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Thread: Marlin 39M receiver damage

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Marlin 39M receiver damage

    A while back I took my young son's 1976 Marlin 39M to a local smith for a barrel swap (the old one apparently suffered from a squib from the previous owner). We went to pick it up a few days ago and found the following damage (pictured below) from when the receiver was put in the vise or whatever he used. He said he hadn't seen it until we mentioned it but would "make it right". It literally makes me sick because this was my son's first rifle that I bought for him a while back. I've done some checking around but it appears that receivers are almost non-existent without simply buying another rifle. What do you guys suggest? The gun does function, but that's a major boo-boo and must significantly affect the gun's value, not to mention being a huge disappointment to my 14 year old son.
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master redhawk0's Avatar
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    No words...I feel like crying for you. I hope your "smith" (or butcher) really can make this right for you...but that's likely rebuilding from another rifle completely.

    redhawk

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  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    Not much you can really do other than just try to ignore it and shoot it. It isn't that bad, and it shouldn't affect the function.....sucks though. I'd find another Gunsmith and tell everybody how shoddy this one is.

  4. #4
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    Check out the thread by rickw55, repairing a broken receiver tang. You might be able to find out from him who did the repair work (welding) for him. The catch is it will need to be reblued afterwards. The plus is it will look as new afterwards. My Mrs. bought me one in 71. Still have it today. A sweet piece for sure. Best wishes on getting it repaired. I would expect your smith to make good his mistake. Mistakes happen to the best of them. If your smith is a stand up man, he will stand up and do what is needed to make your piece whole again. His rep. and business are on the line. Hope this a help to you. Iron Whittler

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    It could have bad metal in the receiver to begin with. If it was a forging I doubt it but could be a bad cast receiver from the factory. It does suck though. But I have seen stuff Welded that I didint Thank that could be fixed.

  6. #6
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    in my mind the only way to make that right is for him to replace it

  7. #7
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    I had a similar scar show up on a revolver I sent to S&W years ago. In this case, while it is possible to weld, reblue, etc. . . . the reality is you run the risk of making it worse trying to cover it up. The filler material most likely won’t blue the same as the receiver, so . . . I’d just leave it as is. If he’s the type of craftsman that created that mark in the first place, he doesn’t know how to make it go away.

  8. #8
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    Check function again, not sure how he get those marks but concerned that he may have torqued the receiver without it being well supported. Mistakes happen, let us know how he makes it right.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master

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    Replace the receiver after replacing a barrel and it's just not the same rifle anymore! Really not much different than buying another rifle and then swapping your wood out with it, point is that if the rifle really means something to you and obviously it does then repairing it is about the only option besides just accepting it as it is. It would be pricey to have someone like Turnbull repair this for you but they would do it right, make it look new and most importantly of all it would still be the same gun! There are others out there that may be cheaper but doing this is going to involve welding and thus a complete refinish, expensive as it may be that so-called Smith "should" be liable for it, there simply is no excuse for doing something like that!
    Statistics show that criminals commit fewer crimes after they have been shot

  10. #10
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    Thanks for the info, guys. You've pretty much corroborated what I've feared, and yes, replacing the receiver after replacing the barrel would indeed make it a completely different gun. It does seem to feed bullets ok and the accuracy seems to be good. I just feel sick for my son that his pride and joy has been damaged in such a manner that makes it extremely difficult to "fix", yet still be his "first gun".
    I'll give the smith some time to come up with a solution. He's not really a close friend, but he's a good enough acquaintance that I feel bad for the fact that for him to "make it right" would likely be quite expensive. A bit of an awkward situation, at best.
    Jniedbalski, these guns have forged steel recievers, so while I suppose it's possible that it could have had a flaw it's not too likely. Look at the 2nd picture and you can see that he torqued on it hard enough to "mash" the lower edge of the solid side of the receiver. He said he did this job at about 11PM at night, so maybe there was a drink or two involved, who knows. I truly want to be fair with him but at the same time want him to be fair to my son.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by JimB.. View Post
    Check function again, not sure how he get those marks but concerned that he may have torqued the receiver without it being well supported. Mistakes happen, let us know how he makes it right.
    Very likely scenario, JimB.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by LeadHead72 View Post
    yes, replacing the receiver after replacing the barrel would indeed make it a completely different gun.
    Yes it would, even down to having a different serial number!
    Statistics show that criminals commit fewer crimes after they have been shot

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by oldred View Post
    Yes it would, even down to having a different serial number!
    Right. Both halves of the receiver are serialized, IIRC. Does anyone know if these were made consistently enough that you can use non-matched receivers or do they have to be made to fit each other? Or is it even legal to swap half a receiver?

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by LeadHead72 View Post
    Right. Both halves of the receiver are serialized, IIRC. Does anyone know if these were made consistently enough that you can use non-matched receivers or do they have to be made to fit each other? Or is it even legal to swap half a receiver?
    I’m a long way from mine at the moment, but isn’t the serial on the lower tang? I don’t recall them being marked in a second location, but I could just not remember.

  15. #15
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    Yes, on the lower tang, but I'm pretty sure they're stamped on the inside of the front half of the receiver as well. I need to take his down and look to be sure.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master Dan Cash's Avatar
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    If the ham handed work offends you, one solution only: NEW GUN. That means gunsmith finds an acceptable vintage 39, not a Remlin.
    To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the trouble with many shooting experts is not that they're ignorant; its just that they know so much that isn't so.

  17. #17
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    Sure he's not a blacksmith?
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  18. #18
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    He must have used the Crescent brand receiver wrench!

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  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hogtamer View Post
    Sure he's not a blacksmith?
    Yes, I'm sure. I've seen better blacksmith work.

  20. #20
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    Leadhead I am rebuilding a model 19-2 Smith the same type fellow used his crescent wrench to remove and try to replace barrel. I bought it as junk but now about to become a shooter.

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