Todays Project

[10xBuilder]

Being a 1st year student going through Lassen Community Colleges Gunsmithing program, I have had a week of recoil pad installation, but i finished early so as opposed to taking the day to sleep in and catch up on my long lost "Z's" i decided to wake up extra early and get a jump start on making my .22 winchester model 72 work again! I must say, today was a day of learning, I was fortunate enough to have the one and only Bob Dunlap there to help save my butt, but he ended up just making me say ohh duhh all day. The day started out with a slam fire issue, and by sharpening the trigger and firing pin connection points (by the way, pardon my part naming, as i have not taking classes toward this yet, this is generally reserved for 2nd year students. After fixing slam fire, I spun a new pin that was non Existent as well as the feed tube's metal dodadd that pushes the rounds down the tube because the rifle was not feeding the final round without a fight. Next after that the bolt suffered from head shake and that caused the firing pin not to properly strike, so my first thought was weak bolt spring, so not having a replacement spring, like all the greats I improvised adding a spring to the inside of the larger spring. Needless to say, getting that small spring to cooperate was impossible so to fix this issue i made a spring press tool to compress both springs while still allowing you to put the pin in to hold them from flying. One again, needless to say, that wasn't the issue, The real answer to the problem turned out to be adding material to the back of the bolt handle to push the bolt further forward in the action to make the firing pin reach the shell and get full contact, and of coarse, making that tool was now pointless because i no longer needed that smaller pain in the butt spring! In other words, long eventful but VERY rewarding day in the Gunshop!

Please feed me any additional ideas you may have to help fix my issues! There are a million ways to do one thing so please let me know what you think!

Sincerely,
10xBuilder

 

[i_rep]

Re: Todays Project

This sounds like the start of a BLOG.....What I did today in the shop.

Just an Idea.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Todays Project

I think it was interesting and educational reading this, and I wouldn't mind seeing more.

When I trained with IBM in the 1960's to repair electro-mechanical typewriters and such, the emphasis was on diagnosis, so the repair process would be most efficient.

IBM's key to profitability was design which incorporated ease of mantenance and repair. I wish more firearms followed these principles.

You can't fix the problem right until you can actually find the malfunction. It appears your instructor is allowing you to figure this out the hard way, which is usually the best way.

At first...

The motovation needs to be real, but once established, the process should change to be built around efficient time utilization. A gunsmith's time is not cheap, it shouldn't be wasted.

Learn how mechanisms are supposed to work, so you can tell when they aren't working right. Once you find a problem, keep looking, there may be more than one malfunction. Study the operations of mechanisms that work properly, whenever you can get your hands on them; until you understand their principles and proper operating limits. A professional is a professional because he never stops learning.

Greg

 

[10xBuilder]

Re: Todays Project

Thank you very much! I completely agree with the idea that with one issue there is always a possibility that there is another issue and you should always try to establish an order to which you work on your gun. Lucky for you, maintenance and repair is a great way to go about keeping your guns working smoothly. By simple regular take apart jobs to clean and soak all parts then light coast of oil, you can keep everything working at tip top shape, and remember to always pay close attention to ANY small or large changes in your weapon and try to find your own way to solve the issue and before acting, consult with others to be shur of your idea because when removing material, with out the proper tools, generally a tig welder, it is generally VERY difficult to add material. Be shur all parts are free of rust and gunk as well as all springs are cleaned inside and out and are not bent or kinked, by looking at the ends of the spring to see that they are all closed ends, if not they have generally been altered or replaced. have fun with your guns, they are not meant to be eye candy, they were made to be used so bust it out of the glass case and break her in!

Go for it,
10xBuilder