Is there anything different about the design of the cylinder assembly on a Model of 1903? The center pin is sluggish and obviously gummed up with old oil. I'd like to get it and the spring out to clean them up.

I have tried to unscrew the ejector rod in the usual way, using empty cases for ejector star support and bearing in mind the proper thread orientation for this era, but nothing moves. I hesitate to put any serious muscle into the effort in case I don't know what's really going on down inside. I have not found a good exploded drawing of a 1903 cylinder.

__________________
David Wilson

Soak it in a good solvent ( Kroil for example) for several days.
It dissasembles the same as later hand ejectors.

Thank you. Is Kroil safe for nickeled guns? I know that a wipe-on/wipe-off exposure is not harmful, but I wonder about letting pieces soak.

EDITED TO ADD: Never mind, found the answer in another thread here. Yes, it's safe.

__________________
David Wilson

I neglected to report the resolution of this problem. After a four-day Kroil soak the rod could be unscrewed. Lube inside the rod and on the center pin was like the thickest and driest oil you could imagine. I cleaned the rod and cylinder interiors, center pin and springs, relubed with a much lighter oil and reassembled. The cylinder latch action now operates smoothly and offers no more resistance than what is expected from the center pin spring by iself. Success!

__________________
David Wilson