doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com W. J. Davis Hammer problem.

I've recently acquired a WJ Davis S/S 12 bore which is in good useable condition but does have some slight looseness on the L/H hammer. I'm not sure if its the hammer which is worn or its seating and don't know the best way to repair it. I guessed that building up either the hole or the shaft may be the way but would appreciate any suggestions as to the right way. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Sorry, cant help you with your hammer problem.

Is the firm W&J Davis? If so, I wonder if there is an address on the barrel? IGC has a blank with regard to that for the firm: prior to 1900:

Name W & J Davis
Address1 Unknown address?
Address2 31 Newton Road, Stratford Road
City/Town Birmingham
Country United Kingdom
Dates 1876-1928?

Notes

W & J Davis claimed establishment in 1876. They were recorded in about 1900 at 31 Newton Road, Stratford Road, Birmingham. The firm's catalogue dated to 1901 reveals that by that time they supplied the public direct with claims of the least expensive guns and best value for money. Most barrels were twist or Damascus only one or two models were available with steel barrels. No calibres were stated for their rook and rabbit rifles, no mention was made of .22 calibre. They supplied muzzle loading guns as well as boxlocks, but most of the models available were hammer guns with very few sidelocks. The catalogue suggests they bought guns from the trade as cheaply as possible. The firm appears to have closed in about 1928.

Tim

Thanks for that,,it is W&J Davis on the sideplates. The barrels have been blued in the past but you can see traces of pattern or twist through the worn sections. I think that Peter Dyson from Holmfirth may be able to help with the hammer repair.

Quick fix is to use a shim down one or two side of the square on the tumbler.Ease the hammer off cut a piece of shim longer than required ,hold in place and tap the hammer back down . Break off the shim that stands proud and refit hammer pin .
OK not the most professional job but effective quick and cheap for the DIYer.

That's a neat idea Gunman,,I'll give it a try. The gun is only for occasional use so a repair like that should see me out. Thanks !!

I've written a response to this question three times now; each time being completely distracted and deleting the post prior to posting.

Shimming the axle will provide a solution to your problem.

It might also be worth noting here other ways which you can use to solve the same problem.

- A bodge - Remove the hammer and turn it upside down and punch with a rounded punch around the four sides of the axle hole. You needn't punch very hard just enough to move a small amount of metal around to close up the fit. This will provide a solution to the problem, I call it a bodge, only because people are not mad keen on peening parts on guns. On a low value gun its completely acceptable, and is completely hidden once the hammer is back on the axle. Quite often cheap old guns have evidence of this being done in the past. As a repair it works though is not the only option.

Another option is to fill the hammer axle hole with weld, re drill the hole then punch it out to square with a tapered square punch ( you'll have to make this ) this is a great method though getting the orientation of the hammer to the axle can be fiddly.

I have in the past welded up the axle, only because the axle was appreciably worn some how; its fiddly and far too easy to burn through into the threaded hole which the shank of the hammer retaining screw goes into - can be done; not recommended.

I appreciate your persistence,,and your advice ! I'm sure that between the various solutions offered I can effect a reasonable repair.I've just located a set of old imperial feeler gauges in my toolbox which should provide the shimming part. Thanks for your help.

Gunman/Demon
For the shim method...which sounds pretty good if you get the right Dia' shim...
Forgive me, I'm afraid to say I have never seen a Hammer ,axle etc taken apart ( I guess that's good , never having had this prob myself )
So the Hammer has a square hole, which must fit real tight on the square.. er, axle rod/shaft ..what ever its called to cock the locks.
So you shim the square hole in the hammer for a tighter fit on the axle/rod cocking thingy
But how do you get to little skirt of shim that you break off, & how do you break it off?..take off the Hammer again & use smooth bottom angle type file?
Does the shim stay in place when you ease it off for breaking the extra off
Many thanks if you would explain in detail if you have a couple of min's
Sorry if I sound a bit thick..but I'm veey interested

Just interested exactly how that would be done..
Gunman ..you mention breaking off the excess shim...?
Couold you do me a favour n explain it, as you would to a 10 year old, lol
I find this stuff very interesting from the couch...but can't quite grasp the details,
thanks if you would
cheers
franc

Cut the shim to the size of the square on the tumbler but leave it long enough to hold , say an inch long so when tapping the hammer back into place you can stop the shim from coming out of position . When the hammer is fully down the excess can be simply twisted off or cut off leaving it flush .
As said this is a quick fix and will usually stand up well to use but it is not necessarily the only way or some would argue the "correct way". I have also employed this method for taking the play out of worn top levers when normal welding or spray welding is not the best option .

Gunman , thank you mate..I think I get it now
I was forgetting that the hammer has an outside screw that holds it on the square tumbler shaft, & would hide the shim edges.
What would be the best material for the shim..bits cut out of a feeler gauge?
Thank you
franc