Bobbing a revolver hammer

[Dr. Marneaus]

I carry this Model 65 a lot. You’ll have a hard time convince me there’s a much more perfect carry/fightin configuration for a revolver than a 3” round butt K frame.

I bought a spare hammer assembly, so I could keep my original matching one. I got lucky and it dropped right in. Passed function and safety checks without needing any fitting.


So today I grabbed the gunsmiths best friend, the dremel, and cut the spur off. I didn’t take many pics along the way. After the cut off wheel I contoured everything with a sanding wheel on the dremel. Working slowly. This left a rough finish, so I went inside to my bench and started working on the shape with needle files and then went to sand paper.

Files, then 400, 600, 800 grit to make a nice matte but smooth and even finish.



Fit it back to the gun and double checked everything. Need to take it to the range to make sure the reduced mass doesn’t negatively affect primer ignition. If it does I’ll have to shim or replace the mainspring with a slightly heavier one.

Anyway, came out decent. Matches pretty well. I probably could have shaped and contoured it more, but my goal was to remove as little material.

 

[Good To Go]

nice job.

 

[Aswild]

Lemon squeezer is nice ?

 

[JimBianchi]

Looks good

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Looks good

Thanks!

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Went out and gave it a test run. Didnt fire many rounds but fired several different manufacturers, .357 and .38spl. Everything fired fine, so I'd say its good to go!

Also swapped over to a set of old style hide out grips. They feel great, fit poorly, and conceal very well, so 2/3 aint bad. lol.

 

[NYECOGunsmith]

Nice work!
You might consider checkering the top of the hammer, makes it a bit easier to get a thumb onto it if you want to shoot it single action.
Even just a few parallel lines, from one side of the hammer to the other, sharply cut, will make a big difference in being able to easily thumb cock it should you want or need to.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Nice work!
You might consider checkering the top of the hammer, makes it a bit easier to get a thumb onto it if you want to shoot it single action.
Even just a few parallel lines, from one side of the hammer to the other, sharply cut, will make a big difference in being able to easily thumb cock it should you want or need to.

Thats a good suggestion! I saw a few examples of this while I was doing research. I've never tried checkering before, but I'd assume I can do it with a set of needle files since its such a small area and would probably only need a few rows to achieve the desired result. Hmm. Maybe I need to do some research.

 

[MAC702]

Just stipple it!

 

[NYECOGunsmith]

Three to five closely spaced lines, running across the width of the top of the hammer, and done with a knife edged needle file, is easy to do, looks good, and provides a non slip surface for the thumb.
If you want them square in cross section, after establishing the track, switch to a four square needle file to get them that way, although finding needle files that small in cross section means going to Brownells or a similar supply, not Home Depot.

Actually checkering it with a set of checkering files, is a bit tricky for a beginner due to the small area to checkered and the fact it may be, on some hammers, slightly curved.

To do it with the needle files, here's the method I use.

Put the hammer in a padded vise, at a comfortable work height, and well lighted.
Color the top of the hammer with a black permanent marker, this makes it easier to see where you have cut.
Make the first file stroke a light one, just one pass one direction, and take a look to see that it ended up straight and where you want it.
If it is, take one light stroke at a time in the same track, lifting the file at the end of the stroke and blowing the dust off. It won't take too many strokes to get it to depth.
Move over twice the width of the file edge, and start the next track. Moving over that 2x distance leaves a nice even spacing between the rows.
If you like the looks and feel when you get the rows in stop. Wipe it down with a cotton rag to check for burrs, if none, reassemble the gun.

If you want sharper, knife edged ridges, pick up the three cornered needle file and gently widen each of the rows just created until the tops of the ridges meet in a sharp V .

I would suggest before attempting this on your hammer, get a piece of square steel key stock at home depot, and practice on it until you can cut straight lines, with the spacing, look and feel you want.

Remember to use good quality, clean sharp files, only stroke them one way, away from you, don't saw back and forth. Keep the file level through the entire length of the stroke so the track is of equal depth all the way across.

 

[DeanD]

Not a DA guy but you did a great job on the hammer, the 65 is an awesome pistol. Had a couple but sold them several years ago. One of the best revolvers that shoot .357 mag comfortably. The blued version, the 13 was used by the FBI for years.

 

[Bob R]

Not a DA guy but you did a great job on the hammer, the 65 is an awesome pistol. Had a couple but sold them several years ago. One of the best revolvers that shoot .357 mag comfortably. The blued version, the 13 was used by the FBI for years.

IMO the finest wheel gun for EDC or personal defense ever made is a PC 13-4. I would love to find one.

bob

 

[MAC702]

IMO the finest wheel gun for EDC or personal defense ever made is a PC 13-4. I would love to find one.

I despise ported guns for self-defense. Noise and blast is worse for you than recoil when it comes to control and keeping your bearings. Rarely will a self-defense scenario have you with hearing protection, and a ported barrel is FAR more damaging in both immediate and long-term effects than a plain barrel. I used to carry a S&W PC 19-7 K-Comp. I tested it once without hearing protection. It was one of the more painful experiences in my life, and was no doubt a contributor to the accumulated hearing loss I have.

And if you fire from a retention position, that ported blast is going straight up into your face.

 

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

I took a CAR class with a ported Glock 19. Biggest mistake I ever made... the porting, that is. Not the Glock.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

I despise ported guns for self-defense. Noise and blast is worse for you than recoil when it comes to control and keeping your bearings. Rarely will a self-defense scenario have you with hearing protection, and a ported barrel is FAR more damaging in both immediate and long-term effects than a plain barrel. I used to carry a S&W PC 19-7 K-Comp. I tested it once without hearing protection. It was one of the more painful experiences in my life, and was no doubt a contributor to the accumulated hearing loss I have.

And if you fire from a retention position, that ported blast is going straight up into your face.

Yup. No ports for me!

Plus, I dont typically carry .357 in my .357's. Only time I ever really do that is when I'm out in the woods. .38+p is a kitten out of pretty much any full steel wheel gun.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

I'm thinking that I will pull this hammer out of the gun and re-contour it. I've seen a number of examples lately where its a much smoother form all the way down to the frame of the gun. I don't want to remove much material, but I think i'll grind down the squared off edge that was left under the hammer spur.

I'll report back if I get around to it.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Reprofiled. May give it a 3rd go but looks much better.

 

[Bob R]

Have you, or have you thought of checkering or stippling the top of what is left of the hammer, just in case you want to cock for single action?

bob

eta: I see that was mentioned now that I actually read the thread.

 

[Dr. Marneaus]

Have you, or have you thought of checkering or stippling the top of what is left of the hammer, just in case you want to cock for single action?

bob

eta: I see that was mentioned now that I actually read the thread.

I super hardly ever shoot single action. Probably won’t bother.

 

[808shooter]

Very nice job on the second attempt!! I sometimes carry a Taurus snub nose and have been toying with the idea of bobbing the hammer spur! I hope to have it come out as nice as your did!!