doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com source lever return spring Manufrance Ideal?

Return spring is in. I should take it out and break a few edges, polish and blue. I was very lucky to get it from Mike Del Grosso in Wilmington DE. For five bucks a much better deal than the "we could care less" treatment I got from Brownell--that's BROWNELL, BROWNELL, BROWNELL, the folks with no specs on a smith's spring kit! But I have another spring on the way from a member here and will probably send it back as I think this one is pretty close to the original. Had to lap a 1/16" plus a smidge from the width and take the ball end down about half. I actually did lap off the excess width on wet or dry 120 grt and cleaned up with 220 and 320 contacted to a couple of "strops" of tempered Masonite. I really didn't want to take a chance of cooking it on a dry grinding wheel or belt sander. Frame and trigger plate have been degreased now and look a bit better and work a bit better with Ed's Red working it's way around in there. Stock in process but no photo until I get a roundtuit!

jack

Thanks JC.

Unfortunately I have no serial nºs and production dates for Robust doubles.
I have a picture of a paper with serial numbres for Ideal guns but I do not remember where I found it.

Thanks
Martin

Not sure where I found this....



Pete

Jack,
Sorry that you seem to have had the run around getting a spring.
If ever you have this problem again, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Mark Wallin of the lock makers York & Wallin is local to me, a friend, and helpful.
He will make any leaf spring to pattern or drawing.
The fact is many of the old craftsmen from the British guntrade are still active and working from home, you can still get anything made here if you know where to look.

JC,
This is the paper I was talking about, thanks Pete!

Martin

Pete and Martin,

I posted that list some time ago. I got it from a French Idéal amateur.
Thank you all the same.

Best,

JC

P.H. (could be pro hunter or it could be you Pete): Members here were very helpful and the local stock bodger who redid my early Fox BE REMEMBERED that I had been a paying customer and might be again. No attitude and a "loose change" price. Apparently Brownells (that BROWNELL, BROWNELL, BROWNELL, I say again BROWNELl)is so fat or their phone sales guys so lazy they don't think 18$ for three sprngs (replacement pack for the smith kit) is worth giving out the dimensions. There's also the did it m'self approach and I think after a couple of tries I might get a spring. I beat a centerless two-lip auger out of a piece of drill rod a few decades back and hardened with Casenite powder. I also reshaped and hardened/tempered one sear from my AyA Numba 2 so the devil may think me a fool but he don't take me for a coward. I was very happy not to learn how in this instance however. Thanks for the tip. I stripped the stock faces up to the checkering band at the p-grip; no point removing finish that's doing it's job. Steamed out some dents and bruises AGAP as the wheel truers say, bit of red out of the useful Minwax can, couple coats of slacum over that now. I don't sand stocks, particularly not stocks with deep injuries. I like to keep the Platonic attributes intact and accept the bruises. River biscuits belong in the river.

jack

Jack,
Good for you, I could not agree more, nothing looks worse than an old gun with all the patina of an eventful history attached to a finely sanded below the metal, urethane coated stick of wood. Make it safe and make it shoot is my guideline.

Jack - for Ideal work, spring work, or any work I recommend JJ Perdeau at Champlin Arms. He knows the design very well.

Thanks for the recs, gentlemen all! All back together this morning. Before and after below. JC, if you look in, I used a length of 3/8" dowel to block the bolt to the rear in the bar, which, as you know, also pushes the lever into the "up" position such that the slot in the trigger guard will engage and drawing the linear strikers to the rear making the hammer notches (for want of better words) accessible to the sears as the front of the trigger plate goes in. Dissassembly with a broken return spring is a special case of it not being necessary to follow the Manufrance catalog takendown instructions. With the lever return operating and under considerable downward pressure, takedown and buildup both require that the bolt be blocked to the rear. Any chunk of pine or hardwood, plywood, perhaps even a small metallic cartridge case of the correct length would serve the purpose of the tool supplied by Manufrance.





jack