S&W Model 37 Help...?

[coq]

Hey, revolver guys.

I'm looking at my friends Airweight Model 37...by the serial #, probably manufactured in the 90s or thereabouts.

He wanted me to put in some lighter springs for him, but I noticed the DA trigger pull is not right. It will pull OK for a couple of the chambers, but then for the other 3, it will get very heavy just before the break, as if something is binding up.

SA pull feels fine all the way around.

Can anyone shed some light this issue, maybe potential causes/fixes?

Thanks!

coq

[john323]

Is it a hard pull with the side plate on? Then could but the pins are slightly bent.
I can take a look for you if you want. Located in Monterey Park. 232-722-3903

[mdr110]

Open it up and clean all the gunk out would be 1st thing I would try.

[ar15barrels]

Hey, revolver guys.

I'm looking at my friends Airweight Model 37...by the serial #, probably manufactured in the 90s or thereabouts.

He wanted me to put in some lighter springs for him, but I noticed the DA trigger pull is not right. It will pull OK for a couple of the chambers, but then for the other 3, it will get very heavy just before the break, as if something is binding up.

SA pull feels fine all the way around.

Can anyone shed some light this issue, maybe potential causes/fixes?

Thanks!

coq

If it's tight on one side of the cylinder, I would be looking at a bent ejector rod as the cause.
This is easy to look for by opening the cylinder and spinning it.
The ejector rod should should spin straight.
If it wobbles up and down as it spins, that's the issue.
While looking into that, I would also check the crane alignment and cylinder alignment on all 5 holes if that gun were in my shop for it's checkup.

[SVT-40]

Is it clean? As ar15barrels said above it could be a bent ejector rod that binds up only because it has carbon build up on the face of the cylinder.

[Mr. Beretta]

All good advice so far.....

The only thing I would add is why anybody would want "lighter springs" in that gun is beyond me. Its very lightweight, fixed sight and very concealable. It's sole purpose /design IMHO is self protection within 15 feet. In that application, it will function successfully as designed with correct use and proper regular maintenance.

Good Luck.

[coq]

Thanks for the replies!

The gun is very clean, probably only fired few couple dozen times by the looks of it.

I'll check out the ejector rod, etc. Crane alignment? I'll look into that too. Might be above my pay grade.

Thanks again.

[ar15barrels]

I'll check out the ejector rod, etc.
Crane alignment? I'll look into that too.
Might be above my pay grade.

Probably so.
It takes several specialized tools that cost more than a gunsmith who already has these tools would charge you to go over your revolver.

[coq]

The ejector rod appears to be straight.

From what I can tell, the problem is where the "Hand" meets the little ratchet teeth at the end of the ejector rod.

It's binding at the very end of the process as it's turning the cylinder (just before trigger break). I can feel it binding whether pulling the trigger or cocking the hammer.

With plate off, if I put pressure inward at the base of the Hand, affecting slightly the angle of contact to those teeth, it doesn't seem to bind.

I thought maybe the Hand is not to spec, but since it binds up on 3 pulls and is better on 2 makes me think the problem could be the shape of the teeth that turn the cylinder....?

Is that ever a "thing" with J Frames?

[ar15barrels]

The ejector rod appears to be straight.

From what I can tell, the problem is where the "Hand" meets the little ratchet teeth at the end of the ejector rod.

It's binding at the very end of the process as it's turning the cylinder (just before trigger break). I can feel it binding whether pulling the trigger or cocking the hammer.

With plate off, if I put pressure inward at the base of the Hand, affecting slightly the angle of contact to those teeth, it doesn't seem to bind.

I thought maybe the Hand is not to spec, but since it binds up on 3 pulls and is better on 2 makes me think the problem could be the shape of the teeth that turn the cylinder....?

Is that ever a "thing" with J Frames?

With the sideplate off, all the parts are not held into their proper places so I would not use that analysis as being true because you can't realisticaly shoot the gun with the plate off because the guts will fall out.
If you can find what's actually rubbing while the plate is on, then that's what you need to be looking at.
For example, mark the holes on the cylinder 1-2-3-4-5 and then confirm it's always the exact same holes.
Then you can look at the parts of the ejector where the hand turns the cylinder to see if the wear is different there or if someone has mucked with 2 teeth and that's why those 2 teeth are not tight like the other 3.
I would not do any of that until I ensured that the crane was straight and that the cylinder face is clean and not rubbing the back of the barrel while those 3 tight holes are in line.