Now I have a PhD in patience...

forrestinmathews · #1 06-28-2017, 04:09 PM

And finding small springs!

So I took the Rastoff challenge the other day with my NAA Mini .22 Short. I found the trigger pull to be atrocious. Thanks to the untimed nature of the challenge I was able and forced to focus on the marksmanship required. That trigger was gritty and heavy and a whole lot of no thank you. I am sure it affected my results, but I must overcome adversity.
In the spirit of that I got quite possibly the stupidest, dumbest, most foolish idea ever conceived: trigger job. If you aren't patient or talented or don't have a bit of free time...don't do it!
I'm thinking to myself that I'll just pop the side plate, stone the hammer and sear and get back to work. First off the screw was reverse threaded. This should have served as an ominous warning of the worst is yet to come. Second the screw is the the hammer pivot pin and there is no apparent way to remove the mainspring tension. Onward I proceeded like a fool. The side plate left the gun followed by a shower of small parts and springs. So much for memorizing the relationships between parts before removing them! So I did what I came to do and stoned the trigger and hammer. There were burrs. There was no finishing done to either part. Got them nice and crisp and then started re assembly. Normal people would think about searching for a video before trying this, but I apparently need challenges.

I lost the hand spring six times before finally losing it for a good while and shutting down for the night after searching on hands and knees for a long while. During the search I was head-butted repeatedly by my cat who found my behavior concerning and was therefore conducting his version of a wellness check. I get a wellness check everytime I raise my voice and I resumed the attack err attempted reassembly this morning. I figured out where to bend it so the hand spring naturally stays in the hammer. I temporarily magnetized the small springs so they would stay in their parts. The most difficult part was restoring hammer spring tension. Obviously it can't go together in tension. The online video was of no help here. The .22 Magnum frame is much larger and has room to insert the spring after the side plate is assembled. I had to reassemble the side plate with the mainspring laying in the action out of tension. I bumped it into place with a punch and tension was restored. I had recontoured the mainspring to make it easier to work the gun.
The fun part was the function test. I shot ten rounds of CCI .22 Short CB at five yards and then five rounds of CCI .22 Short 27 gr HP. It was a great time and the little gun functioned flawlessly. I had a bit of fun shooting faster than I was ever able to before.

Wee Hooker · #2 06-28-2017, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by forrestinmathews

And finding small springs!

So I took the Rastoff challenge the other day with my NAA Mini .22 Short. I found the trigger pull to be atrocious. Thanks to the untimed nature of the challenge I was able and forced to focus on the marksmanship required. That trigger was gritty and heavy and a whole lot of no thank you. I am sure it affected my results, but I must overcome adversity.
In the spirit of that I got quite possibly the stupidest, dumbest, most foolish idea ever conceived: trigger job. If you aren't patient or talented or don't have a bit of free time...don't do it!
I'm thinking to myself that I'll just pop the side plate, stone the hammer and sear and get back to work. First off the screw was reverse threaded. This should have served as an ominous warning of the worst is yet to come. Second the screw is the the hammer pivot pin and there is no apparent way to remove the mainspring tension. Onward I proceeded like a fool. The side plate left the gun followed by a shower of small parts and springs. So much for memorizing the relationships between parts before removing them! So I did what I came to do and stoned the trigger and hammer. There were burrs. There was no finishing done to either part. Got them nice and crisp and then started re assembly. Normal people would think about searching for a video before trying this, but I apparently need challenges.

I lost the hand spring six times before finally losing it for a good while and shutting down for the night after searching on hands and knees for a long while. During the search I was head-butted repeatedly by my cat who found my behavior concerning and was therefore conducting his version of a wellness check. I get a wellness check everytime I raise my voice and I resumed the attack err attempted reassembly this morning. I figured out where to bend it so the hand spring naturally stays in the hammer. I temporarily magnetized the small springs so they would stay in their parts. The most difficult part was restoring hammer spring tension. Obviously it can't go together in tension. The online video was of no help here. The .22 Magnum frame is much larger and has room to insert the spring after the side plate is assembled. I had to reassemble the side plate with the mainspring laying in the action out of tension. I bumped it into place with a punch and tension was restored. I had recontoured the mainspring to make it easier to work the gun.
The fun part was the function test. I shot ten rounds of CCI .22 Short CB at five yards and then five rounds of CCI .22 Short 27 gr HP. It was a great time and the little gun functioned flawlessly. I had a bit of fun shooting faster than I was ever able to before.

Nice rendition of "Learn as you go" gunsmithing. :-)
Been there, done that.

ps. For small and /or unfamiliar guns , I've learned to do disassembly and reassembly (where spring can fly) with the gun (and hands) inside a 2-3 gal clear plastic bag. That way, anything launched gets captured. Saves the cat from hearing all that swearing too.

PALADIN85020 · #3 06-28-2017, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wee Hooker

For small and /or unfamiliar guns , I've learned to do disassembly and reassembly (where spring can fly) with the gun (and hands) inside a 2-3 gal clear plastic bag. That way, anything launched gets captured. Saves the cat from hearing all that swearing too.

Cats are sensitive little creatures, aren't they??

John

forrestinmathews · #4 06-28-2017, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PALADIN85020

Cats are sensitive little creatures, aren't they??

John

Tell me about what privacy is....I haven't known it for about five years.

Any raised voice is cause for great concern around here. They feel the stress and try to do something to eliminate it.

forrestinmathews · #5 06-28-2017, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wee Hooker

Nice rendition of "Learn as you go" gunsmithing. :-)
Been there, done that.

ps. For small and /or unfamiliar guns , I've learned to do disassembly and reassembly (where spring can fly) with the gun (and hands) inside a 2-3 gal clear plastic bag. That way, anything launched gets captured. Saves the cat from hearing all that swearing too.

The bag is a great idea. Thank you.

I was thinking it can't be much different than a Smith or Ruger. I've done trigger jobs on Italians also. This was just a lot of **** in a small space.

Cyrano · #6 06-28-2017, 10:55 PM

I took mine apart many years ago. I sent it back to the factory for reassembly. Incidently, those plastic shrouds that your shirts come back from the dry cleaners in make good working spaces for disassembly; there's plenty of room in there.

Muley Gil · #7 06-28-2017, 11:27 PM

Back in my cop days, I did a bit of gunsmithing, mostly for my fellow officers. One of the sergeants brought me two NAAs to put back together. The first one went together fine; the second one didn't. After having the hand spring break, I took it back to him and told him to send back to the factory.