Posted by Ed St. Thomas on September 30, 2007, 2:13 pm
If a suggestion similar to this one has previously appeared on this forum, then please forgive the redundancy. However, I thought that this recommendation might benefit newbies to the Forum such as me, and possibly some veterans. I, too, have cursed the dreaded reassembly nightmare that one is faced with when trying to get the top lever back into the trigger plate, and have tried a few different methods; but in my humble opinion, none compare to the ease of the one that appears on page 330 of Bob Brownell’s book, “Gunsmith Kinks III.” Essentially, it consists of making a locator pin that becomes an extension of the top lever and which screws into the bottom of the top lever. The body of the locator pin/extension is made to the same diameter as the hole in the trigger plate. The nose of the locator pin/extension, which guides it through the trigger plate, is rounded over and the other end is turned and threaded to screw into the bottom of the top lever. If memory serves me, I believe the threads are 4-40, but please don’t bank on my memory. Plus I’m uncertain if Hunter Arms standardized on one thread size for the top lever retaining screw. After the extension pin has been screwed into the top lever, you maneuver the top lever and extension so that the extension passes through the hole in the trigger plate. You then push the trigger plate down until the top lever seats in the hole. All that’s left is to unscrew the extension, put in the retaining screw and you’re done. It’s a snap, literally. I made a locator pin/extension on my lathe and it has so far worked on three of my Elsies that I’ve reassembled: two 16 gauges and one 12 gauge all with featherweight frames. After my first use of the tool, I mused to myself, “Why the heck didn’t I think of that!” I grant that for a once-in-a-blue-moon reassembly, making such a tool might be considered impractical, but once would be enough for me. Anyway, some years ago I purchased the entire four volume set of Bob Brownell’s “Gunsmith Kinks” and highly recommend them to anyone who does even casual gunsmithing. The tips and techniques in those volumes are priceless plus they are laced with jokes and humorous anecdotes.