Working S&W’s .32-Caliber New Departure/Safety Hammerless

Beginning in 1888, Smith & Wesson manufactured a popular line of .32-caliber five-shot top-break revolvers that were known as the Safety Hammerless or New Departure revolvers. Even though this model was called a hammerless, the hammer was actually concealed inside the lock frame.

Over the years, many collectors have simply referred to them as the "lemon squeezers." This was because they came equipped with a safety lever mounted on the rear grip strap that had to be squeezed when the gun was gripped in order to fire the weapon. If the safety lever wasn’t depressed, a safety bar interfered with the hammer and would not allow it to rotate rearward, hence effectively tying up the gun’s action.

Like all S&W top-breaks, the Safety Hammerless featured simultaneous, automatic ejection of the fired cartridges as the barrel was opened. The .32 Safety Hammerless was chambered for one caliber only’t he .32 S&W’which is often referred to as .32 Short to distinguish it from the .32 S&W Long. Smith & Wesson manufactured .32 Safety Hammerless revolvers up until 1937, with a total of 242,981 revolvers produced in either blue or nickel finishes.

The .32 Hammerless pistols had a small, roundbutt grip shape, and most came equipped with checkered hard-rubber grips, although pearl and ivory were available as factory options. Collectors identify three different models of the S&W .32 Safety as outlined below. While all three have internal actions that operate in basically the same manner, between the First and Second models, there is a major difference in the way the barrels are opened and in the way the cylinders are retained during extraction.

As you will note from the parts illustration, the First Model barrel was opened by pushing down on a barrel-catch release button, called a thumbpiece; but, on subsequent models, the barrels were opened by lifting up on anew T-shaped barrel catch.

This later one-piece barrel catch also acted as a cylinder catch, and in so doing several parts were done away with, simpli- 32 Safety Hammerless, Second Model, also known as the "bicycle gun." The original caption read: "Its lightweight and convenient size make it an ideal arm for the wheelman." fying the mechanism. Particulars of the three models are: .32 Safety Hammerless First Model. Manufactured from 1888 to 1902, with serial numbers from 1 to 91,417. The front sight is pinned into the barrel.

The First Model was available with a 2-inch (scarce), 3-inch, or 3-1/2-inch barrel. The barrel-catch button on top is pushed down to open the barrel. .32 Safety Hammerless Second Model. Manufactured from 1902 to 1909, with serial numbers from 91,418 to about 170,000. The front sight is

pinned into the barrel. Available with 1-1/2-, 2- (scarce), 3-, 3-1/2-, and 6inch (scarce) barrels. A T-shaped barrel catch is lifted up to open the barrel. .32 Safety Hammerless Third Model. Manufactured from 1909 to 1937; serial numbers from about 170,000 to 242,981. Front sights are forged as one piece and are made integral with the barrel rib. Available with 2- (scarce), 3-, and 3-1/2-inch barrels. Like the Second Model, a T-shaped barrel catch is lifted up to open the barrel.

From the model information above you can see these S&Ws were offered in a small variety of barrel lengths with 3 and 3-1/2 inches being the most common, and the 2- and 6-inch versions the most rare. The 2-inchbarrel versions are scarcest, and were sometimes called "bicycle guns," in an effort to induce cyclists to purchase them as protection against visicous dogs.

Yes indeed, at the turn of the last century people had greater rights than dogs, and the little S&W .32 was intended to ensure the rider’s rights. (Can you imagine the hue and cry that would rise up if such an advertising practice were tried today?) The engineering in these little hammerless revolvers was really quite advanced at the time of their introduction.

In addition to the concealed hammer and safety lever, all of them featured a rebounding hammer along with a separate, rebounding, framemounted floating firing pin. I can easily understand why they were so popular. Smaller than a modern Chief’s Special, the New Departure’ as S&W preferred to call it’was a truly compact revolver that could be easily and safely (due to their novel safety features) concealed in a pocket or purse.

Disassembly Instructions Numbers in the text that follows refer to the First Model illustration except as noted. 1. Push down on the barrel catch (#86) on First Models or lift up the barrel catch (#442) on Second and Third Models, and tilt the revolver barrel all the way down in order to open the action. Use caution here to be certain the cylinder is unloaded.

For cylinder (#69) removal on First Models only, notice the depressed area on the barrel topstrap; push down on the front of the cylinder hook (#82) at this depression. For Second or Third models, hold the barrel catch (#442) in the up position. Once this is done, with all models, pull the cylinder to the rear while turning it in a counter-clockwise direction.

The cylinder is held captive by the large interrupted thread on the base pin (#72), and these actions will cause it to withdraw toward the rear off the pin. 2. Remove the joint-pivot screw (#91a) from the left side of the hinge on the frame (#71), and use an appropriate straight pin punch to drive the joint pivot (#91) out of the frame toward the right side. Make a note of the witness mark on the head of the joint pivot that will match the corresponding mark on the frame for later reassembly.

