kind of mechanism oil is your best friend.

dyl · November 16, 2011, 04:14 PM

Much appreciated.

The inside of the j-frame I'm working on is anodized but with normal use that coating has already rubbed off in some areas (especially under the rebound slide) so i can't count on it to not wear of in other areas.

Corrosion? Does brass corrode easily? Or perhaps the distinction is more for the comparison to stainless. If not a lot of wear is involved I'm leaning towards stainless at this point.

James K · November 16, 2011, 05:54 PM

It sounds to me like you are trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist and probably never will, at least in your lifetime. I think most of the wear you mention is in your imagination; it will take a long time for even an alloy frame to wear enough to need (or even allow) shims.

Jim

mapsjanhere · November 16, 2011, 06:40 PM

The problem with corrosion is that your shim will be a different metal from the frame, and you're setting up your own little battery if it gets wet. And the metal that will corrode is your frame, not the shim.

dyl · November 16, 2011, 06:58 PM

hm. I see. Well I wish I had checked the forum 1 more time before I pulled the trigger

... because I just did! I should have on my hands an 8 piece stainless trigger/hammer shim kit for j-frames in a few days.

I'm not so much worried about wearing the frame out as just trying to reduce drag. My wife's j-frame has some serious hammer drag on the left side only (hammer is digging to Australia first before China). And the left side of both our triggers are worn since we're both right handed. Room for shims: whoops, hope there's room in there - we'll see.

Thanks for the reassurance about longevity of the frame though I really was concerned about that when I was first introduced to Airweights. seeing as how some people have ridiculously high round counts and S&W's great customer service I'm not too worried. I'm just going for optimization/ challenge now.

I've done a 3rd cleanup/light polishing of some internals of my newer M&P340 and the trigger feels pretty smooth. I'll see how the shims and a Wilson Combat spring kit do.

Maps - I'll have to watch for corrosion then. Hopefully being allow the Airweight will help delay/stave off that problem.

Thanks again.

James K · November 17, 2011, 07:14 PM

That "serious hammer drag" and trigger wear is doing nothing more than rubbing the color off the hammer and trigger. Whether the parts are the old case hardened or the new MIM, there will be no detectable wear.

Have fun with those shims.

Jim

drail · November 18, 2011, 11:03 AM

Yup, when shimming you have to leave a little tiny bit of slop. (just enough room for some oil. Some S&W frames will not accept even one shim and some take a couple. If you tighten it up too much you'll just make problems.

November 16, 2011, 11:32 AM	#1
dyl Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,310	Brass vs Stainless Shims Hey all, If given a choice between brass and stainless steel hammer/trigger shims, what are the advantages/disadvantages? Out of pure novelty I've been contemplating j-frame shims and they can be had in either brass or stainless. So far my only guess is that brass may be softer than aluminum and wouldn't harm the frame as much. But longevity might be an issue then wouldn't it? Just for fun, I'd like to hear your opinions/experience.

November 16, 2011, 03:15 PM	#2
drail Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2008 Posts: 3,150	If you are simply shimming a trigger or hammer it should not make that much difference because you are not applying much of a load in the direction of the shim. It merely holds the hammer/trigger in place so it has no wiggle room. The load is pretty much all on the pin that the hammer/trigger rotates on. Brass or stainless would both work just fine. When stainless rubs against another piece of stainless of exactly the same alloy galling can occur. Brass avoids that problem. Aluminum is very soft unless some type of hard anodize coating is applied. All of the shims that I have ever used have been stainless but I believe that was just to prevent corrosion. Sometimes you have to sand/stone one down a few thousandths and brass would be easier to work with. Brass would probably be easier and cheaper to manufacture as well. There should be no wear to the frame or the part if the fit is good and you use oil on both sides of the shim. They pretty much never wear out in my experiance. The key is to keep oil on it. With any kind of mechanism oil is your best friend. Last edited by drail; November 16, 2011 at 03:21 PM.

November 16, 2011, 06:40 PM	#5
mapsjanhere Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2009 Location: Albuquerque Posts: 2,832	The problem with corrosion is that your shim will be a different metal from the frame, and you're setting up your own little battery if it gets wet. And the metal that will corrode is your frame, not the shim. __________________ I used to love being able to hit hard at 1000 yards. As I get older I find hitting a mini ram at 200 yards with the 22 oddly more satisfying.

November 16, 2011, 04:14 PM	#3
dyl Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,310	Much appreciated. The inside of the j-frame I'm working on is anodized but with normal use that coating has already rubbed off in some areas (especially under the rebound slide) so i can't count on it to not wear of in other areas. Corrosion? Does brass corrode easily? Or perhaps the distinction is more for the comparison to stainless. If not a lot of wear is involved I'm leaning towards stainless at this point.

November 16, 2011, 05:54 PM	#4
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	It sounds to me like you are trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist and probably never will, at least in your lifetime. I think most of the wear you mention is in your imagination; it will take a long time for even an alloy frame to wear enough to need (or even allow) shims. Jim

November 16, 2011, 06:58 PM	#6
dyl Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,310	hm. I see. Well I wish I had checked the forum 1 more time before I pulled the trigger ... because I just did! I should have on my hands an 8 piece stainless trigger/hammer shim kit for j-frames in a few days. I'm not so much worried about wearing the frame out as just trying to reduce drag. My wife's j-frame has some serious hammer drag on the left side only (hammer is digging to Australia first before China). And the left side of both our triggers are worn since we're both right handed. Room for shims: whoops, hope there's room in there - we'll see. Thanks for the reassurance about longevity of the frame though I really was concerned about that when I was first introduced to Airweights. seeing as how some people have ridiculously high round counts and S&W's great customer service I'm not too worried. I'm just going for optimization/ challenge now. I've done a 3rd cleanup/light polishing of some internals of my newer M&P340 and the trigger feels pretty smooth. I'll see how the shims and a Wilson Combat spring kit do. Maps - I'll have to watch for corrosion then. Hopefully being allow the Airweight will help delay/stave off that problem. Thanks again.

November 17, 2011, 07:14 PM	#7
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	That "serious hammer drag" and trigger wear is doing nothing more than rubbing the color off the hammer and trigger. Whether the parts are the old case hardened or the new MIM, there will be no detectable wear. Have fun with those shims. Jim

November 18, 2011, 11:03 AM	#8
drail Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2008 Posts: 3,150	Yup, when shimming you have to leave a little tiny bit of slop. (just enough room for some oil. Some S&W frames will not accept even one shim and some take a couple. If you tighten it up too much you'll just make problems.