doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Lefever (Ithica) Nitro Special

Found a very nice, unmolested example for $250 in a local shop
and bought it. Whats the first thing i want to do... take it apart, of course! This,however, is my first hammerless boxlock
and I know better than to dive in without some idea of where i'm going, or how to get back. Anyone point me to schematics
(Numrich no help)or even a good general book on the subject?

Clearly we are different kinds of people...why do you want to molest an unmolested gun? I would take the barrels off, clean everything, lubricate the surfaces you can see and reach, maybe blow out the nooks and crannies to get the weed seeds and powder grains out, put the barrels and forend back on and take it out and shoot it. With safety glasses and hearing protection, after making sure the bores are clear and the safety and triggers work. If it doesn't shoot, THEN do something about it, or better, get somebody that knows these things well to do it.

Why mess with it if it ain't broke? Unless you enjoy visiting the gunsmith with a shoebox of parts and a sheepish look....

Now if you want to BE a gunsmith, that's a different thing. First, buy books.....

Just my (clearly not TOO humble) opinion. (But I have been THAT guy, with THAT shoebox!).

On rereading my post, hap, I see that you are indeed looking for books (good thing). I'm away from my books right now, but if nobody else helps with suggestions, I'll post mine when I get home. Knowing what's in the gun and how it works never hurts, even if you don't have to "go see". Plenty of Ithaca experts (I say that with NO irony) here.

Nothing wrong with mucking around inside an American classic, but perhaps this isn't the one if it appears sound. Buy a $50 dollar masterpiece and play with that. It helps to bugger a few screws on a gun that doesn't matter rather than one you like. Even though the price is right on this one, if it is a great deal, don't make a mistake with it.

Rob.

To bad Walt is on a hiatus from here. I have 2 of them, well okay only one grandson latched on to the 12, but still have a cherry 16. Great shotguns for what they cost. I would suggest that you might try Shotgun World and go to the Ithaca section. There are some very knowledgeable folks there as there are here too.

If you want to see what it's like, take the butt stock off and have a look. You can't hurt much doing that, and you will satisfy your craving. I wouldn't start tinkering. If you screw things up, the repairs will probably cost more than the gun is worth. With the receiver in your hand you can clean it up, lube it a bit, and learn a little about box locks. It's not a collector piece, so enjoy it and have some fun.

I found one for $200, vintage 1929, that shoots good and is kn pretty good shape. A previous owner decided to learn to checker and didn't do too bad on the grip, but really got carried away on the forend. Everyone that sees it winces and yelps, although functionally it is fine. So I got a piece of walnut from a local cabinet maker for $8.00 and am in the process of making a new forend. Let me tell you; it is a real learning experience! I'm having fun and I think it is going to come out pretty good. If I screw it up, I've still got enough walnut for two more forends, so I'll get it right sooner or later. In the meantime, my total investment is $208.00, plus a little boiled linseed oil and thinner.

PUT THE GUN DOWN,,until you buy a proper set of screwdrivers. Then have all the fun you like.

I agree with dubbletrubble, if you're going to work on guns get a good set of gunsmith quality screw drivers.
I've owned several NS's and here's what I do.
Take off the butt plate, underneath is long bolt that holds the stock to the action, remove the bolt and take off the stock.
Do not take the action apart!
Soak the action overnight in a good solvent, I often use Coleman fuel.
After soaking take an aerosol can of automotive brake cleaner with the long plastic nozzle and hose off sensitive inside areas like the sears.
Dry by letting it sit open-end down on your workbench overnight (or use an air hose to quick dry it).
Get an aerosol can of gun oil with a long plastic nozzle and use it to lubricate the bearing surfaces inside the action.
Let the action sit overnight open-end facing down on your workbench to allow excess oil to drain out.
Wipe out any more excess oil with a rag, put the stock back on and you should be good to go.
This way you don't have to hassle with taking the entire action apart (and maybe causing a trip to a gunsmith to put it back together).
Good luck,
Steve

Virtually all my gun books are packed, but it seems I recall there may have been drawings or photos of the guts of those guns, either in Walt Snyder's Ithaca book or else in McIntosh's book on American doubles. Maybe both.

I did it a few years back, had to make a special spring compressor to reassemble but not too bad. Right now I have a Remington M14 rifle downstairs on the bench in parts. I got an ultrasonic cleaner that needed a test run and this was a likely candidate.I highly recommend them, they can be bought used on eBay for less than $200. They are non toxic, and the parts come out amazingly clean, the amount of nitre blue and case color on the small parts is extraordinary. Plus, with something like a Nitro Special receiver, the entire unit can be put in and cleaned, boiled in hot water, blown out and then soaked in displacing oil or ATF, with out removing any small parts.

The M14 however in another story, this one may have to go out for reassembly.

Here are some pages to help with the NS.