Shimmed 686 still has trigger pull problems

[Battler]

Am I shimming the trigger/hammer incorrectly?

Basically, I have the problem that if I pull the trigger to the LEFT while firing, I get a smooth trigger pull, pulling to the right while firing I get a "bind" at the end of the travel because of the trigger moving the hand around.

Maybe I bent the gun the first time I opened it, I don't know; but I just can't get the shims where it works. I CAN get rid of the problem; but only at the extreme of putting enough shims in to cause severe binding.

Is there something else I should be looking for? Some way to determine how many shims belong where?

thanks,
Battler.

 

[George Stringer]

Battler, can you explain what you are trying to do. I don't really understand what you're up to here. George

 

[Battler]

Sorry, I am not great with the written word.

In short, my S&W 686 fires smoothly when I push the trigger to the left during the trigger pull, and the pull seems to jam over a barrier when I pull it to the right.

This barrier has to do with the back of the trigger moving far enough out to cause the cylinder hand to bind.

I have shims for the trigger and hammer, and have tried many combinations on the trigger. I can put enough to stop the effect; but they jam the trigger (are too tight).

What can I do to stabilize the trigger? If the solution is shims, how do I work out how many to put on either side of the trigger?


thanks,
Battler.

 

[George Stringer]

Battler, use a feeler gage to make sure you have equal space on each side of the trigger. The same amount of shims on each side may not necessarily give you the same clearance. Do the same with the hammer. Once you have the same gap on both sides either paint the parts with dykem blue or smoke them and look for and areas of contact with the frame. One thing I always do prior to shimming the trigger or hammer is to polish out the tool marks on the inside of the frame as well as on the sides of the parts. If you have a rough spot on either it will be magnified when the shims are in. George

 

[Cheapo]

It may pay off to look at how the trigger meets with the locking bolt. That little corner surface on the trigger may be hanging up somewhere on the LEFT side of the bolt or the LEFT side of the frame cutout where they move about, when you pull the trigger to the right...

Or it may be a machining mark/ledge at some other location inside the frame cutouts for all those parts.

You mentioned the hand--is the trigger displacement to the right making this part bind in its slot? If so, check the hand/trigger interface and that little pin holding them together, and how freely they move.

And if none of this or the other suggestions from the Board work, have someone else look at it. Second set of eyes and a second brain working the problem may be the only way to isolate the problem.