Right Again Dad Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 Grandpa Jack wants to be a Cowboy now that his Grandson Jace the Ace is. We decided to sign him up for his badge and give him a Stoeger 12g for Christmas. In my attempt to address a trigger issue (needed to grind some meat off the front trigger to prevent it engaging the rear) I took the thing apart and quickly realized I am not a gunsmith. After some inter web videos and reading I managed to reassemble! I was high fiving in my head and bragging to Jace and his Mom. She asked him if I worked on his and he quickly said "NO!" When I attempted to cock the hammers to reinstall the barrel, only the left hammer would cock. Did I miss something on the right side? I partially disassembled by backing both pins out to remove the right side components. Put it back in the vice and while holding the hammer and spring in with a screwdriver I managed to snap the sear pin in half while gently attempting to tap it in. Hope the pin gets here before the 24th!! Thanks for the look and advice. Merry Christmas! (if some of my terminology is off, remember I am not a gunsmith! Just an aspiring cowboy shooting Dad of a Buckaroo who shoots better than me!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badlands Bob #61228 Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 I too suffer from the, "I can fix that" syndrome. After a while, you develop a sense of what you can tackle and what needs to be left to the professionals. It's an expensive lesson to learn where the line is. However, in my defense, I have saved lots of money over the years learning how to do things myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend P. Babcock Chase Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 To quote the Bard: "a man has to know his limitations." Rev. Chase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Ridge Regulator Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 If you REALLY want to know your limitations on guns then take apart a Remington Nylon 66, even the internet quakes in its boots when you mention that nightmare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itchy Trigger Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 Or the Ruger Mark 1 that must be held upside down while hopping on one leg and reciting all swear words in a cryptic incantation while hoping the pieces align perfectly so it can be closed correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preacherman Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 Reverse the triggers is better. Get with me. You CAN do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Bullweed Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 A sign in my local gunsmith shop : YouTube is responsible for a large portion of my business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 the worst part of it , is trying to find parts IMO Dremal and utube are great salesmen , there are times , it is too far gone to repair CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckshot Bob Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 3 hours ago, Oak Ridge Regulator said: If you REALLY want to know your limitations on guns then take apart a Remington Nylon 66, even the internet quakes in its boots when you mention that nightmare At gunsmithing school we had 4 minutes to put it back together from completely disassembled. If I remember right the A5 was the gun with the longest time. They actually weren’t bad guns as long as you didn’t leave them in the trunk on a hot summer day and have them warp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 I gained my 'gunsmith confidence' when I took apart and successfully reassembled the S&W model 41 and the Remington model 66. Yep......... but I only did it once. After that, I didn't try it again. BUT........ I did limit my smithing to the 1894 Marlin and the Henry .22 lever rifle. I kept it simple. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 7 hours ago, Oak Ridge Regulator said: If you REALLY want to know your limitations on guns then take apart a Remington Nylon 66, even the internet quakes in its boots when you mention that nightmare Or a Browning lever .308 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Right Again Dad Posted December 20, 2022 Author Share Posted December 20, 2022 Well, I am proud to report back I got it figured out. I guess the left and right side hammers truly identified as such and when I swapped them....Success!! I took a sear pin from another stoeger and left a punch in its place while I await a replacement. Understanding how the thing functions adds another layer! Merry Christmas! Preacherman: when you get back we have to talk. Jace the Ace is gonna need your help at the Annual shoot and the Chili Challenge!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tequila Shooter Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 I always find a schematic helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 13 hours ago, Tequila Shooter said: I always find a schematic helpful. You shouldn't be using words that make some of us go to the dictionary..... Merry Christmas, Tequila. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 I'm not doing any more gunsmithing until I find my copy of the NRA Assembly Book! I'm hoping it's "walk-about" is of a short duration! As I'm nearing a need to take my Lightning apart and clean it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Slim Chance Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 Years ago I had a gunsmith building my guns when I did the USPSA thing, he swore he was going to buy us all Dremel tools for Christmas so he count on having work year round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick Bruce Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunger Dan Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Theres things I can do-and things I can't do. Ive only sent a gun off to a smith once-that was my codymatic going back to cody when I had an OOB and it bent the lever. Because I bought it from him and he knows what he did to it/tweaked it. When he's gone-I'll do it myself. In the town I live-the only gunsmiths are just black rifle parts replacers and plastic mechanics. Early on in my gun hobby, took an M1 carbine to have a front sight put on-they F'd it up and I went to the manual, figured it out and did it myself. Given a schematic, some common sense, a little direction, Ive figured out Enfields, 30 carbines, Russian milsurps, Russian shotguns, Mausers, 1911s, and the pistols I carry for sass...not to mention countless other EDC pistols. I pretty much research and get intimate with the guns I own...and ask questions when necessary-of others who dont have manicured nails... Not everyone has common sense...thats why theres lawyers, salesmen, office workers and government officials/workers. And gunsmiths to take care of those. And yeah..90% of the time, the Dremel is useless/dangerous in gun work-thats why people too lazy or dumb to file/hone by hand end up paying someone else to figure it out for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 On 12/20/2022 at 9:52 AM, Widder, SASS #59054 said: You shouldn't be using words that make some of us go to the dictionary..... Merry Christmas, Tequila. ..........Widder Merry Christmas Widder - tried to PM ya, but no go - just checking on something to make sure it worked. GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ray Davis Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 I'm a gunsmith! