Reader Forum

Firing Pin Gauge I always enjoy reading my American Gunsmith magazine when it arrives, but I especially enjoyed RK Campbell’s "Firing Pin Logic and Mechanics" in the January 2021 issue. I am an amateur gunsmith and work on my own guns. Over thick, which I was sure would be adequate, and was made of Sorbothane, which is claimed to reduce felt recoil by 94.7%. Sold! When the pad arrived, I noticed I would have to first grind the factory buttplate perfectly flat.

It had a little curve at the bottom, probably for quick mounting to the shoulder. I couldn’t just discard it as the buttstock itself was essentially hollow, having just two polymer bosses, drilled and tapped for the buttplate screws. I needed that buttplate, but I needed it flat as the integral steel plate in the base of the Kick-EEZ pad would be too rigid to conform to a curved buttplate beneath it. In addition, most of the "waffled" underside of the buttplate had to the years I’ve had three firing pin failures.

When I became the proud owner of an M1 Garand it came with a broken firing pin. There is nothing louder, nor more disappointing and possibly dangerous, than when a loaded firearm goes "click", especially when it’s new. I had a firing pin break in a Ruger Single Six; easy enough to replace. My third was very odd. My first Ruger Mini 14 had a sharp burr in front of the firing pin hole in the bolt left from the manufacturing process.

When a cartridge ignited and was pressed back against the face of the bolt, the burr cut a neat disk that was blown back into the firing pin channel. When the channel became filled with these disks the firing pin would no longer move. The fix was to carefully remove the burr so the face of the bolt was smooth. Gary Siegert I made my own firing pin protrusion gauge. I took a 1-inch piece of 1/4-inch hollow aluminum rod and drilled and tapped the middle for a 8-32 set screw.

In the center of the rod a put a length of 1/8-inch drill rod cut to the same length as be first degreased then filled with steel bed epoxy to provide sufficient "meat " for drilling and tapping for one of the two Kick-EEZ screws. For the steel bed epoxy I used J-B Weld to which I added about 10% Atomized Steel from Brownells (#081-021-104WB) as I feel this makes a stronger bed for tapping threads than other alternatives.

Please refer to the adjoining exploded diagram as I think it shows this part of my story better than I can explain it any further. The overall result was a very happy wife, and so a very happy customer! He insisted on paying me more than I asked! If you have any questions, please email me at AG the rod.

I zero my calipers to the length of the rod, loosen the set screw, press the center against the protruded firing pin so the drill rod extends beyond the end of the aluminum, lock the set screw, then measure the entire assembly. The drill rod is extended the same distance as the firing pin. Thank you again for your excellent articles. Roy Seifert RK Campbell responds. Thanks for reading! This is the type of mail I print out and file, good information. Please write up your gauge for a future article.

Spot Facing Tools I thoroughly enjoyed "Bluing Browning Shotguns" in the January 2021 issue and learned quite a bit! I started learning the gunsmithing trade after retiring seven years ago and am now in the process of refurbishing four family shotguns and one rifle. These range from a HHH 16 made in 1903, a H&R (1951) 16, a Stevens 16 (1954), a Winchester 22, and a JC Higgins 12 gauge double barrel.

Currently I am working with 12 double which has rust with pitting and your spot facing tool would work very nicely on areas I have to complete next. Is it possible to obtain specs on this tool? I am a fair hand with making small tools as I grew up working in several machine shops starting in the 1960s with a certificate in Mechanical Drafting. With specs I can make this. We don’t have specs on this as the author largely improvised it.

The basic idea is a length of flat hardwood (preferably recycled scrap) with the end cut off flat and an opposing face set about 45 degrees. Two inset cuts for a clip with a pair of screws secure each end of the sandpaper wrapping the end. The basic idea is to hold a strip of sandpaper with two ends at differing angles to best match up to the work surface.

For an inexpensive commercial option, Foredom (Foredom.com, offers round and square Sandpaper Holders (SKU: A- SS26, A-SS27) and Sanding Sticks (SKU: 37-752, 3772) that do the same thing. Shotgun Headspace Regulation Regarding "Shotgun Headspace Regulation" by Sergey Lyalko in the January 2021 issue, do I understand correctly that you use just a straight tinning flux for your entire soldering joint or do you use it as a means to make the solder easier to flow? Have you considered green Loctite 290 for this?

