Redhawk 357 hammer "issue"

[johnbu]

New redhawk. Zero rounds fired. 13# da 8#sa.  Disassembled,  inspected, cleaned, oiled.  noted hammer engagement surface is ground crooked.  see picture. 

 

Is this "normal"? 

[Alaskan454]

Is the ground part square with respect to the axis of rotation? It's also possible the part itself was not square, and then trued up when ground.

[johnbu]

1 hour ago, Alaskan454 said:

Is the ground part square with respect to the axis of rotation? It's also possible the part itself was not square, and then trued up when ground.

I'm not sure.  will see if it can be pinned to a block or something and check tomorrow.

 

I checked the cylinder to frame and firing pin to cylinder gaps.  The "hammer down" pin exposure is 0.037 - 0.040".  I'm Assuming that is a little on the light side. (Yes?) And an extended one may be needed to use the lighter 14" spring?

 

Its the new style. That's  just a screw out and replace job, right?

[Alaskan454]

You might be okay with that firing pin. I'd shoot it and see if you have trouble first.  

 

The new style pins are indeed screw in/out.  Very easy to replace. 

[johnbu]

I ran 100 with 100% ignition, mostly DA.  made 293 more 38spl this morning, but want to wait for it to warm up. We got 12" snow yesterday and its 31f.  (yeah.... wimp)  plus, i ordered a houge grip and it should be here monday.  the wood looks good, but is slippery.

 

Heard from the ruger CS. They showed pictures to the head of the redhawk mfg line. He confirmed that it looks "normal" for the current process. They no longer polish out any of the parts. Also, said there was no safety concern blah blah blah.

 

So if i want it smoother, i guess it needs to visit a smith.  i don't like messing with sear angles as i don't have a fixture.  but are there "safe" areas to polish to smooth it out?

[Alaskan454]

From what you describe, I'd send it out to TK Custom and have Eli do his magic.  You will not regret it.

[johnbu]

1 hour ago, Alaskan454 said:

From what you describe, I'd send it out to TK Custom and have Eli do his magic.  You will not regret it.

 

I'm sure you are correct.  I've heard good things on the internet rumor mill about his abilities. 

 

But... my WALLET may indeed have some regrets about it. LOL  I have ordered up some trigger and hammer shims to center up things.  Also the 14# wolff main spring to help lighten up things a bit.  Should have those things in early next week.

 

Today, I took it down and very lightly smoothed out some of the roughest areas.  The trigger pulls dropped a couple ounces which is un-noticeable, but it did smooth out a noticeable amount.  Smoothness is more important to me, as long as the pull weight is manageable. 

[Alaskan454]

I've detailed the entire gun on mine and you'd never guess the DA is as heavy as the trigger pull gauge indicates.  It does take patience however.

[MemphisMechanic]

16 minutes ago, Alaskan454 said:

I've detailed the entire gun on mine and you'd never guess the DA is as heavy as the trigger pull gauge indicates.  It does take patience however.

 

He came from the world of Tanfoglios. Italians are legendary for their ‘good enough’ machining practices.  

 

John is used to sandpaper textured sear/hammer interfaces, and to well-work long DA triggers which might pull 8 pounds, but their smoothness makes it feel like 6.

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by MemphisMechanic

[johnbu]

22 hours ago, Alaskan454 said:

I've detailed the entire gun on mine and you'd never guess the DA is as heavy as the trigger pull gauge indicates.  It does take patience however.

 

I'm in the shoot it, inspect it, smooth it a little, repeat cycle right now. Patience, it's a struggle at times, but slow and steady seems to give decent results. Finding and eliminating sources of friction.  

22 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

 

He came from the world of Tanfoglios. Italians are legendary for their ‘good enough’ machining practices.  

 

John is used to sandpaper textured sear/hammer interfaces, and to well-work long DA triggers which might pull 8 pounds, but their smoothness makes it feel like 6.

 

 

Too true. I'm starting to think Tanfo machining is industry standard as the ruger isn't any different.  Good thing I'm not one to shy away from a challenge.

[johnbu]

Wolff 14# spring came  in.

 

...funny story...  i bought some 357 to get the brass, but "blazer" is aluminum case.  haha. Missed that when buying cheap.  also found out it had CCI primers.

 

But,  the smoothing i did along with the wolff 14# had all 50 pop first strike.  8 were SA, 42 were DA. Everything went.

 

And oddly enough, 158gr at 1150fps recoils more than the 900fps 124gr 38spl i was running.  However the Houge grips really made it a non-event. Very easy to control.

[johnbu]

Little update... 

 

Put in wolff 12# spring and had da light strikes on cci primers. (Duh)

 

Shaved 0.025" off the face of the hammer (which gives a harder whack to the transfer bar, but doesn't touch the firing pin at rest). That gives 100% da ignition on cci primers.

 

Not as light of sa as a sw gun, but very good.