El Sobrante Kid Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 (edited) I recently picked up an Iver Johnson break top pocket pistol. It is a Third model , second or third variation (the Goforth "bible" is unclear), made sometime between 1916 and 1918, specifically for use with smokeless powder loads. It is in remarkable condition and I doubt that it ever had a full box of ammunition run through it. I pulled it apart, cleaned it out, lightly oiled it, and reassembled it. The action is quite stiff and the main spring is already in the lowest (weakest) position. Does anyone know of a video or a written "how-to" about doing an action job on one of these guns? I spent 34 years as a machinist and fabricator (not a gunsmith) so I'm comfortable doing action work that involves India stones, Arkansas stones, and maybe even some very fine wet/dry sandpaper... if I have good instructions to follow. I'd prefer not to mess with the sear and hammer engagement, just lighten up and smooth out the trigger pull a bit. I spent a lot of time searching the web and only found info on disassembly/assembly, or shooting the guns (boy there's a lot of lousy info out there). I'm hoping the Wire has a better knowledge base. All thoughts, suggestions, and comments are welcome. Thank You, the Kid One additional question, can this type of gun be dry fired empty without causing damage, or do I need snap-caps? Edited August 2 by El Sobrante Kid Spacing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 i did a little and found nothing to help , hope you get some good responses soon , 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 Iver Johnson used the same hammer spring in varying lengths for nearly fifty years. I bought two of them from Jack First Inc. (Iver Johnson revolver hammer spring #395-149) and then just did trial and error to make my 1912 IJ .32 S&W Safety Automatic Hammerless Revolver, Third Model, 1st Variation, usable for Pocket Pistol side matches. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sobrante Kid Posted August 3 Author Share Posted August 3 Nostrum Damus, thank you for mentioning a source for parts. The main spring is one of the things that I was thinking of playing with, one coil at a time. One advantage of the Third Model design is that there is built-in adjustment for the main spring base. It looks to be the equivalent of about 4 coils. Thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 Yes, by "trial and error" I meant that I cut off one coil and then tried the spring at diferent adjustment positions, if none was satisfactory cut off another coil and tried the spring at different adjustment positions, and so on and so forth, until I found a trigger pull weight that was light enough to allow for fast-enough-for-pocket-pistol-match shooting yet heavy enough to reliably set off the rounds. By the way, I load 1.3 gr of Red Dot under a 78 gr. RNFP coated bullet, with any SPP I have on hand, and it is a surprisingly snappy round. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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