Making ‘Smithing Tools

One of the many pleasures I have enjoyed over the five decades I have been working guns is the opportunity to be inventive in making or modifying parts and tools needed to complete the work at hand. Starting in 1967, I have always collected scrap tool steel and similar odds and ends that I thought would come in handy in the future. I also learned early on that many commercial tools can be modified to provide exactly what’s needed for the job at hand.

One of my favorite pastimes browsing Brownells catalogs for the latest tools. While sometimes being just what the doctor "ordered", my pockets are just not deep enough to procure most of them. I’m sure many of you can identify with that scenario. However, I have garnered many good ideas from those catalogs in making my own tools; sometimes similar, other times very different but usable for the intended tasks.

Over the years, I have made dozens of special tools and jigs for my work, often right in the middle of a job I needed them for. Having materials on hand for this is indispensable. All of these tools were made many years ago and have seen much use on my bench. Remington Firing Pin Tool This tool takes the trauma and surprises out of disassembling the Remington 700, 7, 78, and similar Remington bolt action firing pin assemblies.

I started out with apiece of tool steel 6 1/2" in length, 1 1/2" in height, and 1" in width. I didn’t have a milling machine back when I made this tool so had to hog out the middle by drilling a series of holes, hacksawing it out, and finish grinding the surface to get my tool blank. This was a time consuming process but proved effective. With a milling machine this will go much quicker and effectively.

It’s ironic that we can afford luxuries such as lathes and milling machines well after the years we did most of our gun work! I took 4 7/8" of metal out of the length of the blank and 3/4" in height from the top, smoothing out the bottom of the cut with a grinder and files. Both ends were center drilled 7/16" from the top on both ends and tapped for 7/16 x 14 threads. This is the threaded dimension of the Remington firing pin assembly that screws into the bolt body.

For the screw-in portion of the tool, I used a 5 1/2" piece of 7/16 x 14 threaded rod. You can get by with a much shorter piece, say three inches. I used the longer piece of rod because I use this tool for other purposes. I drilled a 1/4" hole in one end of the rod approximately 1 1/2" deep to accept the firing pin tip with enough clearance to not damage the tip. I then chamfered the external end of the hole.

You can use brass rod if you so choose for this although I have found that the firing pin is much harder than the threaded rod and there will be no damage to the firing pin at all. I flattened the sides of the other end of the threaded rod for about 3/8", drilled a hole through it with a #13 drill, and drove in apiece of 3/16" drill rod for a handle.

To utilize the tool, secure the sear notch of the firing pin head in protected vise jaws, pull the bolt body forward, insert a coin (a penny works fine) in the notch of the firing pin head, and unscrew the firing pin assembly from the bolt body. Screw the firing pin assembly into the end of the tool until it stops and then screw the threaded rod into the firing pin tip until the firing pin cross pin is fully exposed.

Install the tool in a bench vise if desired to drive out this pin but I have found it just as easy to set the tool on the bench for this procedure. Unscrew the threaded rod to disassemble the firing pin assembly completely.

Above center: Boxlock tool. The mainspring is a very powerful spring and this tool takes the danger out of this procedure. Granted, you may never have to take many of these assemblies fully apart, but if you do, this tool is the "cat’s meow"! I also made a tool just like this for disassembling the Ruger Model 77 firing pin assembly. The only difference between them is due to the Ruger assembly being threaded for 7/16 x 20 threads. It is utilized in the same way.

Remington Barrel Nut Wrench This is another very handy tool to have in your tool box and is easily made from an existing open end wrench. I show three of these tools as I have encountered different size Below center: Firing pin tool with firing pin assembly installed. nuts between the various models. It is utilized in removing the barrel nut from the Remington Models 740, 742, 4, 74, and 7400.

The action bars prevent using a regular open end wrench and require utilizing a wrench with the sides ground down for proper clearance. These barrel nuts are often on very tight so start with a wrench that is hardened properly and has good tensile strength. The two widths for these wrenches to fit the different nuts are 5/8" and 13/16". It will be a grind-and-try endeavor to get the right fit on the nuts.

Procure this wrench from Brownells if desired, however, it is easily made from an existing spare wrench you may have on hand. I’ve been using my homemade wrenches for well over 40 years. Boxlock Hammer Tool If you ever need to reassemble the hammers in a double barrel boxlock shotgun I can’t stress enough how much you’ll need this tool. It’s an understatement to say the mainsprings in these guns are extremely stout and you will bust a few knuckles and shatter a few nerves without this tool.

