doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com FOB B GRADE TRIGGERS AND FOREND WORK

I have my second FOX B Grade in my hands. One issue I was aware of is just as I expected, a split in the splinter forend with some wood also missing off one front edge. A fix I may be capable of tackling myself. Its a non-ejector model. Anything I need to know before I pull the forend iron off? Remove the two screws and the latch assembly will come off and the back metal will lift out? I have not found any info for taking the forend apart. I found the how to on the stock removal and partial action dissassimbly on the fox collectors site. Any advice appreciated.

The second issued that was a bit of a surprise was the bent front trigger (right barrel). Looking back at the photos its obvious now that I am looking for it. I have straightened a bent trigger on an old savage model 24 but I'm a little more apprehensive about performing the same surgery on this beautiful old girl. The triggers still function with no noticeable difference in trigger pull. Would you apply heat when bending the trigger back in shape? If yes how much? I was looking for a replacement and found a right trigger for a sterlingworth. Will it be the same as all the early fox graded guns or did they have more than one set of double triggers in the early fox guns? Mine is vintage 1909.

Thanks in advance, you guys were very helpful with my old LC SMITH project.

Eddie

The trigger looks like someone tried to shoot the gun with the safety "on", something I am also guilty of except I didn't pull hard enough to bend the trigger.
Mike

Those triggers are soft and if it hasn't been bent enough to work harden you can bend it back with smooth jaw pliers.

So your vote is just bend that baby straight? I have it all apart, managed to do it without mangling a single screw. I did have to grind a total of 4 different bits to fit all the variants. Damn there are some narrow slots on this old Fox. The only casualty was the sear axle set screw. It was already buggered up and would not move. I was still able to easily drift the axle out of the frame. In the next day or two I'll try to get some time to try bending the trigger back straight.

Also found that the bottom rib is loose for the first 4 inches or so under the forend.

They sure didn't worry much about fit and finish on the parts you can't see

My trip spring looks like someone smashed it with a hammer. Anyone have one for sale or know where I can get one that would work?

The loose rib in front of the forend lug may indicate a loose forend lug as well.
A loose lug will push against the rib especially when the gun is fired but also when the forend is latched in place.
Yours doesn't really look loose and appears to be the reinforced lug.
Give the lug a few taps with a hammer back and forth and watch for any movement. It may also lift upward slightly when doing so.

Sometimes the rib will resist loosening that much and only a short section right in front of the lug comes free and pops up like this one did.




As for a trip spring,,about any small coil spring of diameter and length that will fit and has enough power to do the job is fine. It doesn't need to be AHF old stock.

The trigger I would bend under red heat.
Just my experience from a long time ago when I had a similar LCS trigger that I bent back cold and it broke.
Maybe this one would bend cold just fine and all the other ones like it as well. But have always used heat since my experience. They say to learn from your experiences...

..and those American Classic SxS's are certainly rough on the inside aren't they!

Thanks Kutter I will check that today.

I put a little heat on the trigger while clamped hard in some aluminum vice jaws and it bent back with no problem. I only bent it enough to restore usability and allow my fingers to fit between them. I didn't want to bend it any further, at least not until I secure a replacement.

Action is all back together. Just waiting on some acraglas to repair the old but plate and some tight bond II for the forend split repair. I soaked some non waxed dental floss in acetone and ran it thru the crack in the wood several times.

I never realized so many parts were serialized, including the wood.

Much better

Screws still perfect

Is this brass insert original?

After a lot of back and forth I decided to go with the acraglas for the forend repair. The crack was along the front wood screw hole. I deepened the hole almost all the way to the brass insert and pumped the epoxy in with a dowel. I was able to get squeeze out along the entire length of the crack. I was worried about cleanup but some light passes with acetone got rid of the last traces. I was not wanting to do a refinish on the wood if I could help it...... so we will see. I like the look of the wood as is....except maybe a touch up on the checkering.

Kutter, the lug seems solid as a rock after a few blows with the brass hammer. The rib in front is lifted for certain. Several inches of it. Thanks again for the info.

Forend repair appears to be a success. For me moment

I believe the forend iron and the long wood screw played a significant part in the split. The screw diameter is tapered a good bit and the top of the hole was certainly too small. Minor diameter of the screw grows from .114 to .125 and then .165 past the treads. I opened up the hole to a depth a little past the end of the screw and then bored the hole to .175 at the entrance to clear the larger diameter under the head. Then I clamped the forend snuggly and worked the screw in to reform the threads, added a little wax for lube. The forend iron would no longer fit in the groove. I had to remove a fair amount of wood so that it would fit. Maybe .010 or so. Lot of shrinkage over 113 years I guess.

Worked on the crack in the old butt pad. I guess these old originals were bakelite? Routed a groove in the back and spent 20 minutes working the epoxy thru the crack. The clamp up did not work as well as it did in mock up, had to add some precariously placed additions. Looks like it will stay.

I thought about routing out a lot of the joint completely thru to make sure it was perfectly clean for the best bond but decided I would try this way first.

Butt pad repair turned out good. I could do some micro fill in and a color job and it would just about disappear. It's good enough to hunt with. Now I need to find a competent Smith to do a repair on the bottom rib.