Working the lever to slick it up

pharmseller · Post by **pharmseller** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:11 pm

I love my Marlin 1894C but she's still kinda stiff. I've read where guys will cycle the action over and over to slick it up.
Does this work? Do you need to let the hammer down or just work the lever? How many times do you need to do it before the "slickness" is noticeable? Does it drive the wife nuts?

Quinn

cutter · Post by **cutter** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:14 pm

...can't say if it works , or not.

But it sure does drive the wife nuts! And the dog, she runs around the house looking for what I shot!

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:32 pm

This saves a little time: Look on the bottom of the back of the bolt when it comes back a see where it hit the top of the hammer.......these two areas should be worn a tad.......slowly polish these areas with a hard stone.....you should start to notice some improvement......If you're feeling frisky, take it apart and smooth and polish the points of wear on the innerds....Just burrs and rough places, be careful. If all you want to do is work the action, strip the lube off of it...work it for awhile...then re-lube.

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:35 pm

Yep, it will work, but it takes a while. Once you reach the level of "slickness" you like, clean the action, oil it up, and you're good to go. My brother and I did that with our '94's, just cycle them until you drive your wife nuts.

Comal Forge · Post by **Comal Forge** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 6:23 pm

I will usually take a new gun (Marlin or whatever) and put 600 grit Clover compound in the innards - all moving surfaces - then cycle it for 300 to 500 strokes. No dry or live firing - just full cycles then take it apart and completely clean it. At this point, you can see the polished areas so I finish stoning the trigger if necessary, reoil and reassemble.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 6:32 pm

Quinn,

My thoughts on this run a wee bit different. Every gun has tolerances. Remove too much metal and you make it loose. Leave it alone and it will eventually break in as you use it.

I do dry cycle my leverguns, mostly for the fun of it, but also because I like the sound and feel of them. I've noticed very little smoothing up from this.
However what I have noticed is that live firing will smooth them up a lot quicker.

I'll take a new lever gun, disassemble it, clean it and lube it then play with it and shoot it. Shoot it. shoot it and shoot it some more.

Other than that I don't mess with the innards unless somethings broke.

Joe

Night Stalker · Post by **Night Stalker** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 6:40 pm

Comal Forge wrote:I will usually take a new gun (Marlin or whatever) and put 600 grit Clover compound in the innards - all moving surfaces - then cycle it for 300 to 500 strokes. No dry or live firing - just full cycles then take it apart and completely clean it. At this point, you can see the polished areas so I finish stoning the trigger if necessary, reoil and reassemble.

That is the deal i started to use...works like a charm!
Then i work on the hammer spring and trigger pull...

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 6:47 pm

I agree with Blaine. The area where the hammer contacts the bolt is paramount to drag on Marlins, and if you only polish these mating surfaces, and then lube the contact areas with a slick oil like Kroil, you'll instantly notice a huge improvement!

pharmseller · Post by **pharmseller** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 6:53 pm

BlaineG wrote:This saves a little time: Look on the bottom of the back of the bolt when it comes back a see where it hit the top of the hammer.......these two areas should be worn a tad.......slowly polish these areas with a hard stone.....you should start to notice some improvement......If you're feeling frisky, take it apart and smooth and polish the points of wear on the innerds....Just burrs and rough places, be careful. If all you want to do is work the action, strip the lube off of it...work it for awhile...then re-lube.

The only hard stone I know about is, well, a hard stone. What kind of stone do you mean?

Quinn

marlinman93 · Post by **marlinman93** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 7:03 pm

I don't usually use a stone myself. I use one of those polishing wheels that fit on my Dremel, and just polish the surfaces up with that. A hard Arkansas white stone will do it, but not quite the "hard chrome" type finish that I get with the Dremel and polishing wheel.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 9:26 pm

I do like J Miller said and let it break in on its own. Now if I was using it for CAS that would be another thing. Then I`d work her over good!

Bramble · Post by **Bramble** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:05 pm

you might want to look at "the dreaded Marlin jam" thread/sticky and attend to that shapc cam tip befor it damages the carrier.

Regards

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:41 pm

pharmseller wrote: The only hard stone I know about is, well, a hard stone. What kind of stone do you mean?

Quinn

Heck, the only hard stone I know of is my head. Sorry, I can't let you borrow it! Not that I use it much, but it does make a fine holder for my hat!

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:11 am

Steve will probably want to nail my hide to the wall for saying so, but...

With my early Rossi 92s, I worked the springs down a few coils (main and ejector); then stoned the locking lugs using hard stones and oil (I only wanted to smooth out the machining marks, not remove metal). Then, using the then new plaque fighting toothpaste, I crammed the action full of the stuff (like half a tube), and handed the rifle to my wife, and said, work this baby till the 11o'clock news is over, I'm going out to load ammo. This is still the sweetest action job on any of my '92s. It feeds both .357 and .38Spl cases equally well and ejects cases to fall to your immediate right and slightly behind.

It didn't hurt that when she called the guy that sold me the rifle, he agreed that was the proper way to make it slicker for her! After she was tuckered out (I really don't know how many times she cycled the action), I stripped it completely down, cleaned all the toothpaste out, oiled lightly and have only done routine maintenance in the ensuing 20 years. It's had one replacement firing pin installed about 8 years ago. She doesn't shoot CAS with me anymore. After winning her class in 1995, she decided to "quit while I'm on top of my game." It only gets used nowadays when someone needs a loaner.

I cannot say that will work for a Marlin 1894, but...

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:23 am

marlinman93 wrote:I don't usually use a stone myself. I use one of those polishing wheels that fit on my Dremel, and just polish the surfaces up with that. A hard Arkansas white stone will do it, but not quite the "hard chrome" type finish that I get with the Dremel and polishing wheel.

I'll start with something a little coarse to get started and finish fine....the two sides of the Diamond Sharpener is pretty good. I should break out the Dremel and finish up the job. Grizz's 1895GS cycles just by looking at it

Lot's of polishing. I don't feel up to the job, but the spring that operates that little plunger the lever actuates causes some drag closing the lever, as well. It's an interlock to make sure the rifle don't fire before the action is completely locked up.