SAA Trigger - Hammer Fix

[rhmc24]

A lot of people have great skill and equipment and don't think of ways to do repairs. This is offered to anyone who can use it - with the suggestion to do a couple of trial runs on scrap before attacking you gun job.

I had a 1880s SAA with a bad trigger I wanted to keep original. I extended it by grinding it back and silver soldering in a piece of hard steel. I cut into it per sketch, put in a piece hacksaw blade, silver soldered, then ground away the excess, back to the size wanted. In this case I made it a tad longer than original to help the full cock.
A simlar procedure can be used on a hammer per sketch.

After notes:
Since proper function depends on dimensions and angles, I make a template (pattern) by scribing around the part on a piece of aluminum sheet. That gives me a record of how it needs to be. Better, if you have it, make your record of a new one known to work properly.

Silver Solders - two basic kinds, hi-temp and low-temp. The high temp, much stronger, requires a red heat of the part to make it flow. Low temp is basic solder with about 3% silver in it, but much stronger, works at about 450 degrees F, which is about 100 degrees below what would affect heat treat of gun parts. Carbon spring tempering is 560 F. for example.

A hammer may have color case or nickel plate that hi-temp silver solder would ruin as well as other notches on the trigger -- so we install hard steel with low-temp silver solder.

Steels - For the trigger I tried several old hacksaw blades by heating to red and let cool to learn what I would have in my finished job. One retained its hardness well, which I used in the repair. I used hi-temp silver solder on the trigger.

Since the hammer notch insert uses low-temp we want to have our inserts hard beforehand. Typical saw blades, files, etc are a source of carbon steel which you can harden by heating red and quenching. I fit my insert, solder it, then fit it to function by grinding away the excess.

Take note that we are talking carbon steels here NOT STAINLESS STEEL.

To cut into the hard hammer I use a little diamond cutter wheel. A kit with several wheel is intenet available for $5 or so that can be used with a Dremel tool or other drive.

[Boge]

I've seen a fella do that on a percussion hammer but he used a piece of tool steel. D2 or S2 I think. Great idea & kudos for preserving the original hammer.

[rhmc24]

Been hearing about "tool steel" for years. Finally decided to look it up to find out what it is - really. Best definition I could make of it is - - any steel that tools are made of, meaning it needs to have the performance qualities to do its job, can be carbon steel or of many alloys. I guess I have been using 'tool' steel all these years and didn't realize.