doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Broken Stephen Grant, Part 2

Today my gunsmith confirmed the issue. A broken hammer in the left lock. Broke completely in half. Said he has only seen this happen twice in his forty years of gunsmithing.
So I am asking for any help I can get from you guys here. If you know of anything I can get to help this get fixed.
He says he might be able to make one but it would be a long process. He also said he may be able to weld this one back up but that's a 50/50 chance of permeant repair.
So I need some help here if you any idea where I might find something.

Job for a proper gunsmith who has the knowledge .Good luck with the search. Hth

Mike;

I have made hammers for Grant SLE guns and I make them from O-1 alloy steel. As a matter a fact I have a 1889 Grant SLE that I made the left side hammer (actually called tumbler), and the bridle and as you suspect it is a difficult and long process. Making a SLE tumbler and getting it to fit properly against the side lock plate and tumbler is the most difficult task many gunsmiths will ever encounter. To make a proper SLE tumbler one first must make jig/fixture to be able to create the tumbler center post that is dead center to each side of the tumbler---that is the problem that causes most gunsmiths the most problems.

However, I still have in my Grant parts box the original left side tumbler for my 1889 Grant, which was not the original to gun but one that some English gunsmith had installed. It was not the proper one for a 1889 Grant as in that time frame the tumbers had an extension at the base that activated the ejector system (series 1 and 2 Stephen Grant patent ejector). I suspect this Grant tumbler will work for your gun

Send me a PM with your email address and your cell phone and I will get up with you and discuss the path forward. I am in Blythewood, SC which is 18 miles north of Columbia, SC. Via email I will send you a photo of the left side lock tumbler, bridle, sear, spring and so forth to compare to yours.

Kind Regards;
Stephen Howell

Nice work, Stephen.

Got any Darne parts?

Kidding!

Best,
Ted

One of the toughest jobs I ever took on. Making bridles and tumblers for a SLE is not for the faint of heart--you will likely throw a couple of them in the trash until you get it done properly. I made the bridles (O-1 also) without tear drop holes as the old ones were cracking from that area. Send me your email address and I will send you photo--I just looked and I have the photos from about 15 years ago when I did the work.

Stephen Howell

I’ve heard from guys I respect that they don’t even like repairing integral striker tumblers on run of the mill English boxlocks. I also saw a repair that featured a threaded bolt peened into place and ground to fit the hapless boxlock that suffered the problem. It worked.

But, it was ugly as a manure fence in a hailstorm.

Stephen, my email is in my profile here. Just click on my name and it brings you to it. I think we last spoke about Oldsmobile service manuals you had no need for, but, wanted to go to a good home. Sadly, although I wanted to help, I simply didn’t know anyone who needed books of that vintage.

Best,
Ted

You guys have confirmed my fears about this repair. I'm hoping somehow I can pull a rabbit out of a hat on this one.

Stephen relayed a few photos to me, and they really belong in this post, considering what the OP is up against.




Mike, you should probably follow up on the offer of a hammer from the parts drawer that Stephen graciously offered. I would think it would be preferable to starting from scratch.

Stephen, fill in the blanks on the work you did in the photos.

I’ll get out of the way now.

Best,
Ted

Ted;

The work I did was re-engrave the action and fore-end iron, make new tumblers, new cocking levers, new bridles and new ejector links (they are pictured at back of action just below the firing pins and have a small screw holding them in place), new firing pins (strikers), new hinge pin and re-jointing, new locking under bolt, new leather covered recoil pad, re-checker the stock and fore-end, and re-black.

Those of you who are observant will see that these early Chilton locks do not have an anvil for the tumbler to limit it's forward motion. The bridles were made without tear drop hole and .015" thicker for added strength.

P.S. I talked with MIke Proctor just now and I am going to send him the hammer gratis as it is a very expensive job to make a new tumbler and I hope that his gunsmith can make this old one function--I have no further use for it.

Stephen Howell

I welded a right side broken hammer on a top quality Belgian SLE. I’ve fired it hundreds of times since with no issue.

The broken hammer was soft enough a file did not skate across it so I decided it had not been hardened to glass-status. I welded, reshaped the weld area, polished and installed. The weld worked very approximately with a file the same as the body of the hammer did before welding so I decided to forego any heat treatment and see if it held. Since it’s my gun I don’t mind fixing it again in the name of “Let’s find out” if I can weld this hammer and not make a new one.