SW 15-4 trigger and hammer
If a SW has a .500 wide hammer would the gun also have came with the .500 width trigger?
I would like to get a recently acquired 15-4 back to factory original.
It now has the .500 trigger and hammer but the trigger is shiny silver(maybe aluminum)rather than case hardened like the hammer.
The .500 trigger assembly I got from a popular parts house is not what I expected.
It was covered with what I think is surface rust.
After getting off the rust(toothbrush and q-tips hops 9 and oil) there is no case coloring to be seen.
I have seen some nice colored triggers on the auction side but not any .500 ones.
The wide serrated trigger does match up nice with the hammer.
I just wish it had some color.
I have considered using a colorful narrower one.
Although all the Smiths have seen with the wide hammers also have the same width triggers.
Is this what is called 3ts features?
I would like to get a recently acquired 15-4 back to factory original.
It now has the .500 trigger and hammer but the trigger is shiny silver(maybe aluminum)rather than case hardened like the hammer.
The .500 trigger assembly I got from a popular parts house is not what I expected.
It was covered with what I think is surface rust.
After getting off the rust(toothbrush and q-tips hops 9 and oil) there is no case coloring to be seen.
I have seen some nice colored triggers on the auction side but not any .500 ones.
The wide serrated trigger does match up nice with the hammer.
I just wish it had some color.
I have considered using a colorful narrower one.
Although all the Smiths have seen with the wide hammers also have the same width triggers.
Is this what is called 3ts features?
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Never saw an aluminum trigger. Sometimes the trigger has that faint/colorless case hardening that can sort of look silver like this one pictured.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_&_Wesson_Model_15
added http://forums.GunBroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=205173
added I have seen the factory carded replacements hammer and or trigger. It was back in the Bangor Punta Marine days (83) quality control wasn't all that good during that era.0 -
Someone has either replaced it or polished the coloring off(don't know how deep case hardening goes).
This one is shiny without a speck of coloring.0 -
That case "color" is thin. What you thought was rust was the color. My S&W 610 had "rust" in between the hammer spur checkering or so I thought. Like you I cleaned it. Got it nice and shiny, the rust/color gone.
What you might wanna do is play around with Oxo and that "Plum" color in a bottle. Heat the metal to warm and nowhere near red then dunk it in the sauce. Then buff the metal with a rouge cloth and try the other color. Get a few coats and then buff a spot. Basically you're trying to imitate case coloring via sauce.
Or send the trigger and hammer to Trunbull.0 -
yoshmyster
Thank you for responding but...
The one on the gun is shiny.
The one I purchased had a brown powdery substance all over it.
It is uniformly dark and dull since I cleaned it.
The process used to remove the brown powdery stuff is no different than normal cleaning.
My other Smiths with case coloring have not had the coloring effected by the use of Hoppes and oil.
If I don't find a vivid colored .500 I think I will just use this one.0 -
Regarding the "3Ts". Smith would build a gun the way the buyer wanted. Target hammer only; target trigger only; Both; target grips; all three. Target hammers came in .4 and .5 inch widths; triggers, too. Combat triggers were smooth, no grooves. Barrels came in varying lengths, and custom lengths, too. Whatever your wallet could afford. I'm sure other options existed, too. BT 0 -
Thank you. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by tone59
If a SW has a .500 wide hammer would the gun also have came with the .500 width trigger?
I would like to get a recently acquired 15-4 back to factory original.
It now has the .500 trigger and hammer but the trigger is shiny silver(maybe aluminum)rather than case hardened like the hammer.
The .500 trigger assembly I got from a popular parts house is not what I expected.
It was covered with what I think is surface rust.
After getting off the rust(toothbrush and q-tips hops 9 and oil) there is no case coloring to be seen.
I have seen some nice colored triggers on the auction side but not any .500 ones.
The wide serrated trigger does match up nice with the hammer.
I just wish it had some color.
I have considered using a colorful narrower one.
Although all the Smiths have seen with the wide hammers also have the same width triggers.
Is this what is called 3ts features?
Generally a target hammer will mean a target trigger. Grooved wide is the norm in a target trigger, however my late Smith 25-2 has the wide smooth trigger. I suppose it's not a target trigger, but I certainly think of the 25-2 as a target gun only.
My approach with a Smith 15-4 would be the standard service narrow type on each - grooved narrow trigger and narrow hammer.
Numrich has the parts as does Midway. Maybe some fitting required, especially the hand and cylinder bolt drop.0 -
Thank You dfletcher.
What you say is what I am seeing.
I bought this trigger from Numrich $65.50 + shipping.
I think it is new old stock but not sure.
Underneath the rust is what I can best describe as a thin layer of charcoal/soot.
Maybe there is a cleaning process after a case hardened part leaves the bone oven prior to installation.
A process skipped on the not to be used parts?
Just an uneducated consideration.
After getting through the blackened layer with oily steel wool there is some slight coloring.
It looks fine and is ready to go in.0 -
Take a look at this trigger on Brownell's website:
https://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/trigger-group-parts/trigger-parts/triggers/trigger-smooth-312-mim-blue-prod15439.aspx
It's listed as "blue MIM". But, to me, it just looks rust stained. Is it possible that you can't get a bright "case color" finish on a MIM part?
Here is an old M10 that is unfired. Note that the case color forged hammer & trigger have a matte finish, but the colors are not very vivid:
Neal0 -
yes nmyers.
mine looks like the one at brownells.
no color just dark and light shades of gray.
what does MIM stand for?0 -
MIM is Metal Injected Molding. Think of it as a very precise method of injection molding for steel parts. A metal slurry is injected into a molding to produce a part that requires little or no finishing. Tell tale signs on the Smith is a small dot marking the injection site.
MIM can't be case hardened, hence the mottle grey finish of the newer Smith hammers and triggers.
A 15-4 should have a machined hammer and trigger. MIM wasn't introduced until the 15-8 and coincides with changing to a frame mounted firing pin.0
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