Posted by Pauly on April 21, 2012, 12:10 pm 71.221.81.138
I am totally new to LC Smith. I have an old model hammerless gun that is totally apart. Stock was cracked and I fixed that, but it has a broken toplever spring. It was missing a few parts which I think I have run down. I searched the threads on toplever springs, but didn't find the answer I am looking for. Basically I have a few questions: What is the best way to compress the spring so that I can install the toplever? If a special tool is needed, what is it, and where can I find it? What position should the safety button be in during reinstalltion of the trigger plate? I have read many posts on how difficult reassembly is, and various methods (hole in the stock, pilot bolt for the toplever, etc.) Any basic advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for your time.
PS: There is not a doublegun gunsmith that I am aware of for 120 miles, so telling me to take it to one won't really help.
Re: Reassemby questions
Posted by Dan B on April 21, 2012, 3:44 pm, in reply to "Reassemby questions" 72.156.118.25
Pauly, You're doing the right thing, studying this site for your answers. I like the hole in the stock and the use of a vise to complete assembly. But that may not work for you. If you do use the vise make sure you receiver is protected by some kind of pad.
Re: Reassemby questions
Posted by Pauly on April 21, 2012, 4:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Reassemby questions" 71.221.81.138
Thanks Dan B. I am going to drill the stock tonight, and try that once I get past the installation of the toplever. I have good soft jaws for the vise. I am wodering about rigging up a c-clamp setup for compressing the spring so I can get the toplever installed, any thoughts? I have a little time as I am still waiting for a bolt for the coupler from Numrich. The gun is a 2E, and should be great to shoot with, if I can get it back on its feet!
Re: Reassemby questions
Posted by Patriot on April 22, 2012, 9:21 am, in reply to "Reassemby questions" 24.14.160.134
I find the Bill May method pretty easy, but instead of a piece of brass rod, I use a #6 steel shot to hold the spring over. I don't remove as much wood; just use the side of a drill bit to take out enough wood in the rotating bolt area of the stock head strip for the #6 shot to fall out after assembly. Be careful when wedghing the spring over for the shot to fall in place that the screwdrive doesn't mar the finished edge of the floorplate recess.
The safety, I put it in the safe position after putting a bevel on the legs of the safety slot allowing the link to find the slot easier. A pic will be here; last pic.
Posted by Vince P. on April 22, 2012, 12:42 pm, in reply to "Reassemby questions" 71.194.128.72
Hi Pauly. I was in the same boat as you a few weeks ago. I restored my Elsie and studied the various assembly techniques. I thought the threaded rod idea would work and tried that first-you can see the various methods on the reassembly picture thread. Anyway, the threaded rod didn't work for me. I kept bending the rods and even snapped a rod off in the top lever-man was I pissed. I managed to get it out though. In the end I went back to the way the Hunter Arms employees did it back in the day. I used a punch, inserted it in the bottom of the top lever, muscled it over and it went right in. One thing to mention with the method, at least in my case, was that as I put pressure on the top lever the top lever slipped upwards (well downwards since you're doing this with the receiver upside down). S what worked for me was that as I was pushing the top over over with the punch in the hole, I used a nylon faced hammer to tap the top lever back down. When I did that everything went into place and I continued with reassembly.
Good luck with whatever method you choose.
Vince
Re: Reassemby questions
Posted by Pauly on April 22, 2012, 8:31 pm, in reply to "Re: Reassemby questions" 71.221.81.138
Thanks Vince, I just found the pictures. That gives me another way to try it.
Re: Reassemby questions
Posted by Bill May on April 23, 2012, 2:05 pm, in reply to "Re: Reassemby questions" 130.160.230.159
Steel shot does work best. I didn't think of this initally, but have used it more recently. It'll drop out the hole more reliably than the little piece of rod stock. The biggest advantage to this method is you can hold the receiver in your hand while realigning the trigger plate to the safety, wood, etc.
Re: Reassemby questions
Posted by Pauly on April 23, 2012, 6:55 pm, in reply to "Re: Reassemby questions" 71.221.81.138
Thanks to all, I will get the experience soon, just waiting for parts now.