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 For fine work the Dremel can sure be risky, but when you play with it on tasks that s/b out of its weight class, it is amazing. I cut two rusted muffler clamps with Dremel cutting wheels faster than any other tool I owned would have done it. I would never apply it to a frame or slide, but used with great care, have successfully fitted other parts without harm. Would I buy one again, probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preacherman Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 Dremel can be very helpful with care. I really find the rubber polishing wheels to be super useful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badlands Bob #61228 Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 I don't do any cutting or grinding on guns with a Dremel tool. I have been known to use the felt disks with some polishing compound to shine up small parts. I leave the metal removal to the experts. I did swap the triggers on a Stoeger SxS using a file. That was easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Meadows,SASS#28485L Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 There is nothing wrong with a Dremel if you know how to use it correctly. J.M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckshot Bob Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 Once I got exposed to these at gunsmithing school there was no going back to a dremel tool https://www.foredom.net/product-category/flex-shaft-tools/ I especially like the foot pedal option, the one I have is probably over 25 years old now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 9 hours ago, Johnny Meadows,SASS#28485L said: There is nothing wrong with a Dremel if you know how to use it correctly. J.M. Indeed. Most of the work on did on Marlin 1894's and Henry .22's was using a Dremel and various accessories with it. Of course, it helps to have a steady hand when cutting the heck out of a carrier. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Meadows,SASS#28485L Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 49 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said: Indeed. Most of the work on did on Marlin 1894's and Henry .22's was using a Dremel and various accessories with it. Of course, it helps to have a steady hand when cutting the heck out of a carrier. ..........Widder A mill and a lath help to make up for a shackey hand, but you never have to leave the work bench when using a Dremel. J.M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 On 12/18/2022 at 2:41 PM, Eyesa Horg said: Or a Browning lever .308 That rotating bolt is a bear to re-index. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 1 hour ago, Dusty Devil Dale said: That rotating bolt is a bear to re-index. After much research at the time, I chose to not disassemble that far! Every reference I found indicated to not take it apart. I heeded the warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubious Don #56333 Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 It ain't rocket science and ya ain't building a skyscraper. LOL. Firearms are mechanical devices just like cars, plumbing, 'lectrical and so on. I was eleven or so when I had my first mishap. Noticed how similar my mom's Spanish Ruby pistol was to a Colt 25 auto. Actually, they share almost the same design. Reading an article about the Colt in some gun rag or other, I decided I should "clean" mom's pistol. Luckily, I didn't break anything when I managed to shoot the slide off the frame because it landed on the couch. Oh. That was what that little hook on the safety does...LOL. There were others. I've had to "repair" guns I broke while fixing them, even after I got me some book learning and such and was doing smithing professionally. Happens. Don't feel bad, we all been there. Learn and move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddnews SASS# 24779 Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 I feel like I can handle most gun repairs that don't require lathe work or welding, but I find box-lock double shotguns to be beasts from the assembly/disassembly standpoint and I avoid working on them. I have the same problem you have with compressing the springs to get everything aligned. The flip side of that is YouTube videos can be a lot of help. I detail stripped a Colt Detective Special about two years ago, so I could rust blue it. Thanks to the Kuhnhausen manual and a couple of videos I was able to do the job without too much cussing, and this is on the action some people call the "watchmaker's special." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Badly Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 I am fortunate to live and shoot near some great cowboys who know their way around cowboy guns and enjoy sharing their knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Bill Burt Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 I know enough to know I’m not cut out for anything but the most basic gun work. I shot my first ‘73 for eight years before I had the courage to go beyond taking the side plates off and I haven’t tried doing that again, although if Palmetto Traveler volunteers to help me again I might brave it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 On 12/23/2022 at 5:05 PM, Widder, SASS #59054 said: Indeed. Most of the work on did on Marlin 1894's and Henry .22's was using a Dremel and various accessories with it. Of course, it helps to have a steady hand when cutting the heck out of a carrier. ..........Widder Still can't PM ya. All ok? GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.D. Daily Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 On 12/18/2022 at 9:13 AM, Itchy Trigger said: Or the Ruger Mark 1 that must be held upside down while hopping on one leg and reciting all swear words in a cryptic incantation while hoping the pieces align perfectly so it can be closed correctly. Been There Done That! with a MkII. Had to view the Ruger video twice to get it back together & functioning. I never did it again to clean. Recently one of the SASS Forum threads had a link to a site with a punched part that fills the space behind the cross pin & grip frame. This makes the chore easy: "Hammer Strut Support" https://www.hammerstrutsupport.com Then the hammer strut can't go behind the cross pin. This fix is much cheaper than the 3 party replacement for the Ruger "Mainspring hammer spring bolt stop pin assembly" that requires an allen key to remove & install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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