Working H&A Revolvers, Part 4

Original article photographySource page 3

In the preceding issue, the Hopkins & Allen double action top break revolvers made prior to 1906 were examined and disassembly procedures outlined. This last installment deals with the final H&A revolver design, the top break, automatic-extracting Triple Action Safety Police, or just Safety Police. Hopkins & Allen designers made a number of improvements that set the Triple Action Safety Police apart from their previous top break models.

The primary design change incorporated a gear-driven hammer positioning feature that replaces the more common rebounding hammer. That’s correct, the H&A Safety Police is the only revolver made in the United States that I know of that employs spur gears in the lockwork. Specifically, the rear of the trigger has a gear segment that meshes with a mating gear segment in a cam that rides in Pinching the levers causes two robust projections to be withdrawn from under the upright above the firing pin in the lower frame.

When the two halves are brought together and closed, the opposing projections provide very secure locking. Below center: Separating the two frame halves by removing of the hinge axis screw makes working on this and other top break style revolvers much easier. Otherwise, you have to contend with one half moving around relative to the other.

On the Triple Action Safety Police, merely press a lever on the right side of the upper frame below the forcing cone area of barrel and pull the cylinder to the rear and off its trunnion. It is remarkably well made, features double and single action, a nickelplated cast iron frame, oversized "target" style walnut grips, automatic extraction of empty cases, a frame-mounted firing pin, and an improved, nearly-foolproof top strap catch mechanism. a large circular opening in the hammer.

A hole offset from center in the geared cam is located by the hammer axis screw when assembled. The two gear segments control vertical hammer position. Depending on the relative positions of the trigger and hammer on a Safety Police revolver, the hammer nose is either fully upward and tucked under the rear of the top strap or it is lowered to be in contact with the striking face of the framemounted firing pin. This happens only when the trigger is pulled and the hammer is in the forward, fallen position.

This hammer-implemented safety feature is analogous to a modern transfer bar that slides up and down in front of the hammer. When in the up position the hammer strikes the transfer bar, transferring the blow to the firing pin. H&A took a "don’t raise the bridge, lower the river" approach and designed the gear system to translate—to use the engineering term—the hammer vertically, instead of a transfer bar.

The hand (or pawl, depending on your revolver politics) is trigger mounted with an eye that engages a pin in the left rear of the trigger, employing a flat spring with an arched

Original article photographySource page 4

The cam shaped like a numeral "6" is shown in its rest position as if assembled. Note the leaf sprung cast off inside the extractor cam, the tip of which projects downward from the frame hinge when assembled. Above center: The punch tip calls attention to the cylinder retaining lever pivot screw. It’s slotted head is tiny, requiring a jeweler’s screwdriver or the like to remove it, but only if repairs require it. The screw is small enough to qualify as a "sleeping dog".

Drive out the short pins to remove the catch levers, keeping in mind that the levers are loaded with small coils springs on each side. lower end that is driven into a slot in the hand. This makes for a much more robust hand mechanism as compared to those of previous small pocket revolvers of H&A manufacture and its competitors. Another improvement is the top strap latch. Previous top break mod- Below center: Right-side latch lever is shown with its coil spring next to the upper frame top strap.

The left side is a mirror image. The latch lever axis pin is not shown; it was immediately placed in a magnetic dish upon removal. The author did not wish to tempt fate and trusts the readers know what a tiny cylindrical pin looks like. The hose clamp pliers used here have jaws each fitted with a triangular recess for purposes of opening round wireform hose clamps, doubling as a tool for loosening these rods. els employed a spring-loaded sliding and tilting top strap latch.

The Safety Police took a radical departure. On each side of the rear of the top strap are long, thin catch levers with projections for thumb and forefinger purchase. These catch levers are coil sprung in the closed position and pivot on small diameter pins. Pressing on the projections cause the catch levers to pivot the opposite ends out of engaging slots in the top of the frame above the recoil shield.

This Safety Police frame latch mechanism is extremely positive in function and a huge improvement over those of prior H&A and competitive top break designs. There is a similar lever on the right side of the top frame in front of the cylinder that retains and releases the cylinder.

With the action open, pressing on the cylinder catch lever thumb piece rotates the cylinder retaining lever hook away from a mating circular groove in the "bushing" projecting from the forward end of the cylinder, allowing for easy cylinder removal from its trunnion for cleaning or lubrication. Disassembly So much for the improvements; on to disassembly. First, ensure that the revolver is unloaded.