Examples of guns of this type are the Fox Model Band its many derivatives, the Savage/Stevens 311, and others very similar to these including several Spanish, English, and Russian guns. Taking these hammers out is straightforward according to the NRA and J. B. Wood manuals. Putting them back together is where this tool earns its keep. There was a time when Brownells sold a similar tool made from 3/16" tool steel but I haven’t seen it listed for some time. It is easily made from apiece of tool steel.

I made mine over four decades ago out of apiece of 6" x 1 1/8" x 1/4" tool steel and covered it with a rubberized dip for better grip. The handle portion is approximately 2 1/2" long and 1 1/8" wide. The head of it (the user portion) is 1 1/4" long and 1" wide. The notch is approximately 3/4" deep with one

side ground down from 1/4" to 3/16" at the tip. The other side is ground down to approximately 1/2" with a radius curve. This is a grind/file endeavor and must fit the back of a hammer contour very precisely to provide good purchase on the hammers. You must have a hammer available for reference to get it right! Use a heavy leather glove on the tool hand when using it as these very heavy mainsprings require much force to compress them.

The springs will try to bend the hammer pin out of alignment so carefully do one at a time while keeping the hammers straight forward. I would classify this as an impossible task without this tool! I drilled a 1/4" hole in the handle to hang this tool up when not in use.

Winchester Firing Pin Tool This tool is simple to make and is useful in reassembling firing pins on to compress the spring and washer while inserting the firing pin spring retainer that locks in the spring to the striker and can be used for both disassembly and reassembly. Mine is 7" long and 5/8" wide simply because that’s the material I had on hand when I made it. The thickness is 3/16" which is critical for it to work properly. The slot is 5/8" long by 5/16" wide, milled completely through the piece.

This can also be done with drills and files. The end of the slot is milled out with a 3/8" end mill to a depth of 1/16" to retain the spring washer. Although I didn’t own a milling machine at the time I made this tool four decades ago, I was able to use the end mill in a drill press to make this washer slot. This works provided there is no side movement with the end mill! It is simply a down movement just as with a drill to accomplish this task.

Never do any milling on a drill press where side movement of the end mill is necessary. A drill press is not built for this movement and the possibility is high that the chuck and arbor will fly out of the drill press, causing great harm to the operator and damaging the machine. Mauser C96 Tool This is a tool you will probably never be called upon to use. I have only used mine once, however, this tool is ideal if this job ever comes your I originally got the idea for this tool from J. B.

Wood’s excellent Gunsmithing: The Tricks Of The Trade. It’s listed on Amazon.com and elsewhere. I highly recommend it as this book is worth its weight in gold! An occasional problem occurring with Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" pistols happens due to improper reassembly. It is possible to put the rocker coupling in backwards, which is located at the lower front of the sub-frame.

Its upper beak supplies tension to the locking block and the sub-frame can be An old way of dealing with this problem was to drill a hole just forward of the trigger inside the guard and insert a punch to force the coupling upward to clear the trigger and spring. A blocked receiver and sub-frame does have a little movement to the rear. This tool can be entered from the top to depress the hammer spring plunger to the rear. The tool is put in from the top just behind the rear wall of the magazine.

The tool is then maneuvered toward the front with its lower tip depressing the hammer spring plunger toward the rear. This relieves tension on the coupling and allows it to rotate, clearing the trigger and trigger spring, and freeing the sub-frame to move to the rear. The first tool I made did not seem to work properly so I devised a second tool which does work. It’s made from a common screwdriver with a 3 1/2" blade. The shaft is 3/16" with the tip at 1/4" wide.

The bend radius is 1/2" with the tip 1/4" long with a tapered slit in it. It is definitely a cut and try endeavor to make this tool if you ever get this job in your shop. According to J. B. Wood, there are some differences between the older and newer model Broomhandles, the likely reason I had to make two models of this tool. Well, there you have it folks. Five mighty, handy, self-made tools to build just when you may need them.

I have plenty of other designs I plan to include in upcoming articles that are just as handy and useful. I hope to hear your comments, good or otherwise, on your attempts at building these shop aids. AG put in the gun this way. When this is done, the gun will not function properly and will defy all attempts to at disassembly. One projection of the rocker coupling will protrude below the sub-frame and lock behind the trigger and trigger spring inside.