Holy Crap I did it!

[steviesterno]

so I blocked out my schedule saturday to work on some gunsmithing projects. I have never more than detail stripped anything I own, so of course I assume I can take apart my remington 1100, add a bolt handle and daves metal works speed feeder (which includes a ton of fitting and filing to the carrier). I also assume I can get a 1911 down to the frame and back together, and fix a crack on an expensive over/under forearm...

so i forget to mention, I don't have internet at home, so no online tours, help, instructions, anything to bail me out...

The first sign of trouble happened 4 seconds into the shotgun forearm, what I hoped would be the easy repair. Turns out I don't have the tiny screwdriver blade to take the mechanism out. 2 minutes with a dremel, and now i do. get it apart, and use a diabetes needle I had to buy to get the glue in the right place. Wrap in saran wrap, clamp with painters tape, and just wait...

the 1100 comes apart easily enough, and after probably an hour or sanding, grinding, and fitting, I figure out how to remove enough but not too much carrier to get the piece fit. the stupid part is re-assembly, since there is a tiny spring that must stay compressed while inserted. I needed about 5 hands, but only have my 2, so that took some electrical tape and practice to get it in there. after that, i heated the tape with a lighter to loosen it up, grabbed it and pulled with pliers! Half assed, but works well.

the choate bolt handle had to be re-drilled and sanded to fit properly and get a better grip. half hour later, that's installed and good to go.

Next is the 1911. so it turns out to be a series 80, not 70. so as a pile of strange looking parts fall out, i get scared.

I get it all down and polish the trigger bar (might as well, right?) and I attempt to put it back together with a new, light pull sear spring. well the 80 series gave me grief, especially since I didn't see how they were in to begin with. so it was a while of putting the damn thing back together the wrong way to get it to work. I finally figured it out, and good news, she passed every safety check and fired without going full auto at the range!

What I learned, in no particular order:
1) Any idiot can do this, as I'm an idiot.
2) there is a ton of satisfaction in doing this yourself
3) I saved hundreds of dollars by not shipping any of these jobs out to the pros
4) with a dremel, some files, and all damn day, I can accomplish anything
5) 80s series is a bunch of extra bullshit.
6) John Browning was the smartest man ever
7) my house smells like hoppes so bad, people think it's my air freshener.
8) this was worth it, the start of more projects, and I say anyone should just sit down and try.

[RHGregory3]

Steve,

I have done over 10 hours of reading on this forum in the last day or so and this was hands down most read worthy.

I actually choked, started laughing, thus getting coffee all over myself reading your list of lessons learned at the end.

A job well done sir :-D

[Maura]

You are inspiring! Thanks for sharing.

[mrnyman]

Whatever you guys do please DO NOT tear down a Beretta Bobcat, That little gun is designed like and with the precision of a fine swiss watch, you will need a armorers course to put it back together again.
I gave mine a "trigger job" not realizing that the Hammer spring group is assembled at the factory by special equipment and is sold as a unit, boy i just got it back together after nearly 2 years apart.
Some of the parts are so small you may need a magnifying glass to see them especially the safety plunger and plunger spring.

But what a sweet little gun?

[steviesterno]

Holy Crap, I did it again!

this weekend at the leesport show I picked up some new parts for my AR, getting a charging handle latch and some new trigger springs, because of course I now assume I'm a gunsmith. good news is, I AM!

changing the spring latch was another one of those "need 3 hands" deals, but got it done in 7 minutes. Then decided to pull the trigger components to put in the new springs while i was at it. I know the AR trigger stuff is only surface hardened, so I only filed the rough patches without removing much metal, then polished the heck out of them without changing sear angles. back together, works fine, and NO PROBLEMS! went from a super gritty, pretty shitty 9 pound trigger to what feels like a nice, smooth 4.5 or so... well worth it.