Next, remove the hinge screw to separate the upper and lower frame sections because it makes for easier manipulation of the two halves as sub assemblies for disassembly and reassembly. The hinge screw is a one-piece screw as opposed to a screw-inside-a pin

Original article photographySource page 5

Above center: H&A spared no expense when it came to grip fastening, providing the oversize target grips with two sets of screws, free escutcheons, and threaded nut escutcheons. Use the standard procedure of unscrewing the screws, then pushing on the screws to pop the opposing grip panel off without damage. In this case, apply force to the upper screw under the screwdriver as shown. two-piece setup of the previous H&Atop break designs.

Take notice of the extractor cam that rests between the two halves of the top frame hinge. It’s circular with a "tail" that projects upward and points to the rear, with the tip of that tail pressing on the end of the extractor plunger when the top frame is opened, causing the extractor star to raise and eject the cartridges or cases. Continuing with the top frame, press on the cylinder retaining lever thumb piece and carefully pull the cylinder off the trunnion.

There is a microscopically-tiny screw that serves as a pivot pin for the cylinder retaining lever that is accessed where the right side of the hinge meets the frame. For the purposes of this article, I prudently decided to allow Below center: Drive out the front (shown) and rear frame cross pins to remove the trigger guard. The rear cross pin is about two times the diameter of that of the front cross pin, so there is no confusing them. that little bit of a dog to remain sleeping, but your attention is called to it.

Also note the tiny coil spring that lies behind the cylinder retaining lever. Removal of that pivot screw requires a very small jeweler’s screwdriver. I also recommend a few drops of Kroil or your favorite penetrant around the cylinder retaining lever and on the screw head. A swing-arm magnifier or a pair of "cheater" reading glasses is also a good idea. There is across pin through the top frame at the base of the cylinder trunnion, retaining it. Disassembly is not recommended unless repairs demand it.

The last bits to be removed from the top frame are the frame catch levers. There are two pins, one each side, that are driven out from the underside toward the top using a small diameter punch and a bench block. There is a small coil spring on each side, one per latch lever, located behind the latch lever thumbpiece area. The punch will act as a slave pin when driving out the actual catch lever retaining pins and you should control the catch levers when removing

Original article photographySource page 6

Above center: Close up of the hammer assembly showing the gear segment, leaf-spring loaded hand, and the half-moon shaped cylinder stop (bolt) just to the left of the hand and to the right of the trigger axis hole. The cylinder stop is hinged on the cross pin just to the left of the trigger axis hole. The hammer eccentric rides in the hole in the hammer. the punch to ensure the levers and springs aren’t launched. Next, take up the cylinder assembly.

Using a pliers with protected jaws, unscrew the extractor plunger projecting from the front of the cylinder assembly counterclockwise. I use an old SK Hand Tool Hose Clamp, a slip joint pliers intended for removal of circular spring wireform hose clamps. This tool has triangular notches in the ends of the jaws which form a diamond-shaped recess when closed; perfect for removing top break extractor actuator rods. Once the extractor rod is unscrewed, remove the extractor rod spring.

From the opposite end of the cylinder, pull out the extractor star. The extractor star shaft is pentagonal in section. The star and its shaft are "matched" by a tiny female semi-circle in the end of one Below center: Cylinder stop removed from the trigger. The cylinder stop pin remains engaged in the left side hole in the trigger. of the star arms and a matching male semi-circle in the mating side of the cylinder.

Conveniently, H&A assembly technicians applied the last three digits of the serial number to the rear face of the cylinder above one of the extractor star arms and thoughtfully applied the last two digits of the serial number to that star arm. Match the numbers and the extractor star assembly is properly positioned for the semicircular cutouts to be aligned. Attention is turned to the lower frame. Remove the grip panels.

In this case, there are two grip screws retaining the "army style" enlarged grip panels, as H&A referred to them. Push the right side panel off by applying force to the heads of the partially-unscrewed grip screws to avoid damage to the grip panels. Next, as with the previous H&A models with external hammers, grasp the flat mainspring with a pair of needle-nose pliers and force the spring forward and to the right or left to disengage it from its seat in the bottom of the frame.

The rounded upper end of the mainspring fits in a seat in the underside of the hammer. There are three pins in the frame beneath the trigger guard and the cylinder window. The middle pin is the trigger axis pin. Using appropriately-sized punches and a bench block, drive out the outermost two pins which retain the trigger guard. The forward pin is smaller in diameter than the rear most pin so it is easy to tell which pin belongs where.

