Springfield Query.....

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Ray
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Springfield Query.....

Post by Ray »

I have a humble and modest Springfield collection of $300 to $500 bargain mutts due to having been either refinished or sporterized.....

They range from 1848 to nearly one the last 1884 s made in 1893.....Of the trapdoors, almost all have the firing pin protruding the breechface.....Some depress with thumb pressure and I feel those are safe to close smartly on a live round.....others don't give at all and of those that I have fired, I close the trap gingerly and so far no unexpected bangs.

There is a 1866 Allin with a protruding firing pin that I want to experiment with with hopes of slaying a deer the season after this upcoming one......I imagine the firing pin spring has deteriorated to flakes of rust but I have yet to get the slotted keeper broken loose and I don't want to booger it.....

Anyway, by gently depressing the firing pin with a muzzleloader short starter I can safely and smartly close the trap on a primed case and then fire it......

the breechblock is soaking in kerosene now just in case the spring is still viable without replacing.....

any advice ?

anyone know a credible trapdoor gunsmith ?

there is this from a collector site.....

On Model 1866/67 arms, the firing pin is retained by a slotted nut, which needs a special spanner. This can be found on some of the armory tools (other than the 1879) or, in a pinch, made by hand by grinding a notch in a wide-bladed screwdriver.
m.A.g.a. !
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GunnyMack
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Re: Springfield Query.....

Post by GunnyMack »

Try a 50-50 mix of acetone and power steering fluid, find an air tight container, plack the breech block in it then fill the container and cover for a few days. Try the nut, if it doesnt move put some of the mix on the nut and let it penetrate. The acetone thins the PSF enough to really creep into the parts then evaporates.

As for the spanner, if possible get as close as possible to the slot cut with your screwdriver.

I'd also recommend just a tiny bit of antisieze on the nut upon assembly.
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Rusty
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Re: Springfield Query.....

Post by Rusty »

Growing up I had a neighbor that worked on antique cars. His rust busting mix was ATF fluid and mineral spirits. For small parts like that you might try an ultra sonic cleaner. My brother in law was an aircraft mechanic and he used one that had a stainless steel tank filled with Hopes #9 to clean parts.The tank on his was about 5"X10" IIRC.
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Pete44ru
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Re: Springfield Query.....

Post by Pete44ru »

.


IDK what a trapdoor spanner looks like, but I've made a couple of different size spanners from the tip of common screwdriver blades via eyeballing or measuring where the spanner needs to go, then cutting out a bit of the center section of the tip of the blade(s).

I also grind the face & the sides of the tip down to fit the slots the tips need to enter.

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Ray
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Re: Springfield Query.....

Post by Ray »

Excerpt of a 05 October 1873 letter from General Custer reporting to Remington re. their rolling block 50-70 on his Yellowstone expedition:

“During the three months I carried the rifle referred to on every occasion and the following list exhibits but a portion of the game killed by me: Antelope 41; buffalo 4; elk 4; blacktail deer 4; American deer 3; white wolf 2; geese, prairie chickens, and other feathered game in large numbers. The number of animals killed is not so remarkable as the distance at which the shots were executed. The average distance at which the 41 antelopes were killed was 250 yards by actual measurement. I rarely obtained a shot at an antelope under 150 yards, while the range extended from that distance up to 630 yards.”
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