Scratches on Blackhawk hammer

[Joey]

I am putting ss gf, ejector shroud, hammer and trigger on a NM BH .357. The existing hammer has scratches on the left side. You could call them gouges. I did a search and didn't find a post on this. Has anyone else encountered this, and if so, how did you solve it? I can think of 2 solutions, file the hammer channel down, or mill down the thickness of the hammer a coupla' k's. Any suggestions? This is the worst of my Blackhawks,,, they all have some degree of this. Don't want to put a stainless hammer on this just to have it gouged....

 

[RoninPA]

My first thought is to get hammer shims and install to center the hammer in the channel. Then remove the marks and reinstall.

 

[SteveSt]

RoninPA has a very good suggestion. That is a very easy fix that I use on several of my revolvers. I use a lot of hammer and trigger shims when tune my revolvers up. I do not like any of the parts dragging on anything.

 

[Bigbore5]

Third on the shims.

 

[Joey]

Shims on order. I got back a little while ago from RSO duty at the range, and it's cold out there!! These old bone don't take kindly to cold weather, had to get a nap. Thanks much. Shims make sense.

 

[rugerguy]

what Ron said , shim it and polish out the scratches, its the simplest, but not that hard to remedy the issue of the inside of the cylinder frame itself, thats what WE used to do, not a firm believer in the shims for all too many applications, more so with cylinders.

 

[contender]

Another vote for shims.

 

[Hondo44]

Yes shim it. Honing down the inside of the hammer channel is fine as long as you don’t hone around the hammer pivot hole, or else the hammer will just slide over and still get scratched on the side of the channel.

 

[Bad Barlow]

Yes shim it. Honing down the inside of the hammer channel is fine as long as you don't hone around the hammer pivot hole, or else the hammer will just slide over and still get scratched on the side of the channel.

Triggershims. com

 

[Johnnu2]

I just ignore those scratches most of the time; KISS works for me.

J.

 

[Rclark]

I just ignore those scratches most of the time; KISS works for me.

Me too. Just part of 'using' BHs.

 

[Joey]

I just ignore those scratches most of the time; KISS works for me.

J.

Me too. Just part of 'using' BHs.

Sorry, guys, I'm just not cut out like that. I installed the SS hammer yesterday so I could get a msmt for the proper shims. The hammer now is scratched as bad as the original. Means contact with the side of the frame, in a major way. I'm going to start by honing the side of the hammer channel, must have some burrs in it, then I will check msmts again, work the scratches out of the hammer, install shims, and see if that takes care of the problem.

 

[gnappi]

I just ignore those scratches most of the time; KISS works for me.

J.

Me too, but the OP's are pretty deep and could possibly decelerate the hammer fall? Dunno but if mine were that bad, I think I'd take off the offending frame high spots.

 

[PRichardson87]

OP's are pretty deep and could possibly decelerate the hammer fall?

This would be the only thing I would potentially worry about. Reliability of primer strike.

 

[Johnnu2]

This would be the only thing I would potentially worry about. Reliability of primer strike.

Agreed, but THAT will NEVER HAPPEN.....

J.

 

[rugerguy]

no, you do NOT hone the side of the frame all the way down to the pivot pin hole, just the leading ,upper, inside edge of the offending side, works MOST of the time...in fact MOST of the time the scratches get there in the beginning of the use of the gun and once the burrs wear down or off, it stops, this happens all too often with stainless models as they tend to burr too easy and often in production...heck we've even seen off set holes through the hammer itself causing the tilt.....it don't take much

 

[Joey]

I wasn't going to hone to the pivot pin hole, just the upper portion. I have been warned about staying away from the pin hole. Guess I should have made myself a bit clearer. This revolver has had several hundred rounds put through it by me in the last 4 years, don't know how many the previous owner shot. It is still rough enough to scratch the hades out of the SS hammer I am putting in it. The gauges show .017 K of play. Maybe honing it down will increase this by a thou, but the burrs have got to go. Thinking about calling Ruger, see how much it would cost to have them do it, work out some scratches on the main frame & barrel, and re-blue the whole thing.

 

[Hondo44]

I’d be interested in whether or not Ruger would even accept the gun for repair. Basically they just replace parts.

You might check the pin hole diameter in the hammer and the pin diameter. If they have a loose fit that would allow the hammer to lean to the side.

 

[gnappi]

To avoid many "frivolous" warranty repair work many companies have resorted to a "it meets spec" reply and dump it back in the box to be returned.

To be fair to manufacturers, I've read on some forums where buyers scrutinized the INSIDE of an automatic and wanted a new gun because the machining wasn't up to their standards. Not that it didn't fit properly or function or was not sufficiently accurate they didn't approve of the machining done.

 

[Joey]

There were some high spots in the hammer channel as can be seen in the photos. This is after 3-5 minutes of working it down with a very fine 1/4" file. Already the hammer is working freer. will file the other side, then polish them down with a finger nail file. with final done with JB polish compound. I am thinking about have the frame/cylinder/barrel done with the Spartan Shield, depending on how my .45 lc grip frame comes back. I had a scope on this revolver using a Weaver style no drill mount, scratched the barrel on both sides, Scope is not going back on.

 

[Joey]

Forgot the picture

 

[Johnnu2]

Good thinking.... I like the idea of using a fine/small file; I've done a little filing at times and it always worked out for me.... certainly beats using a Dremel in your situation...
J.

 

[rugerguy]

OH please, NO dremel !!!!!.......rotary is NOT for 'flats'

 

[Joey]

OH please, NO dremel !!!!!.......rotary is NOT for 'flats'

I learned that at a young-er? age. Kinda like using a belt sander to smooth down a nice piece of walnut.....

 

[Joey]

On the left is the stainless hammer I put on just long enough to get some msmts with a feeler gauge, maybe 20 times cocked. It had no scratches when I got it. On the right is my original hammer, see my first post for how it looked. This is how it looked after working it down with 1000 grit sand paper, installing it, and cocking it 100 + times. still a bit to be done, but MUCH better. When I get it right, I will sand the stainless, install it, get some new msmts. Shims are due in tomorrow. I will wait to shim it until I make a decision on the finish.

 

[GasGuzzler]

Way better.

 

[Joey]

Way better.

Thanks, man. I can deal with good honest use wear on a revolver, or hell, any firearm for that matter. Holster wear, bench dings, limb brushes. I can't deal with preventable wear/damage. This revolver should never have left Ruger with this kinda damage in a few cockings. I may be a little harsh, maybe things loosened up during use. As I am not the original buyer, hard to say. But a little bit of filing shows a mountain of chatter in the hammer channel. A few minutes of TLC after milling would have taken care of this.

 

[Joey]

I measured hammer/frame clearance on some of my other revolvers, kinda' interesting.
Ruger GP 100- .003, no scratches
S&W model 14- .0015, no scratches. This one is the tightest.
S&W 657- .005 No scratches
Ruger BH NM .45 Colt- .010, Scratches, about half as bad as the 357.
BH has at least .005 more hammer clearance as the models above, Even on a low end revolver, this could be improved on. And not that BH is a low end.

 

[Gun Hawk]

shims

 

[daveag.]

I keep and use a variety of flat stones. When I worked in tool and die shops, Stones were kept in kerosene. A thin , flat stone, fine grit would do wonders with that problem.