The rear most pin is the same diameter and length as the trigger axis pin, but I prefer not to mix them up. With the retaining

Original article photographySource page 7

Above center: Firing pin is frame mounted, another unusual feature for a pins removed, the trigger guard is readily withdrawn from its mortise in the lower frame. There are no reset springs or other parts to fall out with removal of the trigger guard. If parts do fall out when removing the trigger guard, congratulations, you likely found the problem with the revolver you’re working on. With the trigger guard out, tilt the lower frame and look at the lockwork from the underside under illumination.

Specifically, pay attention to the engagement of the two gear segments on the rear of the trigger and projecting out the front of the hammer eccentric cam. Important note, the bottom-most tooth on the hammer cam is properly located between the two lower-most teeth on the trigger gear segment. Read that last sentence again, two or three times, and take another look at the guts of the Safety Police through the frame slot. Take a photo and make a drawing. Compare to the photos accompanying this article.

Those gears mesh only one way and one way only for proper function of a reassembled H&A Safety Police. This is an "ask me how I know" situation; in preparing this article I intentionally reassembled the Safety Police with the gears imout the cross pin in the lower frame upright in order to withdraw the firing pin and spring to the rear. The mangled firing pin return spring is what brought this revolver to the author’s bench in the first place.

A section of low-force spring of the firing pin diameter was cut from a spring in a Wolff Gunsprings Master Gunsmith Spring Kit and worked nicely. properly meshed one tooth each way of correct. This made the lockwork not function properly or the hammer was not vertically positioned correctly if the gearing wasn’t properly engaged during reassembly. With a thorough understanding of the relationship between the trigger gear and hammer eccentric cam gear segments, loosen but don’t remove the hammer screw.

It helps disassembly and unmeshing of the gears if both trigger and hammer are free to shift a bit. Then drive out the trigger axis pin and withdraw the trigger, manipulating it so that the hand clears its slot in the recoil shield. With the hammer out of the way, remove the hammer screw and withdraw the hammer from the bottom of the lower frame.

The hammer eccentric cam may drop out of its circular penetration in the hammer but it only goes together one way, with the eccentric cam inserting from the right side of the hammer. If desired, the hand can be slid off its pivot pin on the trigger. For reassembly it is helpful to insert a small slotted screwdriver between the hand and its flat spring to bring the curved end of the spring away from the bottom of the hand to clear the pivot pin.

The cylinder stop (bolt) lever has two lobes, the actual stop toward the rear and an actuator lobe toward the Far

Original article photographySource page 8

Far The lowest tooth of the hammer eccentric resides between the two lowermost trigger gear teeth. When reinstalling the lockwork, make sure the gears are meshed as shown. Perform this by installing the trigger axis pin first and leaving the hammer to be free to slide around in the frame. Using a jeweler’s screwdriver or a toothpick, position the hammer eccentric teeth in mesh with the trigger teeth.

Hold the gears together and position the hammer up/down to align the axis hole in the eccentric with the frame holes. Install the hammer axis screw, then check the gear position to make certain the mesh is correct as shown. front. Pressing down on the actuator lobe causes the cylinder stop to rise up through its slot in the bottom of the cylinder window. The cylinder stop is pivoted on a pin in a slot in the trigger and loaded with a coil spring under the actuation lobe.

To remove the cylinder stop, support the trigger on a bench block and drive out the axis pin while controlling the cylinder stop to prevent a parts launch. The hammer pawl is pivoted at the lower front of the hammer and loaded with a light wire coil spring in a manner similar to modern revolvers. This is another dog that I chose to let sleep without disassembly, but the reader is at least aware of how the hammer pawl appears in the Safety Police.

The final bits to be removed in the lower frame are the firing pin, its spring, and retaining pin. Supporting the lower frame on a bench block, drive out the retaining pin located behind the recoil shield. The firing pin is withdrawn from the rear through the hammer mortise and the firing pin spring follows.

In the subject Safety Police example, the firing pin spring turned out to be the source of complaint; it had been "mashed flat" to use the technical term, and was not positively returning the firing pin to its rest position with the firing pin tip retracted into the frame as the hammer nose translated upward and out of contact with the firing pin. A section of smalldiameter wire spring of the proper ID from a Wolff Master Gunsmith Spring Kit took swift care of the issue.

To reassemble, first install the spring, then the firing pin with the Drive in the retaining pin. Reassembly of the Safety Police is more involved than the usual "in the opposite manner" often used. The previously-mentioned gear set relationship is of critical importance. Attention is called to the critically important photo above showing the trigger and hammer assembled in relative positions on the outer surface of the left side of the Safety Police lower frame.