The barrel (#68) is now loose and ready to be lifted up out of its joint with the frame. The extractor-cam assembly (#83) is located between the ears of the barrel hinge, and this can now be pulled down and out of the barrel. Make a note of the extractor cam’s position for reassembly. 3. Unscrew and remove the stock (grip) screw (#92) and remove both stocks (#99 and 100). Next remove the hammer-stud nut (#94) at the center of the sideplate (#76) along with the sideplate screw (#109) at the rear of the sideplate.

Turn the frame over on its side, holding it by the hinge area with the sideplate facing up over a padded 32 Safety Hammerless shows the checkered safety lever that must be depressed as the gun is gripped in order for the weapon to fire. These guns were also equipped with rebounding hammers and floating firing pins. work surface. Strike the grip frame a couple of sharp blows with a plastic or hardwood mallet to cause the sideplate to be shocked and jump up out of its seat in the frame.

Don’t make the mistake of attempting to pry off the sideplate; you will cause permanent damage. (If the only requirement is to change the firing pin, refer directly to Step 7 below.) 4. These revolvers are equipped with rebounding hammers, and their rebound action is controlled by mainspring tension acting on the rebounding action stirrup. Taking careful note of the position of the hammer before any further disassembly is attempted. This will aid in understanding how the rebound system functions.

Use a pair of spreader-type pliers to compress the top of the mainspring (#78) forward, so the hammer stirrup (#88) can be rotated upward, out of its seat between the ears at the mainspring top. Use an appropriate screwdriver to loosen the strain screw (#93)

Smith & Wesson .32 Safety Hammerless First Model Parts 68 Barrel 69 Cylinder 70 Extractor 71 Frame 72 Base Pin 73 Hammer 74 Cylinder Stop 75 Trigger 76 Sideplate 77 Trigger Guard 78 Mainspring 79 Safety Lever 80 Gas Ring at the bottom-front of the front grip strap on the frame. You can now withdraw the mainspring from the grip frame’s side opening.

Making use of a straight pin punch, drift out the pin in the front strap of the grip frame which holds the cylin- 81 Extractor Rod 82 Cylinder Hook 83 Extractor cam 84 Hand 85 Safety Catch 86 Barrel Catch 86b Thumbpiece 87 Sear 88 Stirrup 89 Firing Pin Bushing 90 Front Sight 91 Joint Pivot 91a Joint Pivot Screw 92 Grip Screw der-stop spring (#107) in place, then remove the spring by gently prying it out to the rear.

Use a wooden hammer handle or a small plastic mallet to strike the rear of the trigger guard (#77) a small blow on its back side. (Hit towards the front.) This should 93 Strain Screw 94 Hammer Stud Nut 95 Extractor Stud 96 Hammer Stud 97 Firing Pin 98 Extractor Spring 99 Grip (stock) g 103 Firing Pin Return Spring 104 Handspring 105 Split Spring 106 Trigger Spring 107 Cylinder Stop Spring, Leaf #88) in its rearmost position, the hammer can be gently worked up off the hammer stud (#96) and out of the frame.

The trigger pin (not numbered) is the large pin that passes through the frame from side to side under the cylinder opening. It is now drifted out cause the rear of the trigger guard (the guard itself is a compressed spring) to unhook itself from the frame and to drop down slightly. Depress the safety lever (#79) and pull the trigger (#75) all the way back to the rear. The trigger guard can now be removed by pulling it toward the rear to unhook its front lip from the frame.

Next pivot it down at the front and push forward on the bow. The V-shape trigger spring (#106) can now be removed from the trigger guard opening in the frame. Pay careful attention to the positioning of the trigger spring for reassembly. 5. Push both the trigger and the hammer back to their forward positions.

Use a cuptipped pin punch to drift out the cylinderstop pin from the frame, and then push the entire cylinder stop (#74) down so it is out of of the hampress the safety lever and once again pull the trigger, causing the hammer to rotate to the. amback

of the frame using a cup-tipped pin punch. The assembly that consists of the trigger, hand (#84), and sear (#87) is pushed up and to the rear so that the entire hand is visible through the sideplate opening of the frame. Note carefully the positions of the three parts in this sub-assembly for later reassembly. The hand and its spring (#104) can be held with narrowjaw needle-nose pliers and pulled upward out of the seat with the trigger and sear.

The trigger can now be withdrawn out the bottom of the frame along with the cylinder-stop assembly, and the sear will be free to be lifted out through the sideplate opening. 6. The safety lever is removed by first drifting out its retaining pin from the lower-rear area of the rear grip strap. Now pivot the bottom of the safety lever to the rear and pull down. The safety catch or latch (#85) may be powered by a coil spring (First and later Third Models) or by a leaf spring.

