It was interesting today that I did a small gunsmith project on my 1890 Police revolver. However, that was before I read JEBar's response about trigger work in Henry thread http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6327. I especially appreciated the connection JEBar made of "art and science." His comments are apropos for not only Henrys, but all firearms. I saw this connection while working on the fix for my revolver.JEBar wrote:Blackdog wrote:when I came in with my 94 he looked up and said - Oh, I don't work on antiques."
Guess I'll have to find an real "gunsmith" and not this self-taught wanna-be. Mtrigger work on a Henry is as much art as it is science .... one simply can't turn a screw or install an aftermarket trigger .... doing so requires honing several parts to improve their interaction .... this requires micro adjustments followed by testing .... if the gunsmith hones too much material, he can't put it back .... I know this can be done because our gunsmith has taken care of 2 of ours .... finding a real gunsmith would serve you wellFlinch wrote: A real gunsmith can work on just about anything.
OK, now to my mini project. First fact is I am not a gunsmith. The sum of what projects I have done is minimal, with only a few firearms. So without the training/knowledge, and all but zero DIY experience, there are two strikes down already.
Some of the screws on my Uberti .357 Magnum replica loosen up after 50-75 fired rounds. Twice when tightening the trigger screw, I really messed up the flathead slot. Getting "iffy" for easy future use. So I ordered a replacement screw.
Before I did this part replacement, I had checked at an LGS and asked that when I remove the trigger screw, how will that affect the trigger assembly? I was told it would come down, and be somewhat challenging to re-assemble. This morning I called CT_Shooter because he has a similar S/A revolver. He helped me find several videos on this procedure for the stripping down/cleaning/re-assembly of a Remington 1858 Army revolver. This was the foundational S/A design for the later 1890 Police model, which I have. One of the videos was excellent, great positional videography, slow-paced, clear voice and clear instruction. I decided to go with it.
During the re-assembly portion, the presenter took a side trail and decided to polish/smooth out his trigger pull. Wanted it to be crisper. At the top of the trigger is formed a sear. He took a stone and oil, and his words (my paraphrase):
This is where JEBar is again spot-on. If too much polishing is done, you cannot put back more metal onto the sear. Needless to say, I didn't go down this side trail.I want to shape this sear to where it's nice and polished on top. Not too much....
(he did the polishing and continued...). I personally know this is close enough, so I'll quit.
All above from JEBar, and others providing gunsmithing cautions in that thread, is good advice. Yes, I would enjoy doing more gunsmithing. With pretty good "guidance" today through this fellow's video instruction, I was able to get this small project done okay. Nothing "fell out" of my revolver that I wasn't able to put back together.
A good accomplishment for a rookie!
PT7