I’m all for good ignition……but

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Scott Tschirhart
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I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

I think I need to reduce the mainspring on this Colt.
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JimT
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by JimT »

Put a small piece of leather under the mainspring .. between it and the backstrap.
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by Griff »

No offense Jim, but... I never recommend the leather washer under the mainspring, it'll slowly absorb water, break down and/or allow rust to develop on the screw. Over a period of time it'll dry out and become loose. I know it's an old timey trick to soften the hard hit and action feel, but... there're better ways. My first action job on a SAA was by Bob Munden. It took about 7 or 8 years for his reshaped mainspring to break, and I had to fashion a replacement myself. Looking at the mainspring wide side on, Narrow it for about 3 or so inches in the middle... no less than a ¼" wide at the narrowest. Make all the transitions from wide to narrow and back with round corners and then polish the new edge to remove any place for new stress fractures to develop. Whatever you do, don't thin the spring thru it's narrow profile, this will lead to a broken spring.

The other over the counter option is to buy the Wolff Spring kit: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1004197419?pid=744007. I've never used this product, as my self-cut mainspring hasn't deteriorated since I installed them about 1995. But, I do use the wire trigger/bolt spring and haven't had to replace one in the over 30 years they've been installed. Although mine were made by Bob Munden, if fitted correctly, I can't see them needing anything. I've used the wire trigger/bolt spring from Wolff in my 1851 for at least 20 years now.

I'll be home Wednesday sometime, if you want, I'll take a picture to show what I mean on my modification to the mainspring.
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by wvfarrier »

Pity Bob Munden isnt with us anymore
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

It does not do it all the time, though it mashes the primers pretty hard. These two were from the same cylinder full though and I don't want to get gas leaking back through a blown primer. When it does this, it takes some force to pull the hammer back out of being stuck in the primer.

This is a 1981 model that was unfired until today. Shoots right to the sights with my Skeeter load at 25, so I cannot complain. It sure could use some trigger work though.
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by Nate Kiowa Jones »

I don't do it when doing SAA action work. but, I have seen where some folks use a #10 lock washer under the spring rather than use leather. I would use a dab of 222 purple loctite so the spring doesn't back out.
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

Interesting. It changes the angle of the spring and leaves it with less support from being attached directly to the front grip strap? Sort of like the leather washer trick but without the downside of the leather.
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by octagon »

A thin piece of rubber gasket material might accomplish the same thing without water absorption perhaps?
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JimT
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by JimT »

What Griff said can happen. Doesn't have to. I have several guns that I used the leather washer in, one back in 1998 and it's still OK. No rust though the the leather now is quite stiff ... like a piece of plastic. The other has only been in the gun since 2005 and it's still OK.
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by OldWin »

My 1st generation 45 did this same thing. Hammer fall was crazy hard. Very stiff spring. I had heard about the leather trick, but suspected what Griff said would happen. Instead, I ground a washer to fit inside the frame without overhanging and hitting the grips. It helped, but wasn't enough IMO. After a while I just removed the original spring and installed an aftermarket spring. Made a huge difference, and if it breaks, so what.
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

I have a spring kit on the way from Midway. I also want to replace the trigger spring with a wire version.

I also wanted to beef up the spring in the cross bolt that holds the base pin in.

Thanks for all the tips!
Last edited by Scott Tschirhart on Thu Sep 02, 2021 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by harry »

Buy a couple of inches of this in the approximate diameter, drill a hole in the center, cut washers off with a hacksaw, sand if you need too.


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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

A new Wolff spring kit solved all of these issues.

Thanks for the suggestions.
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by M. M. Wright »

When I got my first SAA in 1954 or 5 I started learning how to make my own springs and heat treating them. My Dad would bring me spring stock and I would hack saw one out and dress it down then heat, quench and draw and sometimes they lasted quite a while. There was a place in Tulsa where you could buy a new spring but they were too expensive for me. I like the Wolf kits and use them when tuning on my SAAs. The wire trigger and bolt spring is great but you need to know how to bend one to keep it from dragging on the frame and make sure the bolt spring is strong enough to keep from having the cylinder skip past the stop notch. Best to have NKJ or LAB (Lever Action Bill) put that wire spring in for you.
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by Old Savage »

On the leather and rust, grew up in the very humid east. Now live in the dry Mohave. What will cause no rust here very likely could result in rust in the east, particularly the south, spent a summer in Louisiana.
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by KirkD »

My first gen Colt SAA (1882) was regularly punching through the primers like that as well. Fortunately, backing off the mainspring as much as I could fixed the problem in my case. It still hits them hard, but not quite hard enough to punch through.
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: I’m all for good ignition……but

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

Mine still hits plenty hard. I'm not worried about light primer strikes in the least!

But punching through primers is likely to lead to problems in the future.
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