Live and learn..............

Awhile back I bought a New Model Flat Top in .44 Special. The gun came with a stainless steel hammer which has all the beauty of mud caked hog! So, I promptly sent off and got a new blued hammer and installed it.

Well, it didn't look so good ~ the hammer nose does not contact the frame when in the fired, or down, position. So, take a little off the hammer face and let it go.

Well, that was no solution at all. The transfer bar is much thicker than on other Blackhawks. Frustrated, I out the original hammer back in.

So now, do you have to buy the hammer and transfer bar as a matched set? And are New Model and New Model Flat Tops parts interchangable? Can I put an old (thin) transfer bar and New Model hammer in my Flat Top?

Bob Wright

I would have Tyler Gun Works case color the stainless hammer

Your transfer bar might be a bit too tall for the new hammer.

Compare the two hammers front face depths and vertical lengths. Make the new hammer the same as the original and it will work.

MY SHORTCUT FOR REMOVING JUST HAMMER and/or PAWL in New Models:

Recognize, when JUST NEEDING to remove the hammer and/or pawl, you do not need to hassle with the PESKY LOADING GATE SPRING, pull the trigger pin, nor trigger/transfer bar. Once you remove the grip frame, the hammer pin is the only other part you need to remove. After that, just pull the hammer back and all the way down, then depress the hammer plunger up into the base of the hammer with a small tipped screwdriver to clear the trigger extension with hole in it where the transfer bar connects to it. Let the hammer & pawl fall back, down and out. Reinstall the hammer and pawl back in the same way they came out. Push the plunger in by pushing it against the trigger extension just like you did with the tip of the small screwdriver, and the hammer will slip by the trigger extension. Piece o' cake.

NOTE: Occasionally a hammer change that doesn't cock or just barely cocks is because it's hitting the back of the slot in the grip frame. I have had to slightly lengthen the slot with a few file strokes.
If either the trigger or hammer pin are snug fits, after they're removed the first time, it's the opportunity to polish them so they're slip-fits to put back in easily and remove the next time.

AFTER CHANGING HAMMERS IN NEW MODELS:

The first thing to check is the transfer bar clearance with hammer for reliable firing pin function. When swapping hammers between two guns, it often helps To swap transfer bars as well for proper ignition and to insure the safety feature still works correctly.

TO TEST HAMMER/TRANSFER BAR FOR MISS-FIRES:

With hammer fully cocked, press on the transfer bar to extend the firing pin and observe how far thru the recoil shield it protrudes. Now keep the trigger pulled back, drop the hammer and observe the firing pin again. If firing pin protrudes the same amount, you're good to go. If it doesn't protrude the same amount, you need to remove just enough metal from the top face of the hammer nose so the transfer bar is pushed tight against the firing pin and the frame. If you remove too much, the transfer bar will not perform its safety function and will be pinched. Also make sure hammer has no friction or contact with grip frame ears around its base to slow its fall and you may have miss-fires; another potential issue when making hammer changes.

IF TRIGGER DOESN'T RETURN, TRANSFER BAR IS PINCHED AND SAFETY IS NOT WORKING:
If the transfer bar is hanging up under the hammer face, since it's connected to the trigger, it prevents the trigger from returning. The transfer bar is slightly too thick. If both ends of the trigger return spring are connected (under the grips), or even if you have only one leg of the spring connected it should pull down the transfer bar if it's the correct thickness. When this happens, the transfer bar safety function will not work. If the gun were dropped, a live round in the chamber under the hammer will fire.

This is not uncommon however, and it's a very simple fix. File the second step of the hammer face, counting from the top, just a bit until the bar no longer hangs up. Don't take too much off or you'll have miss-fires. If that happens file a little more off the top step of the hammer.

IF YOU HAD TO MODIFY HAMMER NOSE:
At the range, double check the safety function by loading a live round in the next chamber to cycle under the hammer, point down range, cock the hammer, hold with thumb, release the trigger to uncock the hammer, take finger off trigger and release your thumb to let the hammer fall. The round will not fire if safety transfer bar is functioning correctly.

Hondo44,

I read you most informative post and saw no condition covered that I experienced.

Here was my situation: I have a New Model Flat Top .44 Special. It has that awful ugly stainless steel hammer. So, I swapped out the original hammer with a blue steel Blackhawk hammer. After that installation, I saw the hammer nose was not contacting the frame. I could cock the gun and pull the trigger and the firing pin projected like it was supposed to. With the transfer bar withdrawn to the "safe" position, the hammer nose is still shy of contact with the frame.

Comparing the two hammers, there is a noticeable arc cut in the lower part of the Flat Top's hammer. There seems to be no "pinch" but the transfer bar is somewhat thicker and the interference seems to be at the lower area of the hammer.

I believe if I want the blued hammer to work, I need an older, thin transfer bar. If I worked the trigger, the movement of the transfer bar cammed the hammer back slightly, even though the transfer bar did not cover the firing pin.

Bob Wright

Out of curiosity, how is the main spring strut groove compare between the hammers? Is the strut hanging up or causing the hammer not to completely fall? Just a thought.

Mickey D said:

Out of curiosity, how is the main spring strut groove compare between the hammers? Is the strut hanging up or causing the hammer not to completely fall? Just a thought.

Click to expand...

No, hammer strut is fine. It is the TRANSFER BAR that holds the hammer slightly back. I am going to try to find a transfer bar in original configuration, the thin model as opposed to the thick ones on my .44. The gun fires as its supposed to, only the hammer is not contacting the frame, even with the transfer bar withdrawn.

Bob Wright

I always thought the stainless hammers were an improvement. I like the look. I guess I'm the odd duck.

Sorry I can't offer any help Bob. I do like pacecars idea to case colored original hammer idea.

Hi Bob,

Sorry I didn't find your response sooner, didn't get any notification that there were new posts.

You probably solved the issue by now. So just FYI:

By ordering the blue Blackhawk hammer, you received a large frame hammer and of course your 44 Spl is a midframe. So the new blue hammer is taller, the steps on the hammer face are in slightly difference positions and may even have different depths, hence the transfer bar problem.

That's why I suggested; "Make the new hammer the same as the original and it will work." in my 1st post. But if the change in transfer bar solved the problem, it's all good.