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September 12, 2012
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Hi all,
Long time lurker here and this forum has been a great place/resource - learned a lot of stuff so far here.
Long story short, when I pull the hammer back on my 715, about half the time it won't rotate in SA. It is 100% reliable in DA.
It doesn't happen over any particular cylinder. Sometimes I can pull the hammer back 10 or 15 times before it won't rotate, sometimes I pull it back 5 times without it rotating once. If I open the side plate and put my thumb over the "hand" (metal wedge sitting over the transfer bar), it becomes 90% reliable when I pull the hammer in SA.
Details:
My 715 was starting to feel sticky and gritty so I opened it up following this guide to clean it out. Everything feels much nicer now but I now have the above problem:
https://www.danwessonforum.com/forum/reloading/tuning-up-your-15-2-the-average-joe-method/
In the process, I swapped out the main spring for a Wolff 7.5lb and reduced power trigger return spring. However, the Wolff return spring didn't quite fit properly (the long leg started to bend and then it wouldn't stay seated properly, bending the spring back didn't help as it would bend up again) so I switched back to the stock spring.
I also lightly polished the hand sitting over the transfer bar, the "arc" area under the hammer (same piece of metal), and the "arc" area above the trigger (again, same piece of metal), and the frame in the same area as in the guide above. They were polished with a cotton wheel attachment with a Dremel tool, each part only got 2 passes and polishing was light enough that the bluing was not even removed in any of the polished areas. I doubt the issue is because I took off too much given the above given how all of the bluing is still there.
Putting it back together, I also have every part back where it belongs as far as I can tell and the position of all of the springs match their positions in the picture I took before I started (ie end of little spring sticking out of transfer bar is in the groove on the back of the "hand", return spring resting in the groove, etc.)
Other details that may be relevant:
Monson manufacture, S/N 300xxx. All stock parts except for 1 Wolff 7.5lb main spring mentioned above.
Thanks in advance. Please let me know if pictures are needed.
September 12, 2012
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Also admins feel free to move this to another section if it isn't in the right one.
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Dans Club
December 4, 2011
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Are the side plate screws snuged up tight?
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
My father
If a man designed it, and a man built it, then a man can fix it.
My grandfather
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Was it SA reliably functional before the Tune Up?
As noted, sideplate screw tight is important.
And, Welcome to DWF
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
September 12, 2012
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Yes, the side plate is on tightly. It snapped in a little bit and I have the two screws as far down as I can get them to go with a small hex wrench.
Both SA and DA were 100% reliable before I opened it up to clean it. The only thing that wasn't reliable was about 1% of the time for no particular reason the trigger wouldn't reset properly after it was pulled, I had to shake it a little with my finger for it to reset. Trigger resets more smoothly now after being cleaned out.
I also noticed this morning that if I open the cylinder and watch the little hand move up and down, it protrudes at the beginning of the trigger pull so that it is level with the opening in the frame and can catch on the back of the cylinder to rotate it. When I cock the hammer back in SA, the hand will not protrude as far to where it is level with the frame and hence the failure to rotate the cylinder. However, I'm not quite sure why this is happening b/c as far as I can tell, all of the linkage involves the same parts in both SA and DA.
September 12, 2012
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May have fixed it just now - a night of sleep really helped... Opened it again - it looked like the little spring on the transfer bar may have been bent slightly somewhere in the process since it didn't seem as tight as before pushing against the little groove in the hand when everything sits in double action. I rebent the spring a bit and for now it seems 100% reliable.
Still not sure why was working in double though seeing as how the mechanisms are moved in both modes.
Before I order a new spring for the transfer bar for 100% reliability, does anyone have any other ideas about anything else that could cause the issues described above?
Also, does anyone have a good reduced weight hammer return spring they could recommend? Or did I simply get a bad spring from Wolff?
Dans Club
DWF Supporters
April 20, 2010
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That's good that you got it working again, that little spring on the transfer bar is small and easily could be bent out of wack a little bit while disassembling etc.
I have a 14-2 that is like your 715, I could not get a Wolff trigger return spring to work in it. I tried 2 different springs neither would work right. But I have those same 2 Wolff springs installed in 2 other small frame Dans and they work fine. For some reason the 14-2 didn't like them so I went back to the factory spring in that gun which still works fine. I like the Wolff 7.5 pound hammer springs, I have them in a couple guns.
-Lonwolf
"The lion and the tiger may be more powerful, but the Wolf does not perform in the circus"
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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With all apologies to anyone using other spring sets, I've only used DW Factory replacement springs, because I ordered 5 sets at once, still have one left.
I don't think anyone has ever had a problem with EWK spring sets, but sometimes problems seem to crop up with the Wolff's in individual guns.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
September 12, 2012
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So I just test fired 56 rounds - everything was fine except I had light primer strikes about half of the time in Double Action. Everything was 100% in single action. Aside from the light primer strikes in DA, everything else was fine.
Are the light primer strikes due to the new, lighter mainspring? If so, it looks like I'll have to go back to the old one. If not, any ideas?
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Moderators
January 24, 2009
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You might try backing the grip screw out a turn, then fire the gun just to make sure that's not the culprit. If one turn shows no change, try one more turn. If that doesn't do it, then the spring may be the problem.
Also, what kind of lube are you using? Some guns are finicky as to lube type, many of us have found that ATF (trans fluid) works well with DW's, I have one gun that likes 20-50 engine oil.
No idea why other than it's a little thicker oil, but it seems happy, so I go with it.
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