Reader Forum

Glen eld Marlin Model 60 I am working on an older Glenfi eld Marlin Model 60. It has the new cartridge feed parts put into it as the owner has put thousands of rounds through the firearm. The recoil spring and guide are original parts and straight. The rifle has given good service until recently. Now the gun jams every shot with each new cartridge stove piping in the receiver, bullet towards the breech, and the cartridge rear raised rim to far wall. The rifle cycles fine when worked manually.

Does the cartridge feed spring lay on the bottom of the cartridge lifter or in a notch on top of the lifter? Outside of the replacement cartridge feed parts the rest of the rifle is original. The Alaska Commercial Company Store here in Dillingham, AK sells many new tube-fed Marlin Model 60’s.

I keep telling the store manager to buy the clip fed model as the outer tubes bulge at the seam when people attempt to load too many cartridges, causing the inner tube assembly to go flying off, sometimes into lakes, rivers or salt water or mud, sand, gravel. People blow into the outer tube in the winter months in their attempts to make tube go in or out.

As afix, I polish the hammer/bolt contact area and the hole where the recoil recoil spring and guide lives and sometimes apply bedding compound to one or both takedown screw areas to make guns work in the cold. In the April 2005 issue the article "Avoiding Mistakes with the Marlin Model 60" appeared. There may be reprints available from the publishers office. If not, we’re including your email address so an AGA member with a copy of that issue can arrange to photo copy the article and snailmail it to you.

There are certain areas in the article and in Marlin Firearms: A History of the Guns and the Company That Made Them by Lt. Col. William S. Brophy USAR—which is considered by many to be the Bible on all things Marlin—worth mention now. Among the items we discovered in preparing the article and related to your query were: First, the entire action of the Model 60 and its clones is contained between two plates retained by E-clips.

The factory employs a proprietary jig for assembly, take down and replacement of components to prevent about half the action springs to fly away. A substitute for the jig was used and is pictured in the article. Secondly, Marlin 60 and Glenfield 60 parts are not "drop-in" interchangeable due to the wider receiver of the Glenfi eld. An example is the feed throat. Thirdly, the Marlin 60 was not produced with a clip feed. These models were the Marlin Model 70, Glenfi eld Model 70 or one amongst the Marlin 995 series.

As we recall, the lifter spring expands after compression. As such, it will not function properly when merely placed upon the bottom of the lifter. Ergo, it rides in the notch to apply upward pressure. You may want to double check this placement out with Marlin but an answer would probably only apply to currently produced Model 60s. We don’t believe, however, that an engineering change has not been made for many years.

The bulging seam problem is definitely owner created and such owner has to pay for anew tube assembly while not ever forgetting to lock the inner tube within it via the long-practiced, highly complex and physically demanding twist of the locking cap between thumb and forefi nger. Said owner might be further advised to avoid blowing a frosty breath into the mag tube. The tendency can transform the frosty breath into an icy sludge, making removal that much more diffi cult.

Closer attention to lubricants, meaning avoiding those that stiffen up in very cold conditions, are to be reviewed. We suggest a silicone spray but not too heavily applied. Robert Top Break S&W 4th Model I have atop break S&W 4th model serial number 415XXX. I am replacing the barrel and would like to know how to remove the base pin from the old barrel and install it into the new one? I have read the articles about the top breaks in the past issues of American Gunsmith and am seeking further advise. Steven M.

Outside of a few old timers and even fewer specialists in restoration and repair, nobody has been doing much work on these ancient S&W revolvers. What you are getting into is no simple task. A mandrel must be made and inserted within the base pin to prevent crushing. The open frame with the grips removed should be drowned for a few days in penetrating oil to loosen the crud of years that has likely accumulated on the base pin threads. The pin is screwed in extremely tight.

