doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Double Rifles, Paradox Guns & Gauge Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Jones Underlever

Something just ain't right with the Joneson my Alex Henry .450 BPE. It takes a major, and I mean major effort both to open and close it.

The Henry was my first double rifle, well first BREECHLOADING double rifle and I just figured it would get better with time.

Well time has come and gone, and before much more time goes by I need to put it in the hands of a 'smith that knows about such things.

Now, Mike Orlen is up the road about 20 miles from here. Even though he's primarily a barrel swami I'd think he's well versed in vintage guns enough to at least look at it and suggest himself or someone else. It might be the best place to start, but I haven't lived in or haunted Amherst in quite awhile and lost touch with his exact whereabouts or contact info.

Could it be that there is some member out there who knows the perfect gunsmith for this type of problem (yes, I'm saying it's a problem)?

Assistance would be greatly appreciated. - Marc

Oh. And if you've got current Mike Orlen contact info I'd certainly appreciate that as well.

What has happened? Dropped it maybe?
Does the lever move freely with the barrels dismounted? Is the lever hitting the trigger guard? Something in the screw welll in the watertable?

If all else fails just drop it in the mail to me.. I'll gladly dispose of it for you.

Nah, never dropped it, lever moves freely, everything works A-OK. Tell you the truth I think I may have been a little too liberal with the rust protectant last time, made the metal parts seal up really tight.

I guess it goes back to that He-Man thing I mentioned before. Everything works beautifully, just needs a good shot of elbow grease once the lever gets to the trigger guard, much more than my other 2 Jones-levered guns.

Aw hell, I might as well send it off to you, Mike. Just gotta find a big enough envelope.

Oh, and THANKS! for helping out.

Clean it and get rid of the gunk. Use a thin coating of oil and see if that works.

Use a padded box not an envelope!

Whoa man, I keep all my weapons clean, no gunk. Everything is fine, the only "trouble" comes if I insist on centering the lever perfectly. That 1/8" or so is hard, whether closing or opening. Big deal, right? Just don't insist on having it perfectly centered. Seems easy enough.

I guess it was one of those nights and I needed to complain about ANYthing. Nobody here would listen so I had to turn to my electonic pals.

The Henry .450 is a honey, I really had no call to bring shame and dishonor on it. I am chastised by its glory.

But we've yet to see a pic of this honey!

This honey and more....Once again I have to apologize for being too lazy to learn how to post photos. Believe me, this is not the first time this has come up.

I guess the first step is to get a digital camera, or at least borrow one, and start the ball rolling. I've made too many empty promises to guys on this board and others, e.g. "yessirree, hang on, I should be able to get some pix up for you real soon".

Well waddya know? Timing is everything. A buddy of mine just called and wants to visit for lunch. Photography is a big hobby with him so I asked him if he could give me some starter lessons to get photos posted and he said "sure".

But please don't hold your breath. I mean, there's a reason most of my guns are from the 19th century, get what I mean?

Baby steps at first! Then it gets easier..

Some time in the last 100 years, the lever was bent. I would not try to bend it back. I would put downward pressure on the lever every time I open or close the gun, forever.

Yep, that seems to be the answer.