Another day, and I made another firing pin

[Clark]

184297184298184299

I got a 110 or 120 year old sxs Oxford 12 ga damascus Belgian shotgun not in working order for $100 at the gun store two weeks ago.
Today I took out the broken firing pin on the left, and took out the good firing pin on the right. I made a drawing of the one on the right.
I made a new firing pin from 1/4" water hardening drill rod in a 5C collet chuck on the lathe.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

That is exactly the job I had to do for my sidelock Gibbs. They do need to be hardened. About spring temper or just a shade harder is best.

You are lucky, for it doesn't look like the hammer has been hitting and burring the top of the collar all these years. Unless someone had his father-in-law working for him - always a possibility in the Belgian trade - the doll's head barrel extension almost certainly dates the gun after it could have had a non-rebounding lock.

My Pieper is as near mint as you could expect of a 1926 shotgun, probably because someone got it to Australia and then found 20ga shells wouldn't fit a gun with a black-tarnished inlaid silver 24 on it. But there were plier marks on the simple conical firing-pin collars. The threads were indistinguishable from 7/32in. Whitworth, so I made new ones from a hexagon wrench, to be removed with a tubular wrench.

[CastingFool]

Nice job, I miss running a lathe.

[Clark]

The back of the right firing pin is peened to 0.198", and so will no longer slip out of the 0.180" nipple hole.
The broken left firing pin is only peened to 0.178", and so can still slip out of the 0.180" nipple hole.

This suggests the shotgun got a lot of use as a single shot AFTER the left firing pin broke.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Could be, or a lot of first-shot kills. I don't suppose many people were interested in clays for most of that gun's life.

[Clark]

A screw rusted through and snapped off in the forend. I drilled out the metal and went to a larger diameter wood screw.

A screw snapped off that retains a hammer. I drilled it out and went from 5-40 screw to 6-40 screw.

That is (3) repairs and now ready to shoot what was sold as a "wall hanger".184375

[Ballistics in Scotland]

A screw rusted through and snapped off in the forend. I drilled out the metal and went to a larger diameter wood screw.

A screw snapped off that retains a hammer. I drilled it out and went from 5-40 screw to 6-40 screw.

That is (3) repairs and now ready to shoot what was sold as a "wall hanger".184375

You've done what many would consider trickier jobs than making a nice little separate part, then. The best way to get out a broken wood screw is with a piece of steel tubing, often sold as capillary tubing in those sizes, with teeth filed on one end, and used in a drill. Wood-coloured two-part wood filler is the class act for filling the hole well enough for the new screw, but epoxy and sawdust would let you out of buying an expensive product you may never use again. Fortunately the tumbler the hammer attaches to is usually a lot harder than the screw.

For Not a Wallhanger status the barrels are important. The Belgian proof system is reliable when the gun is in unimpaired condition, and damascus isn't a bad barrel material when it was made. It can be more easily weakened than plain steel if rust has got into the lamination, or if dents have been raised when they were just a bit too deep for that. Some damascus barrels are good enough for smokeless powder, but I wouldn't use smokeless unless it bears one of the proof marks identifying it for such. There would very likely be the letters PV (for "poudre vive") as well.

http://damascus-barrels.com/Belgian_All_Proofmarks.html

[nekshot]

I love it! Now lets load some black and make smoke!

[Clark]

You've done what many would consider trickier jobs than making a nice little separate part, then. The best way to get out a broken wood screw is with a piece of steel tubing, often sold as capillary tubing in those sizes, with teeth filed on one end, and used in a drill. Wood-coloured two-part wood filler is the class act for filling the hole well enough for the new screw, but epoxy and sawdust would let you out of buying an expensive product you may never use again. Fortunately the tumbler the hammer attaches to is usually a lot harder than the screw.

For Not a Wallhanger status the barrels are important. The Belgian proof system is reliable when the gun is in unimpaired condition, and damascus isn't a bad barrel material when it was made. It can be more easily weakened than plain steel if rust has got into the lamination, or if dents have been raised when they were just a bit too deep for that. Some damascus barrels are good enough for smokeless powder, but I wouldn't use smokeless unless it bears one of the proof marks identifying it for such. There would very likely be the letters PV (for "poudre vive") as well.

http://damascus-barrels.com/Belgian_All_Proofmarks.html184410184410184411

In that list of proof marks I can see 6 examples on each of my barrels:
1 indicate inspection or proof of breeching system
4 bore diameter in mm
6 provisional proof of barrels
11 inspector's mark
13 conformity to German proof law
24 gauge designation for blackpowder proof

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Those look like the markings of a pretty good Belgian shotgun. The fact that they had the tubes proofed before assembly is often a sign that they intended to put quite a bit of workmanship into the gun, and the checkering looks good.

It is definitely only black powder proved, but that crowned ELG (not so much intended as conformity to German law, but the new standard the German law produced in Europe) is usually reckoned to date it to 1893 or later. I can't make out if it predates the cursive year letter system, introduced in 1922, in the link I posted. Most likely it does, although shotguns in this style were produced until a bit later. 18mm. would be tight for a 12 gauge, which was usually 18.5mm. I don't know whether it refers to the bore or the choke.

You might find the www.littlegun.be (http://www.littlegun.be/) website interesting.

[HollowPoint]

I suspect that hardening the firing pins will also make them susceptible to breaking due to brittleness. I suspect also that since you successfully made that nice looking replacement, you may have also made one or more extras just to have on hand.

There's a technical description for the time it takes for the hammer to strike the firing pin and the time it takes for the firing pin to ignite the powder charge. I think it's called "Lock-Time." With the one remaining original firing pin having been peened down below the level of your newly made firing pin, there may now be a mis-match in Lock Times between the two. I'm sure it won't be enough of a difference to even notice but, I'd be inclined to start with a matching set of firing pins. Those two originals would go in my stash of original parts.

Nice job on that new firing pin. I love this kind of stuff.

HollowPoint

[leebuilder]

Nice job. Lathe makes it so much easier. Made my first with a file and a drill press, poor mans lathe style.
Be well

[wonderwolf]

How did you profile the end of the pin? little file and sandpaper work?

[Clark]

I used a file, sand paper, and scotch brite.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I suspect that hardening the firing pins will also make them susceptible to breaking due to brittleness.

It could. One advantage the amateur has over most factories is that you can differentially temper it. Heat it red-hot and quench it, then polish it bright and hold the rear end in an old pair of pliers. Then gently and slowly heat the rest until it turns blue but the end where the hammer strikes is light brown, and therefore retains most of its hardness. If you get it wrong, you can easily repeat the process. It may also help if you round the edge of your lathe took very slightly, so that there is a slight radius in the angle where the slender stem meets the larger cylindrical part.

[wonderwolf]

I used a file, sand paper, and scotch brite.

I've always wondered about the radius on firing pin tips, but I guess it depends on the application, if you're using 209's those will be much more forgiving than say a Small pistol primer. I've only had to repair and modify existing pins though never had to make one from scrap that I can recall at least. looks good!

[Clark]

".. firing pin tips. Tip diameters are always good for an argument. " Roy F. Dunlap 1950

[John 242]

... One advantage the amateur has over most factories is that you can differentially temper it.

Another option, if all you have is mild steel, is to harden just the head of the pin and/or stop surface using a surface hardening compound like Kasenit. This is easy to do. Only apply the compound to area you want to harden. I'm not sure that long term this is as good as using a through hardened part made of drill rod or 4140 that's properly tempered, but it's an option.

On that note, be careful if you use Kasenit on narrow or thin areas. You can through harden thin areas which will become brittle and break.

To Clark,
You're doing great things. Keep up the good work!