It has a milled slot on its top that is put there to align with another slot in the bottom of the barrel when either pin or barrel is replaced. Overdoing any removal of material from either component to make this alignment happen will result in problems affecting timing and/or extraction. If you feel you need further inputs or have additional questions, contact our top gun on archaic revolvers, David R.

Chicoine (oldwestgunsmith. com, Uberti M1885 I recent re-reviewed the American Gunsmith September 2010 article on the Uberti M1885 and it tripped an alarm in my mind about the recommended solvent cleaning procedure. Not long ago I had to touch up a bare spot on a customer’s Italian made reproduction Winchester 92 rifle. Preparatory to touching up the bare spot, I cleaned the bright area with a cotton swab with lacquer thinner and was appalled that the beautiful "case colors" dissolved and came

off. Fortunately, I detected it before removing any more and doing much more damage than slightly enlarging the bare spot. The case colors were magnificent and gave no clue that they were painted on. I don’t know if Uberti has stooped to painting on their case colors but at least one Italian maker does and most any decent solvent (lacquer thinner, MEK, Trichlor, etc.) will instantly remove it down to white metal.

I suggest someone contemplating a solvent clean test the effects first on an inconspicuous location before proceeding. It occurs to me that a bit of caution also applies to original case colors. The colors on the high quality old-timers were frequently protected with a coating referred to as "lock varnish" to reduce fading of the colors with time. Enough exposure to strong organic solvents might dissolve this lock varnish coating and hasten color fading.

Bruce Dow Dow Arms Room Uberti doesn’t make a reproduction Model 92 so another Italian manufacturer shipped over your rifle. That takes care of that suspicion. Now, due to the expense of bone charcoal color case hardening, many Italian reproduction gun makers employ the cyanide process. (Watch out for the fumes, Guido!) You will have to determine through the importer the process employed on your Model 92.

If it turns out the hardening process has been replaced by case coloring, the solvents you mention could remove it. On the other hand, no mere solvent other than concentrated acid can remove true color case hardening. Bone charcoal depth, for instance, ranges between 10 and 20 thousandths deep. Acid is not used in its removal. At the depth mentioned, the color has to be polished off down to substrate metal. Mineral Spirits, the solvent suggested in the article, causes it no harm.

Remington Model 11 I am working on a Remington Model 11 with a 30-inch rib barrel and Poly- Choke chamber in 12 gauge. When cleaning it I noticed a small bulge on the left side of barrel about 4-1/2 inches past the chamber where the rim of the shotshell sets. This bulge is hardly noticeable visually but it can be felt when rubbing a finger Dade City, up and down the barrel. Any ideal what may have caused this? Will this bulge affect the gun’s shootability? Should it try to be fixed?

About a year ago I had another shotgun come in with a slightly bulged barrel in the area around the band that slides on the magazine tube. The band had been brazed back on prior I thought this bulge was from the heat of the brazing job. Is this common among Model 11s? Barrels with bulges are not habitual with any well-constructed shotgun. They are usually caused by blockages but can be created by firing oversized or overloaded rounds. Bulged barrels can be very dangerous to the shooter and any nearby persons.

A replacement barrel is the safest course to take in preventing this. You can find them in the aftermarket for the Model 11. AMT Pistol I had an AMT Backup .380/9MM Kurz pistol (Serial number # A53XXX) brought into my shop recently. The customer bought anew magazine for it after losing the the original and claims that it has since begun having stoppages on a regular basis. In testing his pistol I have found the stoppages cease when I push the magazine in tight. This magazine will seat in additional 1/8 inch.

How do I fix this problem? Or this a faulty magazine? Paul The magazine might be faulty, but possibly not. Polish up all external sides of the magazine housing, examine the internal grip frame for burrs, dents or oddly raised areas, check out the mag catch assembly and be prepared to conduct an aftermarket search in case the assembly indicates need of replacement.

As a post script, it’s a good idea, though somewhat inconvenient, for an out-of-production pistol to accompany the request for a magazine when the latter has been lost. AG