NEW LESSONS LEARNED!
1) before you take parts out, draw their relationship in your own handwriting!
then put the pieces on or next to the drawings. it keeps everything labeled and identified, and their relationship is easy to understand.
2) ARs are stupid easy to work on
3) springs will shoot everywhere no matter what project you work on. be ready
4) it would be easy to muff up and make something double or dangerous, so BE CAREFUL!
5) I shoulda been a gunsmith...

[joseywales]

I'm at the point where my hobby/gun bench is almost cleaned and I'm afraid...very afraid. With that much room, one can only imagine the trouble I could get into with various firearms. Did I mention I not only have a Dremel, but also the Dremel drill press!!

The only thing that can save me is that I currently have a lot of dirty guns! Nothing cruddy, but plenty that could use a good cleaning from normal range time.

BTW Stevie, toss the Hoppes, it stanks! Try the Slip 2000 EWL for your AR, vurtually no scent at all and much better at adherine to metal for lubing purposes. Probably work well on all of your firearms, or just pick up a bottle of Mobil 1, which is what I'm doing today. 5W30 should do just fine.

[bvaguy30]

+1 on the EWL, I run it on my guns.

[dannyb]

so I blocked out my schedule saturday to work on some gunsmithing projects. I have never more than detail stripped anything I own, so of course I assume I can take apart my remington 1100, add a bolt handle and daves metal works speed feeder (which includes a ton of fitting and filing to the carrier). I also assume I can get a 1911 down to the frame and back together, and fix a crack on an expensive over/under forearm...

so i forget to mention, I don't have internet at home, so no online tours, help, instructions, anything to bail me out...

The first sign of trouble happened 4 seconds into the shotgun forearm, what I hoped would be the easy repair. Turns out I don't have the tiny screwdriver blade to take the mechanism out. 2 minutes with a dremel, and now i do. get it apart, and use a diabetes needle I had to buy to get the glue in the right place. Wrap in saran wrap, clamp with painters tape, and just wait...

the 1100 comes apart easily enough, and after probably an hour or sanding, grinding, and fitting, I figure out how to remove enough but not too much carrier to get the piece fit. the stupid part is re-assembly, since there is a tiny spring that must stay compressed while inserted. I needed about 5 hands, but only have my 2, so that took some electrical tape and practice to get it in there. after that, i heated the tape with a lighter to loosen it up, grabbed it and pulled with pliers! Half assed, but works well.

the choate bolt handle had to be re-drilled and sanded to fit properly and get a better grip. half hour later, that's installed and good to go.

Next is the 1911. so it turns out to be a series 80, not 70. so as a pile of strange looking parts fall out, i get scared.

I get it all down and polish the trigger bar (might as well, right?) and I attempt to put it back together with a new, light pull sear spring. well the 80 series gave me grief, especially since I didn't see how they were in to begin with. so it was a while of putting the damn thing back together the wrong way to get it to work. I finally figured it out, and good news, she passed every safety check and fired without going full auto at the range!

What I learned, in no particular order:
1) Any idiot can do this, as I'm an idiot.
2) there is a ton of satisfaction in doing this yourself
3) I saved hundreds of dollars by not shipping any of these jobs out to the pros
4) with a dremel, some files, and all damn day, I can accomplish anything
5) 80s series is a bunch of extra bullshit.
6) John Browning was the smartest man ever
7) my house smells like hoppes so bad, people think it's my air freshener.
8) this was worth it, the start of more projects, and I say anyone should just sit down and try.

Kudos to you sir. I had my "HCIDI" moment a few months ago when I pulled apart a crapped out and filthy New Haven Firearms 600 AT shotgun. I did post on the project already (new safety assembly, new bolt assembly, lots of cleaning on all parts), so I won't repeat it here - but the satisfaction of ending up with a well functioning shotgun that started out as a beater POS was intense.

[Lycanthrope]

Don't bother drawing things out. Take pics with a digital camera as you take it apart and you can figure how to get it back together in most cases.

Good job on the DIY projects!

Lycanfasterthrope

[steviesterno]

I was going to take pictures but I was up to my elbows in random dirt and oil to work the camera.

StevieIwascoveredinoilanddirtfordaysSterno