doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Broken Ejector

Hi, All
Just joined this wonderful forum. Bought my first vintage double recently, a 1907 Stephen Grant sidelock. Unfortunately one of the ejectors broke at its thinnest point (sorry, don’t know how to post photos yet).
Can they usually be repaired? And if so, what’s the best method - welding, brazing or something else?
Many thanks
Mark

Most things like this can be repaired .But without seeing it, the actual position of the break ,I would be a little hesitant in saying weld or braze .
I have done both and have always advised that it is a repair and there will always be an uncertainty as to how long it will last depending on the amount of use it will get . Some times cutting the head off leaving an inch of the original leg and grafting a new lower leg may be an option .
The type of ejector work and leg length may also be a consideration as to the kind of repair as some types put greater strains on the legs than others when the ejectors are re- cocked .

Congratulations, Grant's are great guns. Tell us about yours

Did the ejector blade break off the main stem/shaft, or did something else break like a guide pin? I'm not familiar enough with Grant ejectors to know if they even have guide pins.

I have repaired a broken guide pin with Silvalloy silver solder. If it is a broken guide pin I can re-post the procedure I used to do the solder repair. It is posted under the Technician and Restoration forum on the AHFCA site.

Where do you live so that we can advise you who to take your gun for repair. Selection of the proper gun repair person is paramount.

You should also note that since your Grant is a 1907 made gun it likely has Southgate ejector system which makes it easier to repair than the original series 1 and 2 Stephen Grant Jr. designed ejector system.

Also to help you in discussing the breakage with a gunsmith: Extractors are located in the barrels and they move the shotshell to the rear of the barrels when activated; the "ejectors" also known in the British gun trade as the "kickers" are in the fore-arm. The ejectors (kickers) when released upon opening the barrels after shooting contact the rear of the extractor shaft propelling (via spring tension) it rearward and of course ejecting the spent shotshell. I suspect that since you said your breakage is in the "thin" part your breakage is the thin part of the extractor shaft.

With the advent of micro TiG and laser welding the thin parts of extractor shafts can be welded and that may be best option for you. There are one or two micro TiG and laser welders that service the gun trade in the USA and your gunsmith should be familiar with these welding masters.

I just had a set of double gun cocking levers welded by one of the welding masters.



Kind Regards;
Stephen Howell

Thanks for all the answers. If I got this right, here’s a couple of photos of the break.

[img]https://share.icloud.com/photos/0f4SRdw4T7E8K93_9M2nZTO1Q[/img]

[img]https://share.icloud.com/photos/058PnQJ73Lz8d4rgoaxmTjhtQ[/img]

If you need micro welding, Tony at Micro Precision, is top notch.

https://www.microprecisionwelding.com/

Grant, I can make you a new ejector if needed.

You have three options. Have that micro welded and refit, cut the stem 1/2” higher, towards the shell rim cut and have a new lower portion made from scratch, or just have a new one made. Being cheap, I would do the micro welding with the understanding it might have the shortest lifespan. Then go for one of the others choice later if it fails. Your decision might be dependent on what shooting volume this gun will have.

Not for this repair... you need a machinist who can make a new rod, and is able to weld or silver braze the new rod into the ejector blade. A weld repair at that thin point of fracture will likely fail sooner than later. No sense paying to do the job twice. And if it breaks while hunting, and the broken rod and blade gets kicked out and is lost in high grass, then it just got a lot more expensive.

I would concur with most of the advice above.
However, the skill level of your chosen gunsmith is equally important to the method used.
I have repaired exactly the break you have with laser welding and it is still working fine but I approached it with my brain turned on, chose my filler metal carefully and hardened and tempered to achieve toughness not wear resistance. I made sure all filing was carefully radiused and polished.
If you let someone do it who doesn't understand the requirements, it could fail very quickly.
If you go for the gold standard option and have the whole leg remade, the straightness and filing/machining the flat of the split stem is critical or you may have all sort of other issues.
Frankly, if the gun was mine and I didn't have access to a first class gunsmith, I would go for laser welding the original two parts (probably using stainless filler rod as we have discovered it mops up a lot of the carbon, reducing the chance of cracking) and then temper to a fairly soft state to give you toughness. It will wear but if you keep it clean it will probably see you out.

Thank you for all the responses. Very helpful.

Stan
I am getting ready to repair the ejectors on a Gr 4 Ithaca. It will involve just remounting the guide and main rod on one side, but I would be interesting in seeing your procedure. Can't have too much info.

Who would you go to if the broken blade got lost. Obviously a new one must be made