Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Welcome to the Leverguns.Com Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here ... politely.

Moderators: AmBraCol, Hobie

Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
JimT
Shootist
Posts: 5468
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:04 pm

Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by JimT »

The modern one. Not the nice old leaf spring they should have.

I replaced the mainspring on my Model 94 Trapper today. Had never messed with one before. So as I got started I said a little prayer, askingfor help learning how to do this.

I removed the stock and soon figured I needed to take the lower tang off the receiver. No problem .. just the one screw. Got the mainspring and whatever that thing that the hammer impinges on off (from here on called "the thing").

Got my spring stock ansd figured out how many coils it needed and cut it to length. Then tried to put it on the thing and get it all back into position on the tang. Not too many tries later I realized I needed to take the piece off that the thing worked against. This piece has the trigger spring and the lever safety spring on it.

Got that off and then worked at compressing the spring into the thing. Only took me a couple tries to figure that out. I used a small nail to keep the spring in place on the thing. Then I installed it all back into the tang. Before I put it in the reciever I tried the trigger and discovered I had not gotten the spring into proper position for the trigger. So back apart it came.

Somehow I forgot to put the nail through the thing so when I let the hammer foward the spring came loose from the thing.

Sigh.

I get it compressed back on the thing and on its holder, reinstall it all in the reciever making sure the trigger spring is in its proper position. Then I realize I have the thing upside down and that the hammer cannot cock. So it all comes apart completely again.

Sigh.

I get it all put back together carefully and in proper order and reinstall the lower tang, put the stock back on .... and it works most excellently!

And now I am fairly proficient at changing the mainspring. Prayer answered.

I probably should have prayed for help to get it right The First Time!
Pete44ru
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 11242
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2007 7:26 am

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by Pete44ru »

.

The main thing, Jim, is that you got 'r done ! . :)

CONGRATS ! !

.
missionary5155
Levergunner 3.0
Posts: 795
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 7:09 pm
Location: Arequipa, Peru till 2020

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by missionary5155 »

Howdy JimT
I enjoyed reading this. Praise God for His kind answers !
Pray has also helped me through numerous conditions and repairs in my life.
When working on a Winchester 86 from the "land of the Set Sun" prayer opened my mind to take a look at a sight and there was a fine video tutorial how to re-assemble that bolt / lever assembly without a nervous breakdown.
A sinner saved by FAITH in the Blood of Jesus Christ &teaching God´s Word in Peru. John 3:36
Tanker 71-74 NRA Life Ready to Defend the Constitution from enemies within and without.
User avatar
Sixgun
Posting leader...
Posts: 18563
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: S.E. Pa. Where The Finest Winchesters & Colts Reside

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by Sixgun »

Funny thing Jim.....I bet you could do it again in five minutes flat.......it's always that first time learning experience........

If ya wait more than about 3 or 4 months, you got to learn it all over again.

It took me ALL evening to learn to field strip the BAR.....then I'm an expert.....then 3 months later, after shooting it I have to learn it all over again...you know, get the manual out with the greasy prints on the pages.----6
Model A Uzi’s
Image
User avatar
Griff
Posting leader...
Posts: 20803
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:56 pm
Location: OH MY GAWD they installed a STOP light!!!

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by Griff »

The first time I took my 1979 mdl 94 apart it all seemed so simple. Never mind that the "manual" I had was for a pre-64 with it's stirrup and hook mainspring/hammer configuration! But, when I went to put it together several months later... using that same manual and a NRA assembly guide, I cussed a storm! I still wonder what nincompoop came up with that system? I will freely admit, that although I find the 94AE abhorrent to simply look at, let alone handle, the little addition of the hammer screw sleeve (I think that's what it's called?), sheer genius!

Glad you got it back together with your sanity intact!
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93

There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
User avatar
GunnyMack
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9936
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am
Location: Not where I want to be!

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by GunnyMack »

I don't remember 'the thing' being used when I was at Trinidad gun smith school...

For final exams during the 3rd year of the program, each studen drew 2 guns. One you had to take apart and pass off, the you got a box of parts to reassemble.
I don't remember what I got to take apart but I got the Remington 3200 to reassemble! Many many parts, 140 odd if I remember right!

Now Jim, I think your 'thing' is actually referred to as a HOOTERUTIS or a CHINGADERA... but I'm not 100%on that!
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
User avatar
JimT
Shootist
Posts: 5468
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:04 pm

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by JimT »

GunnyMack wrote: Tue Sep 26, 2017 4:44 am I don't remember 'the thing' being used when I was at Trinidad gun smith school...

For final exams during the 3rd year of the program, each studen drew 2 guns. One you had to take apart and pass off, the you got a box of parts to reassemble.
I don't remember what I got to take apart but I got the Remington 3200 to reassemble! Many many parts, 140 odd if I remember right!