Note the lower-most tooth on the hammer eccentric cam engaged between window—firing pin, hand tip, and cylinder stop. Disassemble and adjust the gear mesh.

the two lower-most teeth on the trigger gear segment (the hand has been removed and the hammer rotated to the right for clarity). This is the ONLY proper relationship between the trigger and hammer components when assembled. Anything else will cause the assembled revolver to malfunction. It is recommended to put a little schmear of low-viscosity firearm grease on the hammer eccentric cam to help hold it in place in the hammer penetration.

I use Weapon Shield grease for tasks like this and for lubrication where low-viscosity grease is indicated. Slide the hammer assembly up through the trigger guard slot in into its general location. Don’t install the hammer axis screw just yet. Insert the trigger assembly with the hand extended to the rear a bit so that it can enter its slot in the recoil shield. It helps to hold the trigger a little forward of its normal position when inserting the hand in its slot.

Then reinstall the trigger axis cross pin to restrain the trigger. You’ll need one less hand that way. Bring the hammer and trigger assemblies together. Use a tool to align the gear segments, ensuring the lower-most tooth on the hammer is engaged between the two lower-most gear teeth on the trigger. I won’t apologize for repeating myself, because it bears mentioning one last time.

With the gear set correctly meshed, shift the hammer assembly around until the hammer axis screw hole in the hammer eccentric cam is aligned with its holes in the lower frame. Apply a drop or two of oil to the axis screw, insert the axis screw, and tighten. As an aside, the trigger axis pin was the second complaint with the subject Safety Police example; indeed, it would all but slip out of the frame on its own.

I exchanged the trigger axis pin with the rear trigger guard pin but it slipped out of the trigger axis pin frame holes more readily and did not exhibit any shiny marking from the trigger rotating the way the pin originally removed from the trigger axis location did. To remedy, I used slip joint pliers with sharp teeth to intentionally burr the left, outermost end of the trigger axis pin to promote some friction and interference.

The pins are soft and the pliers imparted three 1/8" long shallow burrs on the pin circumference parallel to the long axis of the pin. The trigger axis pin was drifted snugly in place with the newly-burred end seating in the left side of the frame. It did not walk itself back out with repeated cycling of the action as it previously did with just one or two cocks of the hammer.

At this point, to ensure proper operation of the lockwork, reinstall the mainspring by seating the rounded top against its mating spot in the underside of the hammer. Use needlenose pliers to reposition the lower end of the mainspring in the slot in the frame. Cock the hammer to verify the single-action sear surfaces engage properly.

Pull the trigger, watching where the hammer nose falls while holding the trigger back, then release the trigger and verify that the hammer "climbs" upward and the firing pin retracts back into the frame. Verify double action function by pulling the trigger and ensuring the hammer retracts, falls, and climbs back into the rest position, with the firing pin retracting as the hammer climbs, the same as it did in single action.

Assuming all systems are go and there are no problems of which Houston needs to be notified, breathe a sigh of relief, then reinstall the trigger guard and pins. The upper frame reassembly is straightforward opposite of disassembly. Once reassembled, fit the upper frame to the lower frame, putting a thin schmear of low viscosity grease on the extractor cam before fitting it into place. Reinstall the hinge screw and snug it up. Apply a drop or two of oil to the extractor star shaft. Replace the grip panels.

A final word about safety. Given that these revolvers were made for black powder cartridges and have cast iron frames, it is strongly recommended that they NOT be fired, even with black powder type loads. Many of these revolvers have considerable play in the cylinder when the hammer is cocked and have relatively large gaps between the face of the cylinder and the forcing cone. Owners should be cautioned to curate these revolvers and instead shoot their more modern handguns.

Cowboy action enthusiasts are recommended to employ these revolvers as fashion accessories, not competition guns. The "hardened" components of Hopkins & Allen revolvers are not at all hard compared to the respective parts of revolvers of current manufacture. Process control of iron and steel heat treatment back in the day was rudimentary compared to that used in WWII and postwar firearms, which itself cannot be compared to 21st century PLC-controlled processes.

While having the revolvers in this series apart, I was struck by just how soft the sear contact surfaces on hammers and triggers were, with the sear surfaces of nearly every one of the revolvers exhibiting remarkable levels of wear and even chiselsharp "wire" edges in two of the revolvers. I couldn’t resist giving hammers and triggers a file test on hidden, non-critical surfaces.

The file did not slide over those components but readily dug right in and removed metal, suggesting that heat treating was not a process employed by Hopkins & Allen. These are not robustly-built revolvers that can stand up to digesting hundreds of rounds in competition every weekend. Enjoy them for what they are and represent. Put them in a display case, or if a cowboy action shooter, tuck them into a vest pocket or stocking garter depending on your Old West costume and gender. AG