The leaf spring will be located on the inside of the rear grip strap, and is held by across pin just like the cylinder-stop spring was. The coiltype spring will be located within the safety-catch recess in the frame, directly behind the top portion of the safety catch.

Smith & Wesson .32 Safety Hammerless Second/Third Model Parts 438 Barrel 439 Cylinder 440 Frame 441 Sideplate 442 Barrel Catch 443 Trigger Guard 444 Mainspring 445 Safety Lever 446 Base Pin 447 Extractor Spring 448 Trigger 449 Hammer 450 Cylinder Stop 7. The firing pin (#97) is retained in the frame by the firing-pin bushing (#89), which in turn is secured by across pin (not shown) located at the top of the frame.

To remove the firing pin, the cross pin that retains the 451 Extractor 452 Extractor Post 453 Extractor Cam Assembly 454 Cylinder Stop Spring 455 Trigger Spring 456 Front Sight, Second Model only 457 Barrel Catch Cam Spring 458 Firing Pin Spring 459 Latch Spring 460 Stirrup 461 Barrel Catch Cam 462 Hammer Stud Nut 463 Plate Screw 464 Stock Screw 465 Strain Screw 466 Hand 467 Joint Pivot 467a Joint Pivot Screw 468 Split Spring 469 Safety Latch 470 Barrel Catch Screw 471 Hammer Stud 472 Firing Pin 473 Firing Pin Bushing 474 Sear 475 Extractor Stud 476 Hand Spring 477 Right-Hand Stock 478 Left-Hand Stock firing-pin bushing is first drifted out of the frame using a cup-tipped pin punch.

A small straight-pin punch can now be used to drive the firing pin and its bushing out of the frame from rear to front. ¨

32 Safety First Model top-strap shows the cylinder hook or catch and the depression into which it must be pushed in order to remove the cylinder. Once the rear of the guard bow has been shocked forward, it comes unlatched from its seat in the frame. Notice the "lip" at the extreme rear left of the guard. This is what locks into the rear of the frame. There is a small coil spring (#103) at the front of the firing-pin shoulder that acts to retract the firing pin after firing.

Note the positions of these components for reassembly. These revolvers are equipped with rebounding hammers, and their action is controlled by mainspring tension on the stirrup, which you will note has a flat on its top-front to act on the hammer in rebound. 8. For cylinder disassembly, insert five fired cartridge casings or dummy cartridges into the cylinder chambers for support.

Grab the extractor rod (#81) tightly within the jaws of a drill or lathe chuck, and rotate the cylinder in a counter-clockwise direction. This action will unscrew the extractor rod from the extractor (#70), and the extractor spring (#98) will come out with the rod. Note the witness mark dot on one of the rear-facing legs of the extractor.

This dot should be aligned to the This assembly is from a .38, but other than a slightly larger size, the parts look almost identical. serial numbers on the rear face of the cylinder for reassembly. The extractor spring is quite a snug fit on the extractor shaft. To avoid damaging the extractor spring during reassembly, start the extractor rod into the threads on the extractor by just onehalf to one full turn.

Hold the front 1/ 4-inch of the extractor rod securely in a drill chuck or padded vise, and push the cylinder forward to compress the extractor spring while you tighten the extractor rod by turning the cylinder in a clockwise direction. By doing this, you will prevent one or more coils of the spring from binding on the extractor shank and crushing the spring. 9. To disassemble the barrel on First Models, remove the small screw at the bottom-rear of the thumbpiece (#86b).

The thumbpiece can now be removed by lifting it straight up. Use a small cup-tipped pin punch to drift out the rear of the two pins in the barrel top strap. This will release the barrel catch (#86) and its coil spring (#101) to be removed from the bottom of the top strap. Drift out the forward of the two pins in the barrel top strap with the same punch and you will free the cylinder hook (#82) and its coil spring (#102) for removal out the top. Note the positions of these parts for reassembly.

On Second and Third Models, the barrel is dissembled by removing the barrel-catch screw (#470) from the left side of the barrel top strap, allowing the barrel catch (#442) to be withdrawn out to the rear. Hold the barrel (#438) in a muzzle-up position, and tap the rear of the barrel top strap on the wooden bench top. This will cause the barrel-catch cam (#461) and barrel-catch cam spring (unnumbered) to fall out of the recess in the top strap. Make a note of the positions of these parts for reassembly. 10.

On all models except the Third, you can remove the front sight by using a tiny cup-tipped pin punch to drift out the front-sight pin. The sight is pulled straight up out of its slot in the barrel rib. Mark the sight in some way to ensure that it faces the same direction when you reinstall it later. And, as always, you reassemble the revolver in exactly the reverse order from that detailed above. I