Posted by David Williamson on February 28, 2014, 1:49 pm, in reply to "Re: stuck fore end"
Mike, don' bend the "J" spring, it was shaped that way to fit. Some are straight and others are slightly bent or like yours. They are fitted to the gun. The slots are what the roller release grabs onto, so don't touch them also.
I have a 1/4" dowel about 8-10" long and ground a taper to about half the diameter. I use this on stubborn for-ends.