Improved Ruger DA hammer shims

[Petrol & Powder]

This topic came up in another thread but I think it's worthy of some discussion on its own.

It is a common practice to shim the hammer of a Ruger DA revolver such as a GP-100, Service-Six, SP101, etc.
Round, washer-like shims are placed on each side of the hammer and captured by the hammer pin. The shims center the hammer in the frame opening and prevent the hammer from dragging on the sides of the frame. Typically the total clearance without shims is less than .010" so the shims used are typically a thickness of .004" or less on each side. Those very thin, flat shims can be difficult to re-install when the hammer is removed and replaced. A common method used to install the shims is to place a small amount of oil or grease on the shim to "stick" the shim to the side of the hammer. This helps to hold the shim in place as the hammer is inserted back into the frame. After that, a feeler gage or punch is used to position the shims so that the hammer pin can be inserted and capture all of the parts involved. It's a not a huge deal but it makes the re-installation of the hammer a bit more difficult.

SO.........I thought there might be a better way.

1. The shim could be a "Top Hat" style bushing that has a tube section that is inserted into the hammer pin hole in the hammer. However that design would require either a smaller diameter hammer pin OR a larger diameter hole in the hammer. It would have the benefit of reducing the friction between the hammer and the hammer pin, particularly if the bushing was made of some bronze alloy such as Oilite.

2. A flat, circular cut could be made on each side of the hammer that overlapped the hammer pivot hole. A shim with the thickness that equaled the depth of the cut plus the desired additional thickness to eliminate the side play, could be placed in that cut. The hammer would be inserted into the frame with a shim on each side and the hammer pin inserted. The shim would be trapped in that round cutout once the hammer was started into the frame and the shim wouldn't be able to slide out of position before the hammer pin was installed. In essence, this method would create a boss on each side of the hammer that could be adjusted by varying the thickness of the shims used. This method would allow the factory hammer pin to be retained but it would require machining the cuts on each side of the hammer and the availability of shims of the proper thickness.


ANYONE ELSE HAVE IDEAS ALONG THESE LINES?

I'd like to hear from the experienced folks on this forum.

[reddog81]

Interesting concepts, but way more expensive and involved than just using the shims. I've taken my GP100 apart probably a dozen times which is probably many more times than your average owner and getting the shims to line up isn't much of a problem. I use tetra gun grease to help them stay in place and use a punch or tooothpick to line them up once in the frame. If it takes more than a minute to do this you are doing something wrong.

The shims are also nice because you can remove them and the revolver is back to stock.

[country gent]

Sometimes a slave pin goes along ways in helping hold multiple parts in alighnment while assembling. This a pin with a gradual taper on one end and .005-,o10 smaller dia that's inserted to alighn everything and then pushed out with the actual pi in assembly. This works very well when one can be used

[Petrol & Powder]

It's not difficult to put the shims in place, I've done it dozens upon dozens of times over the years. It's just a tad annoying at times. I usually just take a 1/8" straight punch and line the center hole in the shim with the hole in the frame before dropping the hammer pin back in place.

Just something rattling around in my head.

Seems like machining a small cutout on each side of the hammer might be a good little side job. If the diameter of the cut was just a tad larger than the outer diameter of the shim, the shim would fit in that pocket nicely and stay in place as the hammer was re-inserted in the frame. A 90 degree cutter with the appropriate pilot would take care of that task quickly. The hammer would still function after the cut was made even if the shims weren't in place. So it could be returned to stock by simply removing the shims.
The downside is the steel that Ruger hammers are made of. That stuff is some of the hardest steel I've ever encountered.

Just talking out loud here.

[reddog81]

The circular cutout on each side makes the most sense. Once setup for the work it would be easy, but I'd guess the market for this type of work would be small. Another potential downside would be the replacement hammers are not easy to find if a mistake does happen. I'm pretty sure Ruger doesn't sell them to anyone and a mistake would require the gun being shipped back to the factory.

Your idea is probably a better solution than just the shims, however the shims are real cheap($8) and relatively easy. If someone can disassemble the gun they can install the shims. If someone can't install the shims they probably shouldn't be tinkering with guns.

