Polishing/slicking up a marlin 336

[shrewd]

So I have an old 30/30, actually a marlin 30AS, that has a weird tick when cocking the hammer after pulling the trigger, (it catches and gives resistance around the half cock) that I want to slick up and make a bit of a fun project.

I've watched a few videos and it seems pretty simple, but I don't actually know anything about polishing metal.
Do I just put a dab of polishing compound then rub with a high grit sandpaper? How do I know when it's ready, when the finish starts to come off? Do I tough it up with cold blue afterwards or just oil it?

I'm not too worried as the gun is a beater, but who doesn't want a nice little 30/30 lever in their collection?

[Bang]

If it's that old it could be just hardened greases and lubes. I'd thoroughly clean the mechanism first and see if that brings it up to snuff. If you cant get it apart, remove the wood and shoot BrakeKleen, Carb Cleaner or GunScrubber into it and work the action and hammer/trigger. Blow it dry with compressed air and lube the hammer/sear/trigger surfaces lightly with a quality gun oil.

The trigger-sear relationship should be smooth from years of rubbing together, in effect self-polished. Many such parts are case hardened, meaning the surface hardening is a thin layer of hard, with softer metal beneath. Old actions and parts can have surfaces that are worn through, changing the original configurations and relationships....which could be the cause of what you are describing if cleaning makes no difference. Sometimes worn parts are just that...parts that have worn out and need replacing. Trigger/hammer/sear relationships are nothing to screw with if you don't understand the principles. Unwanted, unplanned discharge of a firearm can be the result.

[pacpiper]

I own many, many win 94's and 336's and the older they are, the nicer their actions are. Weird that yours at this point should not be butter smooth.

[theunrulychef]

I just did this on a 70's Glenfield 30a. I think it spent most of it's life sitting in a cabinet, waiting for the occasional deer season. The biggest hangup for my action was the initial hit as the bolt first starts pressing against the hammer. I pulled it completely apart (except the barrel to the receiver). There was years of built up gunk / hardened grease & it had also never been smoothed up inside. The first thing to do as Bang mentioned is to clean it up to bare metal to see what you've got.

I've slicked up a few action like this for Cowboy Action shooting. I use a combination of very fine knife sharpening stones (from a spyderco sharpmaker), high grit wet/dry sandpaper 800 - 2000, Mother's aluminum polish & a dremel with a cloth wheel (very, very sparingly). Again, as Bang already described, you have to be careful about how much metal you're taking off & where so you're not exposing the soft stuff in critical wear areas. If I'm polishing a curved / round surface like the bolt itself, that's pretty much all done with Mother's polish & a rag. If I'm cleaning up burrs on flats that should slide smoothly (the side of the lever etc), I'll use the sharpening stone because it's perfectly flat - so it just removes the metal that's sticking out from the surface. Sometimes sandpaper on those if it's a wide flat surface. You lay the paper on something perfectly flat & wet it with oil or water & move the part on the paper against the flat surface - don't move the sand paper on the part like you're sanding wood as this will cut the metal unevenly. I use a stone if I ever touch any trigger components, but generally, you don't actually need to putz around with the sear engagement in these to make them smooth. If you clean up the rest of the action, you can get a lighter trigger by altering the springs. I did grind the springs in my Cowboy Action guns, but in this Glenfield 30-30, it's already decent. I do go over the sides of things like the sear to make sure that they have no burrs that are going to cause friction as they rotate. The dremel is reserved for only when keeping the original shape isn't as critical, or if I'm purposely reshaping a part that doesn't need to be perfectly flat - so very rarely.

Good luck!

[bjmac]

So I have an old 30/30, actually a marlin 30AS, that has a weird tick when cocking the hammer after pulling the trigger, (it catches and gives resistance around the half cock) that I want to slick up and make a bit of a fun project.

I've watched a few videos and it seems pretty simple, but I don't actually know anything about polishing metal.
Do I just put a dab of polishing compound then rub with a high grit sandpaper? How do I know when it's ready, when the finish starts to come off? Do I tough it up with cold blue afterwards or just oil it?

I'm not too worried as the gun is a beater, but who doesn't want a nice little 30/30 lever in their collection?

I believe what you are describing is the "half cock notch." You will always have a click at that point due to the sear dropping into the hammer. (it is actually back cut to prevent sear release on hammer pull.) It is intended as a safety in the event of accidental hammer release which, in my eyes is an awesome feature. Pull the hammer back just past the first click and let it go, you will see what I mean. Btw, you should also have the lever safety and crossbolt on that.
Hope that helps and enjoy that gun!!

[shrewd]

I'm familiar with the half cock notch, but it binds up enough that I have to put the stock into my armpit and really crank the lever to cycle. It's absolutely not normal when compared to my 1894c

[bjmac]

I'm sorry, I took "cocking the hammer" as using your thumb, not cycling. Well, that much force is not good. Check all action screws, then clean it.

[bjmac]

Not to cause trouble but you did go from a wierd tick to near impossible cycle....just saying. I was only trying to help.

[jpg5080]

So, I know this is an old thread, but I just had the same experience with a JM stamped 30AS that I bought off a forum member and thought I would share:

Just as OP described, big-time binding when trying to cock the hammer or cycle the action.

I took it all apart, no notable dirt, but I did clean and polish the internals. After putting it back together it was no better. I then worked my way backwards, and removed the lever and the buttstock. At this point I was able to cock the hammer in a normal fashion. My next step was to re-install the lever, which had no adverse affects and allowed for normal cycling. When I re-attached the buttstock all of a sudden the binding came back. I loosened the screw in the buttstock by a quarter-turn, and like magic the action suddenly was smooth as butter.

All I can think of is that over-tightening the buttstock on the tang compresses the housing for the hammer and spring assembly and that this binds in some fashion.

At this point the screw in the buttstock was still snug, it just wasn't tightened until it wouldn't go anymore.

Just thought I would share in the hopes that maybe I could save somebody all the time I spent polishing, LOL.

Solution was simpler than I imagined.