I have used it successfully for barrel liners. Do you see any issues with it? Sergey Lyalko replies. For tight joints like the headspace ring I use Johnson Mfg. Co. (JohnsonMfg.com, E-127 Flux-’N-Solder as-is to hold the ring. It has enough tin powder in the mix. I add leadfree solder if I see any gaps in contact but the strength of it alone is sufficient for this fix.

Blue Loctite 246 (high temperature, medium strength like 29513) may be fine for the liner as it has a significant area of attachment but I prefer solder as it is stronger and also conceals the edge between the liner and the bore outside. G. Thompson Restoring a Type We have a Japanese Type 99 with a sporterized stock that we are trying to restore. We need to take the front sight off to remove the bands and transfer all the hardware and everything else. How do you remove the front sight?

Is there any other suggestions you might have with this restore? From David Manney. The front sight is pressed on. I was able to remove it with a plastic mallet, a brass bar (1" diameter) and a 12 ounce hammer. I made witness marks before moving and put it back on the same way after blueing. Jerry Michrina From RK Campbell. Front sights on Japanese rifles are held in place with a tapered pins. Look just above the top of the barrel on the sight and you will see a faint circles, which are the pins.

Place the left side of the sight on a steel surface with an approximate 1/4" diameter placed behind the pin and take a flat punch and drive from right to left. You have to hit the pin hard for it to move. If you can’t see the head of the pin, take some fine sand paper and scrub a little. After you get the pin out put a pad around the sight and clamp it in a good vise. Twist and pull on the barrel and work the sigh off. If you it off you will spring it and it will not fit back right.

After you get it off put it back on the same way. The old pin will be messed up so have to get anew one. I use a #2 taper pin or a soft 3/16" stick welding rod, cut off about 2 inches. Stick in a drill press or lathe and spin it; using a file I make the rod slightly tapered. With the sight back in place, drive the pin in hard from the left side. Cut with a hacksaw Steven Murfin a little long and brad the pin on the right side.

Then file/polish both sides down flush and put some cold blue on it and you’re back in business. If the thing is a commercial sight and soldered on, you’ll need a propane torch to heat it. Otherwise, the above should do it. Check Gun Parts/Numrich for parts, then Jack First, Bob’s Gun Parts, then maybe large regional gun shows. From Mark Hollensen. The front sight is pinned to the barrel and that pin is tapered.

You will have to look very closely at the sight to spot it (sometimes you have to lightly sand the area to see the pin). Since the pin is tapered, you need to drift it out from right to left and you may be in a position of having to make anew pin when replacing the sight as it is hard to drift out without

damage. Once the pin is removed, some heat (not too much) applied to the sight band while clamping the band in a sturdy vise with protective jaws will help when you work the barreled action back and forth to loosen and pull the barrel free from the sight band. Again, it is a very tight fit. If you are restoring back to military spec, then the front sight does not have to come off unless the barrel bands were originally removed. In that case, it does have to be removed to get the barrel bands back on.

I suspect others have an alternative method for the front sight removal but this works for me. Also, perform a hardness test on the receiver as many of these rifles are NOT heat treated properly. Essentially, running a file across the bottom of the action (receiver) will tell you. If the file bites, it should NOT be fired. If it slides over it and does not bite, it is probably OK. Ithaca Repair I was given an Ithaca Model 66 Super Single 20 gauge.

The lever to open the action was broken off and I’ve since obtained a replacement. I have never worked on an Ithaca before and am unsure of the disassembly/reassembly procedures and need help with that. I understand Ithaca has been taken over by another company. Do you have any information on this? Bob Obarska From Mark Hollensen. I haven’t worked on one of these in many years, but I remember there is just one pin that secures the lever to the shotgun and I doubt fitting will be required.

Not knowing if the lever purchased is a complete assembly or not, you may have to remove springs or detents in the old lever and install them in the new one. Numrich has a great schematic (GunPartsCorp.com/gun-manufacturer/ithacaskb/shotguns-ithaca/66-2-2) of all Model 66 related parts and the lever.

William Henry Baker and partners started the Ithaca Gun Company in 1883, sold to General Recreation in 1967, then Ithaca Acquisition, Inc in 1987, then Ithaca Gun Company, LLC in 1996, and finally Ithaca Guns USA, LLC of Upper Sandusky, Ohio in 2005. Given the number of transitions, I doubt you will get much help from the current owners, especially for this particular shotgun. From Glen Calvert. The only online videos I’ve found on this shotgun were not much help. However, I did find a parts diagram.

The M66 is fairly simple and shouldn’t be too difficult to disassemble and repair using the schematic. The diameter of the holes in the new lever should be measured to see if they are the same as the original. AG