[Petrol & Powder]

No doubt it's a limited market. If I thought the market was large I wouldn't have shared the idea here without obtaining a patent first :).

I don't think there's any more risk than milling a frame or slide for aftermarket sights and in some regards; there's even less risk. All you would lose is a hammer and the odds of that are slim.

[FlyfishermanMike]

Good ideas but practice is more practical. First few times I did mine were a pain, now it's not so bad.

I've thought of using a tiny drop of CA glue like a spot weld that would then break.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[JSH]

They don't all take the same shims. So the whole gun would need to be there to get a good fit.
If you are going to go to that much work I would think an actual bearing would be in line rather than shims.

[Ianagos]

It seems like machining a place for the shim would literally make no use for the shim as it would then be like just having no shim?? This makes no sense to me? If the shims are there as spacers you can't machine groove for them to fit in. Can you?

Anyways if I'm the Brick here someone please enlighten me.

Edit reread I get it now

[Petrol & Powder]

Ianagos - You got it but maybe I wasn't clear. The shim used in the cut out would be the thickness equal to the depth of the cut plus the additional thickness needed to take up the side play. So if the hammer required a .004" shim on each side and we milled a circular pocket that was .004" deep, we would then use a .008" shim. Half of that shim would be contained within the pocket and the remaining .004" (the amount we actually need to take up the side play) would protrude above the hammer.

The pocket would trap the shim in the proper location while the hammer was being inserted into the frame but after the hammer pin was in place the pocket would have little function.

[Virginia John]

Check with this guy: http://www.triggershims.com/index.html He helped me shimming my Taurus Model 82. He has some good ideas himself and is great to work with.

[Petrol & Powder]

Check with this guy: http://www.triggershims.com/index.html He helped me shimming my Taurus Model 82. He has some good ideas himself and is great to work with.


I've been a customer of triggershims.com [Michigan Center Outdoors] many times. They are great people to deal with.

I'm not talking about the shims themselves - We are all familiar with the shims. I've used the shims many times.

I'm talking about a way to make the re-installation of a Ruger hammer easier when shims are used. I'm fully aware of the tricks such as using a little grease to adhere the shims to the hammer and using a tool such as a feeler gage or punch to align the shims.

[Petrol & Powder]

They don't all take the same shims. So the whole gun would need to be there to get a good fit.
If you are going to go to that much work I would think an actual bearing would be in line rather than shims.

Actually no, the cut out would need to be roughly the same outer diameter of the shim and only a few thousandths of an inch deep (.004-.006" would probably do). After the cut is made, a shim of proper thickness would be used to center the hammer in the frame. The cut out or "pocket" is just there to hold the shim in place while the hammer is being inserted into the frame. Once the hammer was in the right spot and the hammer pin put in place, the job of the "pocket" is over. The "fitting" of the hammer and shims would be accomplished by varying the thickness of the two shims (one on each side), which is pretty much the process now, which is currently accomplished with thinner shims. You might need a small assortment of shims in order to fit the right ones but you wouldn't need to send the entire gun off.

[JSH]

I was in reference to the bushing thoughts.
So in effect, you are going to do a set up, indicate everything in on the center line of the pivot pin, machine a slight pocket to hold the shim, (thus needing a thicker shim) then flip the hammer over and repeat.
Unless you have a jig, a very good jig, I see a lot of set up time in order to get everything done correctly.
That is why I would think a roller bearing would be more effective for all the time involved. Somthing on the order of what has been done to some Colt revolvers.

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm certainly not saying it would be a worth while endeavor, in fact, it may be total folly. But I don't think it would be terribly involved. You can use the hole in the hammer as a reference. A 90 degree cutter that has a diameter just slightly larger than the shim would work and with a pilot in the hammer pin hole, it would be centered on that hole. The cut doesn't need to be particularly deep, just enough to keep the shim from sliding out of position while the hammer is being installed.
You could probably do it on a decent drill press. A lathe or mill would be better.

The ideal set up would be a boss on each side of the hammer that could be filed/stoned to the exact width needed. In lieu of that, a shim is the next best thing and a shim that doesn't move around when you're slipping the hammer back in the frame is sort of the middle ground between a boss and a loose shim.