Now Jim, I think your 'thing' is actually referred to as a HOOTERUTIS or a CHINGADERA... but I'm not 100%on that!
I do believe I would go with "CHINGADERA" ..... :D
User avatar
J Miller
Member Emeritus
Posts: 14880
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:46 pm
Location: Not in IL no more ... :)

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by J Miller »

Jim,

If I might ask, why did you replace the mainspring on your 94?

My 1980 Trapper has it's original spring and goes bang right nicely.

Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts ;) .***
User avatar
JimT
Shootist
Posts: 5468
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:04 pm

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by JimT »

J Miller wrote: Tue Sep 26, 2017 2:52 pm Jim,

If I might ask, why did you replace the mainspring on your 94?

My 1980 Trapper has it's original spring and goes bang right nicely.

Joe
I was fixing it so it would run smoother ... cutting coils off the original spring. But I got it to where ignition was erratic. Would not set off a hard primer. So a new spring was called for. I have lived long enough to prove that while you cannot stop aging, you can always remain immature. I still do dumb things. I just do them slower.
User avatar
J Miller
Member Emeritus
Posts: 14880
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:46 pm
Location: Not in IL no more ... :)

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by J Miller »

Jim,

I know exactly what you are saying.

Back in 1980 when I traded a Dan Wesson .357 with a spare barrel assembly for my Trapper I was dismayed to find it had a 5+ pound trigger pull. To heavy for my tastes. I was too chicken to try a trigger job myself, so I took it to Griffon Gun Works behind the gun store just south of 24th St and Bethany Home Rd, IIRC, and asked him if he could do a 2.5 pound trigger on it. He could, he did. I've had that lower tang in both the 30-30 and 45 Colt trapper and in thousands of rounds and dry fires it's still 2.5 pounds. Sometimes I guess it pays to be a little chicken.

Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts ;) .***
User avatar
Griff
Posting leader...
Posts: 20803
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:56 pm
Location: OH MY GAWD they installed a STOP light!!!

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by Griff »

In the hundreds of firearms I've owned, I've never done a "trigger job". I had my son do 3 of my 1911s, and all other cases had a gunsmith do them if I felt it was needed. I only trusted my son to do mine after he bought a jig and did the one in his... I liked it, so he did my last 3. The older ones have all visited the gun doctor for theirs! I have replaced springs and slicked up other parts tho'! Luckily, none to point where a visit to the gun doctor was needed AFTER I fussed with 'em! :P
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93

There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
User avatar
Rube Burrows
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 2076
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:27 pm
Location: Louisiana

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by Rube Burrows »

They make a tool for compressing the spring but I usually use an old fork and a paper clip. They can be boogers for sure.
User avatar
Ji in Hawaii
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1980
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 1:05 pm
Location: Moku Manu, Hawai'i

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by Ji in Hawaii »

I cheated on my final year of production Trapper by replacing the whole lower factory coil spring lower tang with a leaf spring tang from an early 70s model. The trigger went from a borderline acceptable 4.5 pounds to a smooth as silk 2.5 pounds but the best part was it now had a halfcock!
Illegitimus Non Carborundum
Akā, ʻo ka poʻe hilinaʻi aku iā Iēhova, e ulu hou nō ko lākou ikaika;
E piʻi ʻēheu aku nō lākou i luna, e like me nā ʻaito;
E holo nō lākou, ʻaʻole hoʻi e māloʻeloʻe,
E hele mua nō lākou, ʻaʻole hoʻi e maʻule.
`Isaia 40:31
User avatar
JimT
Shootist
Posts: 5468
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:04 pm

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by JimT »

Ji in Hawaii wrote: Wed Sep 27, 2017 3:58 am I cheated on my final year of production Trapper by replacing the whole lower factory coil spring lower tang with a leaf spring tang from an early 70s model. The trigger went from a borderline acceptable 4.5 pounds to a smooth as silk 2.5 pounds but the best part was it now had a halfcock!
Excellent. That was/is my next option. I may try that just for the fun of it!!
User avatar
J Miller
Member Emeritus
Posts: 14880
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:46 pm
Location: Not in IL no more ... :)

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by J Miller »

Jim,

It's an AE model? OK, I did what Ji did long ago. Works great. However if you do that you still might have to do or have done a trigger job to bring down the pull to a reasonable weight.

Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts ;) .***
User avatar
JimT
Shootist
Posts: 5468
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:04 pm

Re: Winchester Model 94 Mainspring

Post by JimT »

J Miller wrote: Wed Sep 27, 2017 2:52 pm Jim,

It's an AE model? OK, I did what Ji did long ago. Works great. However if you do that you still might have to do or have done a trigger job to bring down the pull to a reasonable weight.

Joe
My gun is just a standard old Trapper.
Not sure I will do anything else to it. It works just fine the way it is.
But then again ... experimenting is always fun ........ well ... sometimes ....
Post Reply