March
S M T W T F S
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online Now
4 members (LRF, bsteele, David Williamson, Ted Schefelbein), 826 guests, and 5 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums10
Topics38,374
Posts544,016
Members14,391
Most Online1,258
Mar 29th, 2024
Thread Like Summary
earlyriser, LetFly
Total Likes: 9
Original Post (Thread Starter)
#602417 09/06/2021 11:51 PM
by LetFly
LetFly
I have acquired a new project SxS for this coming winter months. The gun is a Lewis Grade 1S 12b S# 101xxx. As I acquired it, this gun comes with two barrels in laminate twist. One is 32" and the other is 28". All came with the original canvas case and three piece cleaning rod. The 32" barrels appear to be the most used with the 28" kept in the case. The gun is in good condition with almost no wear on the barrels or the wood and receiver. Of course someone could not resist the urge to bugger some of the screws. I would like to get more information on the Lewis model including how to disassemble, clean and reassemble the receiver. I only wish to clean and oil the internals. The stock wood is clean and unblemished, but a bit dry. The butt plate is intact but well worn. I would like to reapply the correct period finish. Charles Snyder's book is out of reach dollar wise so I am looking for information on this Ithaca. Any help gratefully appreciated.

Photos
Ithaca Lewis 1904
[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

32" P2 and 28" P1
[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

28" barrels:
[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]
Liked Replies
#602682 Sep 12th a 12:38 AM
by Carl46
Carl46
Letfly, I am far from an expert but those screws look to me like the ribs are coming loose and a "repair" was done. The screw heads don't even match.
1 member likes this
#602705 Sep 12th a 07:03 PM
by SKB
SKB
I have not stripped a Lewis before but most guns with a rib extension, Fox Lc Smith etc, have the rear portion of the rib silver soldered in place. That area is under a lot of stress, hence the higher strength solder. I can likely be repaired but that would be a very big job. The amount of heat require would result in a full relay as well as possibly causing issues with the lug. I would be shocked if it was soft soldered at the factory. Good luck with it.
Steve
1 member likes this
#602747 Sep 13th a 01:38 AM
by SKB
SKB
If it is all one piece then it was likely done with soft solder originally. I do not know of any American guns using hard solder for ribs though some Belgium guns do. If it is soft soldered I would suspect the barrels became loose and after repeated firing and then the rib solder failed.
1 member likes this
#602850 Sep 14th a 03:58 PM
by Joe Wood
Joe Wood
Your Ithaca is the only gun that I have run into that has a single one piece rib soft soldered its entire length. All the others have a short rib at the breech usually brazed on. Hell usually freezes over before they turn lose.
1 member likes this
#602750 Sep 13th a 02:26 AM
by Joe Wood
Joe Wood
Just screw it back down and shoot the gun. A proper repair would become a bottomless pit and you’d never climb out.
1 member likes this
#602908 Sep 15th a 04:20 PM
by mc
mc
I have done a complete relaying of the ribs on a Ithaca shotgun with the rib extension it was the first ithaca I did at trinidad it was tinned with no brazing it is a flues I think but the same idea its a big job
1 member likes this
#603460 Sep 26th a 02:48 AM
by limapapa
limapapa
I have a Lewis 12 and a Lewis 16 and neither has the rib problem you show. I can only guess as to what made the rib separate on both sets of barrels. The only thing they have in common is the receiver they attach to . Maybe its a receiver problem? If those screws were down the bore a few more inches I would worry about their cutting into the barrel wall, but where they are the walls are about 150 thousandths so probably not a factor. Field grade Lewis models rarely pay for themselves except in the enjoyment of shooting. Best.
1 member likes this
#603650 Sep 28th a 07:44 PM
by KY Jon
KY Jon
Looks like a weak design and a long ago repair solution. The screws look repurposed as on was engraved and the other not. A partial rib resolder might be a decent stopgap repair short of a total run relay job. Just ends up a question of cost, reward and expected life if repair. But any soft solder repair will still be a weak system like the original.
1 member likes this
#627092 Mar 7th a 07:33 PM
by LetFly
LetFly
Update on the Ithaca Lewis project.
Internals cleaned, locking bolt adjusted, and new strikers installed (old pin heads badly battered, new pins made by Lou Rotelli, Classical Restoration). Lewis internals are really easy to work with. Compensating locking bolt is very effective and easily adjusted.

Wood cleaned and new finish applied. Velvit Oil (neutral) lightly sanded in, 180, 220, 320 & 400. Scars from 100+ years remain. Some slightly open grain remains to stay with an original finish for this grade.

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

Next up to recut the worn checkering. Then back in the quail and woodcock game.
1 member likes this

doublegunshop.com home | Welcome | Sponsors & Advertisers | DoubleGun Rack | Doublegun Book Rack

Order or request info | Other Useful Information

Updated every minute of everyday!


Copyright (c) 1993 - 2024 doublegunshop.com. All rights reserved. doublegunshop.com - Bloomfield, NY 14469. USA These materials are provided by doublegunshop.com as a service to its customers and may be used for informational purposes only. doublegunshop.com assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in these materials. THESE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT-ABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. doublegunshop.com further does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these materials. doublegunshop.com shall not be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including without limitation, lost revenues or lost profits, which may result from the use of these materials. doublegunshop.com may make changes to these materials, or to the products described therein, at any time without notice. doublegunshop.com makes no commitment to update the information contained herein. This is a public un-moderated forum participate at your own risk.

Note: The posting of Copyrighted material on this forum is prohibited without prior written consent of the Copyright holder. For specifics on Copyright Law and restrictions refer to: http://www.copyright.gov/laws/ - doublegunshop.com will not monitor nor will they be held liable for copyright violations presented on the BBS which is an open and un-moderated public forum.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.0.33-0+deb9u11+hw1 Page Time: 1.551s Queries: 18 (1.534s) Memory: 0.7643 MB (Peak: 1.4336 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2024-03-29 11:21:42 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS