Howdy Gents...
Well now, I've got this big10 on the healing bench for a checkup and one of the known issues...the trigger play spring is kaput!
The trigger play spring is that little copper colored thingy riveted to the forward end of your drawbar. Now that thingy is not actually copper but is in fact steel...sticks quite nicely to a magnet. The coloring is an effect of the heat treatment after it was punched & formed.
Anyway that spring is pretty thin and easily bent out of shape. It mics at 0.008" thick. If one goes scrubbing about vigorously in there with some implement like an M16 toothbrush, One is liable to mangle that spring. You can also wreck it by cocking the hammer and getting behind the trigger and pushing the trigger forward. Although I have no idea why someone would do that.
What you ought to know is once you have exceeded the "elastic limit' of the material, well... it's permanently buggered. Elastic Limit??? what the hell is that?
you might ask. Well imagine a piece of straight steel rod, like a piece of wire coat hanger perhaps. Take it in hand and bend it a few degrees then release, it springs back straight right?. Now take and bend it a bunch, like 90° or so and release, Stays bent now doesn't it. You've exceeded the elastic limit of the steel.
That same principle applies to this tiny leaf spring. Bend it out of shape too far and it stays bent. You can try bending it back into shape but at this point is has been permanently weakened and will not stay there for long. The best course of action is to simply replace it, which happens to be where we are right now.
Yup, that's gonna have to come outa there:
Not going to go into excavating the drawbar... Suffice to say it's a bit tedious getting it outa there. Except for a few bits, you basically need to detail strip the frame. But once you have it in hand were gonna need a little four square file with a safe edge to cut the head off that rivet.
This four square file has a safe side. It's a square file but only cuts on three sides. I hold the drawbar in a machinists clamp and position the file so the safe side is facing the slot for the trigger hooks. That way should I slip while cutting on the rivet and hit that slot, no damage done. Just file at it until the rivet head is gone.
Then take a little 1/16" pin punch and tap out the remnant.
So far so good.
No for the fix... You'll need this stuff. New play spring & rivet, a flat file with safe edges, and a small ball pien hammer. if you don't have a good small hammer a center punch can be helpful in starting to upset the rivet then carry on with what ever hammer you have that'll fit in there.
Oh and a vise of course. You're gonna clamp the file in the vise with a safe edge up and enough sticking up above the jaws to support the drawbar while you're beating on it
Note the copper sheeting the keep the hardened steel vise jaws off the file so we don't ruin it.
Position your new parts in the drawbar. Small forceps are handy for getting the rivet in position. A sharp eye may note that this aint the drawbar we started with. Well that's cause that drawbar was junk and headed for the scrap bin. But that's another story.
Now over to the vise. Invert the assembly of parts onto the file edge. Use those forceps or something to keep the rivet from falling out as you turn it over.
Then take you're little ball pien hammer and gently upset the rivet.
Pro Tip: Just get the rivet snug such that it's just tight enough to permit turning the spring. Then flip the drawbar over and make sure the spring is not cocked to one side or the other. Straighten it as needed then turn back over head down against the file and carry on finishing upsetting the rivet snugging everything up.
All done and ready ready to go in the gun.
Cheers
Bill
Well now, I've got this big10 on the healing bench for a checkup and one of the known issues...the trigger play spring is kaput!
The trigger play spring is that little copper colored thingy riveted to the forward end of your drawbar. Now that thingy is not actually copper but is in fact steel...sticks quite nicely to a magnet. The coloring is an effect of the heat treatment after it was punched & formed.
Anyway that spring is pretty thin and easily bent out of shape. It mics at 0.008" thick. If one goes scrubbing about vigorously in there with some implement like an M16 toothbrush, One is liable to mangle that spring. You can also wreck it by cocking the hammer and getting behind the trigger and pushing the trigger forward. Although I have no idea why someone would do that.
What you ought to know is once you have exceeded the "elastic limit' of the material, well... it's permanently buggered. Elastic Limit??? what the hell is that?
you might ask. Well imagine a piece of straight steel rod, like a piece of wire coat hanger perhaps. Take it in hand and bend it a few degrees then release, it springs back straight right?. Now take and bend it a bunch, like 90° or so and release, Stays bent now doesn't it. You've exceeded the elastic limit of the steel.That same principle applies to this tiny leaf spring. Bend it out of shape too far and it stays bent. You can try bending it back into shape but at this point is has been permanently weakened and will not stay there for long. The best course of action is to simply replace it, which happens to be where we are right now.
Yup, that's gonna have to come outa there:
Not going to go into excavating the drawbar... Suffice to say it's a bit tedious getting it outa there. Except for a few bits, you basically need to detail strip the frame. But once you have it in hand were gonna need a little four square file with a safe edge to cut the head off that rivet.
This four square file has a safe side. It's a square file but only cuts on three sides. I hold the drawbar in a machinists clamp and position the file so the safe side is facing the slot for the trigger hooks. That way should I slip while cutting on the rivet and hit that slot, no damage done. Just file at it until the rivet head is gone.
Then take a little 1/16" pin punch and tap out the remnant.
So far so good.
No for the fix... You'll need this stuff. New play spring & rivet, a flat file with safe edges, and a small ball pien hammer. if you don't have a good small hammer a center punch can be helpful in starting to upset the rivet then carry on with what ever hammer you have that'll fit in there.
Oh and a vise of course. You're gonna clamp the file in the vise with a safe edge up and enough sticking up above the jaws to support the drawbar while you're beating on it
Note the copper sheeting the keep the hardened steel vise jaws off the file so we don't ruin it.
Position your new parts in the drawbar. Small forceps are handy for getting the rivet in position. A sharp eye may note that this aint the drawbar we started with. Well that's cause that drawbar was junk and headed for the scrap bin. But that's another story.
Now over to the vise. Invert the assembly of parts onto the file edge. Use those forceps or something to keep the rivet from falling out as you turn it over.
Then take you're little ball pien hammer and gently upset the rivet.
Pro Tip: Just get the rivet snug such that it's just tight enough to permit turning the spring. Then flip the drawbar over and make sure the spring is not cocked to one side or the other. Straighten it as needed then turn back over head down against the file and carry on finishing upsetting the rivet snugging everything up.
All done and ready ready to go in the gun.
Cheers
Bill
