Working the lever to slick it up
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- Senior Levergunner
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Working the lever to slick it up
I love my Marlin 1894C but she's still kinda stiff. I've read where guys will cycle the action over and over to slick it up.
Does this work? Do you need to let the hammer down or just work the lever? How many times do you need to do it before the "slickness" is noticeable? Does it drive the wife nuts?
Quinn
Does this work? Do you need to let the hammer down or just work the lever? How many times do you need to do it before the "slickness" is noticeable? Does it drive the wife nuts?
Quinn
We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand, of overwhelming power on the other.
General George C. Marshall, 1942
General George C. Marshall, 1942
This saves a little time: Look on the bottom of the back of the bolt when it comes back a see where it hit the top of the hammer.......these two areas should be worn a tad.......slowly polish these areas with a hard stone.....you should start to notice some improvement......If you're feeling frisky, take it apart and smooth and polish the points of wear on the innerds....Just burrs and rough places, be careful. If all you want to do is work the action, strip the lube off of it...work it for awhile...then re-lube.
The Rotten Fruit Always Hits The Ground First
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Proud Life Member Of:
NRA
Second Amendment Foundation
Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
DAV
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- Levergunner 2.0
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- Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2007 8:07 pm
I will usually take a new gun (Marlin or whatever) and put 600 grit Clover compound in the innards - all moving surfaces - then cycle it for 300 to 500 strokes. No dry or live firing - just full cycles then take it apart and completely clean it. At this point, you can see the polished areas so I finish stoning the trigger if necessary, reoil and reassemble.
- J Miller
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Quinn,
My thoughts on this run a wee bit different. Every gun has tolerances. Remove too much metal and you make it loose. Leave it alone and it will eventually break in as you use it.
I do dry cycle my leverguns, mostly for the fun of it, but also because I like the sound and feel of them. I've noticed very little smoothing up from this.
However what I have noticed is that live firing will smooth them up a lot quicker.
I'll take a new lever gun, disassemble it, clean it and lube it then play with it and shoot it. Shoot it. shoot it and shoot it some more.
Other than that I don't mess with the innards unless somethings broke.
Joe
My thoughts on this run a wee bit different. Every gun has tolerances. Remove too much metal and you make it loose. Leave it alone and it will eventually break in as you use it.
I do dry cycle my leverguns, mostly for the fun of it, but also because I like the sound and feel of them. I've noticed very little smoothing up from this.
However what I have noticed is that live firing will smooth them up a lot quicker.
I'll take a new lever gun, disassemble it, clean it and lube it then play with it and shoot it. Shoot it. shoot it and shoot it some more.
Other than that I don't mess with the innards unless somethings broke.
Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts .***
- Night Stalker
- Levergunner
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- Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:40 pm
- Location: Central Pa
That is the deal i started to use...works like a charm!Comal Forge wrote:I will usually take a new gun (Marlin or whatever) and put 600 grit Clover compound in the innards - all moving surfaces - then cycle it for 300 to 500 strokes. No dry or live firing - just full cycles then take it apart and completely clean it. At this point, you can see the polished areas so I finish stoning the trigger if necessary, reoil and reassemble.
Then i work on the hammer spring and trigger pull...
There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon Howls
- marlinman93
- Advanced Levergunner
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- Location: Oregon
I agree with Blaine. The area where the hammer contacts the bolt is paramount to drag on Marlins, and if you only polish these mating surfaces, and then lube the contact areas with a slick oil like Kroil, you'll instantly notice a huge improvement!
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
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- Senior Levergunner
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- Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:17 am
- Location: Willamette Valley, OR, USA
The only hard stone I know about is, well, a hard stone. What kind of stone do you mean?BlaineG wrote:This saves a little time: Look on the bottom of the back of the bolt when it comes back a see where it hit the top of the hammer.......these two areas should be worn a tad.......slowly polish these areas with a hard stone.....you should start to notice some improvement......If you're feeling frisky, take it apart and smooth and polish the points of wear on the innerds....Just burrs and rough places, be careful. If all you want to do is work the action, strip the lube off of it...work it for awhile...then re-lube.
Quinn
We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand, of overwhelming power on the other.
General George C. Marshall, 1942
General George C. Marshall, 1942
- marlinman93
- Advanced Levergunner
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I don't usually use a stone myself. I use one of those polishing wheels that fit on my Dremel, and just polish the surfaces up with that. A hard Arkansas white stone will do it, but not quite the "hard chrome" type finish that I get with the Dremel and polishing wheel.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
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- Advanced Levergunner
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- Ysabel Kid
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Steve will probably want to nail my hide to the wall for saying so, but...
With my early Rossi 92s, I worked the springs down a few coils (main and ejector); then stoned the locking lugs using hard stones and oil (I only wanted to smooth out the machining marks, not remove metal). Then, using the then new plaque fighting toothpaste, I crammed the action full of the stuff (like half a tube), and handed the rifle to my wife, and said, work this baby till the 11o'clock news is over, I'm going out to load ammo. This is still the sweetest action job on any of my '92s. It feeds both .357 and .38Spl cases equally well and ejects cases to fall to your immediate right and slightly behind.
It didn't hurt that when she called the guy that sold me the rifle, he agreed that was the proper way to make it slicker for her! After she was tuckered out (I really don't know how many times she cycled the action), I stripped it completely down, cleaned all the toothpaste out, oiled lightly and have only done routine maintenance in the ensuing 20 years. It's had one replacement firing pin installed about 8 years ago. She doesn't shoot CAS with me anymore. After winning her class in 1995, she decided to "quit while I'm on top of my game." It only gets used nowadays when someone needs a loaner.
I cannot say that will work for a Marlin 1894, but...
With my early Rossi 92s, I worked the springs down a few coils (main and ejector); then stoned the locking lugs using hard stones and oil (I only wanted to smooth out the machining marks, not remove metal). Then, using the then new plaque fighting toothpaste, I crammed the action full of the stuff (like half a tube), and handed the rifle to my wife, and said, work this baby till the 11o'clock news is over, I'm going out to load ammo. This is still the sweetest action job on any of my '92s. It feeds both .357 and .38Spl cases equally well and ejects cases to fall to your immediate right and slightly behind.
It didn't hurt that when she called the guy that sold me the rifle, he agreed that was the proper way to make it slicker for her! After she was tuckered out (I really don't know how many times she cycled the action), I stripped it completely down, cleaned all the toothpaste out, oiled lightly and have only done routine maintenance in the ensuing 20 years. It's had one replacement firing pin installed about 8 years ago. She doesn't shoot CAS with me anymore. After winning her class in 1995, she decided to "quit while I'm on top of my game." It only gets used nowadays when someone needs a loaner.
I cannot say that will work for a Marlin 1894, but...
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
I'll start with something a little coarse to get started and finish fine....the two sides of the Diamond Sharpener is pretty good. I should break out the Dremel and finish up the job. Grizz's 1895GS cycles just by looking at it Lot's of polishing. I don't feel up to the job, but the spring that operates that little plunger the lever actuates causes some drag closing the lever, as well. It's an interlock to make sure the rifle don't fire before the action is completely locked up.marlinman93 wrote:I don't usually use a stone myself. I use one of those polishing wheels that fit on my Dremel, and just polish the surfaces up with that. A hard Arkansas white stone will do it, but not quite the "hard chrome" type finish that I get with the Dremel and polishing wheel.
The Rotten Fruit Always Hits The Ground First
Proud Life Member Of:
NRA
Second Amendment Foundation
Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
DAV
Proud Life Member Of:
NRA
Second Amendment Foundation
Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
DAV