Smoothing the Action

[Stuart]

I use a diamond hones in 3 different grades to square things up and get a smooth finish. I'll use paper in small strips in varying grades. and felt wheel and compound.
I also cut in the direction of travel of the part. kind of like not cutting across the grain.

Schmecky your tool sounds great.

[schmeky]

It's really simple, here it is.  It works well on the rear of the trigger bar that contacts the sear trigger pad and the FPB lifter pad.  The top pic is how it looks ready to use, the bottom is how it looks when purchased new.

[JHS]

Schmecky,

So when using your tool, what surface (of tool) contacts the action parts? Do you hold it so its like a rotary sander or more like a drum sander? The way the paper looks, the surface used would be the end of the tool more like a rotary.

[Hayfield123]

Really great post!  A smooth trigger would be a perfect adjunct to the (soon to be) world famous Cajun Gunworks CZ Adjustable Rear Sight!

[schmeky]

Hayfield1123,

Hardy, har, har 

[Hayfield123]

I'm going to buy one!

[N.D.]

Thanks goes to Schmeky, and also to Stuart for the info!

[schmeky]

Finally have a little free time to get this finished.  Here is an area of major importance, the sear and hammer.  Note in the first pic a stock CZ sear.  I have seen these vary from not to good, to a miniature wash board.
 


Next pic is the hammer area that rubs against the underside of the sear.  If the hammer is rough (and it is most of the time) combined with a "wash board" sear, means a really gritty feel when cocking the hammer.



Last pic is the sear underside after polishing along with the hammer contact area.  Done right, you now have a butter smooth cocking feel.  Next post will deal with the firing pin lifter arm, firing pin block plunger, and the hammer strut.  All CZ's that come to my shop for action work have this performed.  The difference, before and after, is dramatic.

[schmeky]

Firing pin lifter arm (in the sear cage), firing pin block plunger (in the slide), and the sear cage pin.  Note I did not remove all the tool marks on the lifter arm.  Removing to much can reduce how high the plunger is raised, which can cause mis-fires, so be careful here.  Also the plunger needs to be mirror polished.  Also, installing a light plunger spring, which I offer, literally takes the "feel" of the entire lifter and plunger away.  The real resistance once these steps are taken is the trigger return spring.

[schmeky]

If you want to really knock it out of the park, add these to the action job.  The first is the hammer strut.  Note the lower area is the main place you want to concentrate on, but obviously don't omit the upper hammer pin-strut hole and sides.



The rear of the slide is generally overlooked.  The area of the slide that contacts the face of the hammer can be sharp, rough, uneven, or all of these.  True it, bevel, and polish. 

[ace73]

Great pics and info!!!!!!

[9millie]

did you use a dremel for all of this? i cant find and 400,800, or 1000 grit sander bits for a dremel? i understand what you did with the sandpaper strips and o ring for the rear of the trigger bar but did you also use the same thing for everything else?

[Chiz]

Excellent info, thank you for posting your pics and information.

[2004play]

I just followed these steps on my Shadow
With over 8000 rounds down the pipe and all I can say is WoW what a difference
It made!!

Thanks for posting this

[coolbox]

A guy at the range had a pretty used SP01 Shadow. When he shot mine, he said wow on the trigger, and asked how many rounds this had seen? I said 500 odd, but I did what was posted in this thread. Real slick, a notch under 2.5# SA break with all factory springs. Cocking of hammer is real slick too.