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‘66 short stroke question….


Matthew Duncan

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Short stroke the utilizes a cut, adjusted and weld lever.  Is that all that needs to be done or are the links different too?

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Depends on who does the work.  Normally, with a cut and weld, the OEM links are left OEM.  Only the lever is buggered up.   You will however need a complete action job to reduce the primary springs.  OEM springs will leave you with an extra heavy action.

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21 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

Depends on who does the work.  Normally, with a cut and weld, the OEM links are left OEM.  Only the lever is buggered up.   You will however need a complete action job to reduce the primary springs.  OEM springs will leave you with an extra heavy action.

Thank you for the quick and on topic reply!

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45 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

Depends on who does the work.  Normally, with a cut and weld, the OEM links are left OEM.  Only the lever is buggered up.   You will however need a complete action job to reduce the primary springs.  OEM springs will leave you with an extra heavy action.

I had a cut and weld and had to wind up getting a new lever and short stroke kit installed, nothing but problems with that cut and weld ! 

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I have seven 73s all with the cut & weld mod, but when I decided to start shooting the black, I decided to only shoot 66s.  A young friend told me that he had installed his own short stroke kit and I thought if he did, I could do likewise.

 

Since, in my own mind, I can still do some things with my hands, I have installed short stroke kits in three 66s.  I only shoot black in these three and I am not a fast shooter.  One just has to have some basic mechanical ability and know how to use needle files.  I really can't tell the difference between the jobs after using them for awhile.

 

FLR

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Yup, it is generally an either or but not both.

 

The cut and weld requires a lot of skill and attention to match the individual gun and can have some risk.

 

I prefer the slight tuning (reducing points of friction) and installing new links.  But you have to be sure the links will work with your gun.  The guns used to vary a bit so that sometimes slightly different links were required.  The makers of the links can help there.  So it is worth having a gunsmith do it or at least have an experienced gun-tinkerer check your gun to make sure the head space is proper.  (When the action is closed, the breech block (97) should almost touch the back of a cartridge in the chamber.  Ideally, a piece of paper should just barely slip between the two. 
http://marauder.homestead.com/files/73Carbine.htm

 

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The two '66s my wife has are short stroked by Cody Conagher using the cut & weld method.  Both the lever and the lifter arm are modified to make everything work right, but the links are unchanged, although he does polish them up a bit.  He also lightens both lever springs and lightens the carrier as part of the action job.  No complaints, guns run great, she has been using them for 15+ years.

 

Cody's Cowboy Shop

 

The only issue she has ever had is a couple of out-of-battery discharges cause by her getting her finger on the trigger before she has fully closed the lever.  '66s don't have the lever safety, so this can happen with or without a short stroke, but she has bent the lever a couple of times.  I just use the 2nd one as model to rebend the lever back into shape.  The bend occurs in the area of the trigger guard, not the area of the cut & weld.

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Rancho Roy said:

I appreciate you posting the link.  I didn't see how it pertains to a cut and welded lever short stroke method.  What did I miss?

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4 minutes ago, Matthew Duncan said:

I appreciate you posting the link.  I didn't see how it pertains to a cut and welded lever short stroke method.  What did I miss?

You didn’t miss anything it’s just another option. Thought it would help.

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Lever is cut and rewelded back to a specific angle.

Lifter modified by tig welding extra material in the area where the lever contacts the lifter.

Links are OEM but in some cases the link channels have to be modified such as lengthening the channels on both links.

Springs such as lifter, lever and mainsprings are modified and lightened.

Retime rifle after all the modification are performed.

 

To note: tolerances on these rifles varies, so cut/weld short stroke depends on certain rifle's tolerance and functions.  It's best to have a gunsmith that do this type to work on your rifle. IMO. 

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11 hours ago, Shawnee Hills said:

Good Lord, Sgt. Eli, who did the welding on the lever??  Due to the amount of porosity in the weld it was only a matter of time before it failed.  A good TIG welder would have had that joint stronger than the parent material.

It came into my shop because it was acting up. The timing was changing because the lever was cracked. I won't put names out there, but it was one of top guys doing cut and welds. 

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If you prefer cut & weld, Jimmy Spurs also does fantastic work.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/28/2023 at 6:54 PM, Matthew Duncan said:

Thank you for the quick and on topic reply!

Lassiter did my 66 years ago, before there was a kit, and it still functions quite well.

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