Interesting diagnosis, Jones. The location of the hammer axle directly in the plane of heavy bending forces is frequently mentioned as a potential point of failure in boxlocks but the searchlight has always been on the crack itself. I've never heard this scenario in which a gun not previously known to double does so as a result of dislocation of the sear axle contingent to cracking the bar and opening up the bearing points, a sequence of causation which would not occur to most of us particularly when a gun comes apart in our hands.
I'm puzzled by the photo of the Ebay Sterlingworth. My assumption has always been that when you pull the triggerplate on a Fox, you're looking at a single piece of steel with only the hammers, sears, cocking rods, lever, bolt and safety bits added. When I look in the crack in the photo, I see another uninterrupted wall of steel underneath as if the construction were laminar and the bar only a very thin shell in this area. What am I missing?
jack
